A member of a high-profile clergy family in New York City was taken into custody last week after being accused of raping his own young daughter—whose family is irate after the alleged perpetrator was given a mere $10,000 bond.
Matthew Gibson, 44, of the Progressive Baptist Church of Brownsville, located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, was arrested Thursday for allegedly raping his now 14-year-old daughter on multiple occasions over the course of over six years, NBC New York reported. There are conflicting reports about whether the suspect is a pastor himself; but his father is believed to be the lead pastor, or bishop, at the church.
The abuse reportedly began after the girl’s mother died in 2012, according to the New York Post, when the alleged victim was only 9 years old.
A criminal complaint obtained by PIX11 alleges that the abuse occurred on church grounds after the teen’s mother died in 2012, and included “intercourse, anal and oral sex.”
Matthew Gibson sexually abused his daughter for six years. https://t.co/axuoKYzmEz
— Brooklyn Daily Eagle (@BklynEagle) January 14, 2019
The alleged victim reportedly confided the abuse to her sister-in-law, Myia Maples, last week. Maples told NBC New York that she noticed something appeared to be amiss last Wednesday, after the victim came home from school. When she subsequently questioned her, Maples said the teen “blurted out [the allegations] to us.”
Maples said she and her husband have had custody of the girl, along with the girl’s twin brother, since 2012 when their mother passed away.
The family is reportedly outraged by the news.
“He should rot in hell,” the alleged victim’s grandmother told PIX11. “How can a father do this?”
Gibson was reportedly granted visitation rights with the children every other weekend, when they would attend religious services with him. Maples told NBC New York that the place of worship is where the abuse occurred.
“The bathroom next to the office, the choir room, on the side of the church…or in the backyard,” Maples stated.
The teen’s brother told NBC New York that he was also at the church when the abuse occurred, but expressed regrets about not being aware of what was happening.
“He would make me play on the drums, and when it was happening, I wouldn’t be nowhere around,” the boy said.
“I feel like, in the moment, I let my sister down.”
The suspect’s father, Ben Gibson, the bishop, was apparently supposed to monitor visitation meetings with his son and the children, but family members reportedly said he failed to follow through.
Relatives of the alleged victim expressed shock and frustration over the suspect’s bail being set at only $10,000.
“We want to speak to the district attorney’s office because you failed us as well,” an unidentified relative of the teen reportedly told PIX11. “We just found out he got a $10,000 bail, which is unheard of for a case like this. We’re really disappointed with the district attorney for setting his bail so low. It’s a shame.”
At the time of reporting, Gibson was behind bars on charges including incest, sexual abuse of a child, and child endangerment. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.
[Feature photo: Matthew Gibson/Facebook]
