Pastor Arrested After Sick Child Dies During Church Healing

An autistic child died while he was going
through a church healing ritual, according to
reports in the news media.

A minister has been arrested on charges
stemming from the healing ceremony that
ended in the death of the young autistic
child.

Ray Hemphill was arrested in the Church of
the Apostolic Faith, a small church in a mall
that houses a pizzeria and a dry cleaners, the
local newspaper reported this week.

Hemphill’s brother, David, is the pastor of the
church. The pastor said that the boy died
mysteriously overnight during the Friday
night prayer service.

During the one-hour session, the child’s feet
and hands were restrained by his mother and
other members of the church while intensely
praying, the pastor’s wife said.

The boy stopped breathing, David Hemphill
said. Although the results of the autopsy
were not disclosed, Ray Hemphill was being
held in the Milwaukee County Jail on
suspicion of physical abuse of a child, a
felony. An investigation into the death
continues.