Church Reported to State for Gay Exorcism Video
June 25, 2009— -- The exorcism caught on video showed the Connecticut teen writhing on the floor as adults hovered above him ordering the demons to be cast out.
The boy's supposed sin? Being gay.
Except the teen isn't convinced that being gay is wrong, according to a Connecticut nonprofit group for gay and lesbian youth that has mentored him for about a year.
Robin McHaelen, executive director of the Manchester-Conn., True Colors, said she was horrified when she saw the video, reputedly shot in March and posted on YouTube by the leaders of the Manifested Glory Ministries.
The video, which has since been pulled from YouTube but can be seen on multiple Internet sites and newscasts, shows the teen flopping violently on the floor, even vomiting at one point.
McHaelen said she was mandated by law to report the exorcism to the state Department of Children and Families, which she said is now investigating.
"What I saw looked abusive. This child vomited, passed out and looked like he was being abused," she said. "I don't get to choose whether to report or not."
A spokesman for the department, citing privacy laws, told ABCNews.com he could not comment on whether or not they were investigating.
"I was really freaked out because it seemed so violent," she said of her first reaction.
In the video, which is about 20 minutes long in it's entirety, a male adult can be seen imploring the demons to be cast out.
"You homosexual spirit, we call you out right now," the man said. "You have no power."
At another point he commands, "Come on you homosexual demon. We want a clean spirit. Get out of the way!"
McHaelen said the video shows a man and a woman alternately performing the ritual. She believes they are Kelvin and Patricia McKinney, the husband and wife team who run the church out of a nondescript building in Bridgeport.
On the ministry's Web site, Kelvin McKinney is listed as the church's overseer. His wife is alternately listed as an apostle, prophet or prophetess.
While Kelvin McKinney declined to comment on the video or his church when contacted by ABCNews.com, Patricia McKinney told ABC affiliate WABC, "I have gay friends that I grew up with."
"As for me being a pastor, I live by the word of God," she said. "I don't hate them. We love them. We just don't agree with their lifestyle."
