Operator of Bethel Children's Home not surprised assault conviction upheld

The Baton Rouge Advocate/AP

LUCEDALE, Miss. _ The Rev. Herman Fountain says he was not surprised by the state Supreme Court's decision upholding his 1989 conviction for assaulting a state trooper.

"I really expected it all along," Fountain said from the George County Sheriff's Office following Wednesday's court ruling.

Fountain, the operator of the Bethel Children's Home, was found guilty by a George County jury of assaulting Mississippi Highway Patrol Capt. Richard Smith following court proceedings on June 13, 1988. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction without comment.

The 42-year-old minister attempted to enter a sealed area in the courthouse where state welfare officials were holding youngsters who had been removed from his home. His effort ended in a push-and-shove match with sheriff's officials and state troopers. He was sentenced to five years in prison with four years of probation.

Fountain said he was notified earlier in the week to be at the sheriff's office Wednesday morning. Authorities said the minister would remain in the county jail pending transfer to a state facility.

"I'm concerned about my family," Fountain said after being taken into custody. The minister and his wife have nine children.

"I'm concerned about how they're going to be taken care of _ if the Christians are really going to stick behind us now or behind them. I'm not really worried about me," he said.

Fountain said he didn't know whether he assaulted the officer or not because "there was so much confusion going on." He said the incident "didn't deserve this (conviction)."

The assault was only one phase of the Bethel saga that brought national attention to the children's home in Lucedale and eventually led Mississippi to pass a child-care registration law.

Since opening his home for wayward youths in 1978, Fountain often has been accused of abuse, neglect and even child slavery. Some 150 boys and girls have run away from the home through the years.

The minister has been jailed for contempt and assault for various lengths of time ranging from one hour to several days. His fines for contempt and for assault have continued to mount.

"Separation of church and state is the issue," Fountain said. "It's not whether Herman Fountain is a bad guy or whether Bethel is a bad place. It's just another attack by the devil."