John Wesley Fletcher (January 24, 1940 – June 21, 1996) was an American

defrocked Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or ...

Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

pastor, known for his role in the PTL scandal involving Tammy Faye and

Jim Bakker James Orsen Bakker (; born January 2, 1940) is an American televangelist and convicted felon. Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program ''The PTL Club'' and its cable television platform, the PTL Satellite Network, with his ...

Early life

Fletcher was born in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, in 1940. He dropped out of high school and worked a number of jobs, including driving an ambulance, working as a party

clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

, and he claimed to have run a topless bar. He left Durham in 1970, after being convicted for writing bad checks five times and facing lawsuits for unpaid debts. In May 1971, Fletcher married Shirley Connour, a singer and musician who performed with a traveling evangelist. They had a son, John Wesley Jr, in September 1973.

Career

During the 1970s, Fletcher became an Assemblies of God pastor with an evangelical foundation located in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

and started making regular appearances on the ''

PTL Club ''The PTL Club'', also known as ''The Jim and Tammy Show'', was a Christian television program that was first hosted by evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, running from 1974 to 1989. The program was later known as ''PTL Today'' and as ''H ...

'' television program towards the end of the decade.

Downfall and later years

In 1980, ''PTL Club'' host Jim Bakker became estranged from his wife,

Tammy Faye Bakker Tamara Faye Messner (née LaValley, formerly Bakker ; March 7, 1942 – July 20, 2007) was an American evangelist. She co-founded the televangelist program ''The PTL Club'' with her husband Jim Bakker in 1974. They had hosted their own puppet-s ...

, and he asked Fletcher to "bring ima woman". Fletcher arranged for church secretary Jessica Hahn to meet Bakker. Hahn later claimed that Fletcher and Bakker subsequently raped her but both claimed to have had a consensual sexual encounter with her. The following year, the Assemblies of God defrocked him after allegations of homosexuality were made against him. Other sources state he was defrocked twice for alcoholism. In early 1987, Fletcher came to national attention when news of the sexual encounter was made public. Fletcher subsequently told '' Penthouse'' that he had had sex with Bakker three times, and he repeated the claim in front of a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

. Bakker denied these claims under oath. Fletcher gave conflicting statements to the grand jury about whether sex was the only reason that he arranged Hahn to meet Bakker and was charged with

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

. He pleaded guilty and Judge Robert Daniel Potter sentenced him to three years' probation in May 1990. During the scandal, Fletcher attempted suicide twice and his wife of 18 years divorced him. He filed for bankruptcy and his ministry collapsed. In 1989, Fletcher was arrested twice for

public intoxication Public intoxication, also known as "drunk and disorderly" and "drunk in public", is a summary offense in certain countries related to public cases or displays of drunkenness. Public intoxication laws vary widely by jurisdiction, but usually requ ...

and he had his license revoked after being arrested for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (drug), alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether re ...

. Fletcher stated that he "lost all that's dear and precious to me because I was loyal to

akker The Dutch units of measurement used today are those of the metric system. Before the 19th century, a wide variety of different weights and measures were used by the various Dutch towns and provinces. Despite the country's small size, there was a l ...

" At the time of his sentencing, he had been working as a roofer. Fletcher's role in the PTL scandal is depicted in the 2021 film '' The Eyes of Tammy Faye'', with

Louis Cancelmi Louis Cancelmi is an American stage and film actor. He is a frequent performer in productions by the Public Theater, both at their Astor Library home and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. He is best known for appearing in '' Boardwalk E ...

as Richard Fletcher.

Death

On June 21, 1996, Fletcher died at the age of 56 in

Hillsborough, North Carolina The town of Hillsborough is the county seat of Orange County, North Carolina, United States, and is located along the Eno River. The population was 6,087 in 2010, but it grew rapidly to 9,660 by 2020. Its name was unofficially shortened to "Hi ...

. His death was reportedly from

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

.Wigger 2017, p. 332 Fletcher is buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Durham, North Carolina.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, John Wesley 1940 births 1996 deaths AIDS-related deaths in North Carolina American Assemblies of God pastors American members of the clergy convicted of crimes American people convicted of perjury American television evangelists LGBTQ Protestant clergy People from Durham, North Carolina Pentecostalism in Oklahoma 20th-century American clergy 20th-century American LGBTQ people American faith healers