Anti-Gay Preacher Admits to 'Hand in Pants,' Apologizes

An anti-gay preacher facing charges in connection with allegedly masturbating in a parked van near a kiddie park denied that the proximity of his vehicle to the playground had any meaning, but said that he has a problem with "pornography."

Fundamentalist preacher and self-described "Christian patriot" Grant Storms, 53, was observed by two mothers near a children's play area at Lafreniere Park in the New Orleans suburb of Metaire on Feb. 25. The women reported that Storm was masturbating, with one mother saying that the preacher was "looking at the playground area that contained children playing, with his zipper down."

The other woman described the scene to deputies who were dispatched by the Sheriff's Office after the women reported Storms' alleged conduct to a park employee. The article said that the park employee prevented Storms from leaving the scene until the deputies could get there.

Storms initially claimed that he was using a bottle as a urinal. However, according to a Sheriff's Department spokesperson, the anti-gay preacher later admitted that he had been masturbating.

But Storms told media outlets on March 1 that he had not been masturbating, although he did admit to having had "opened my pants and I had my hand in my underwear," reported the Shreveport Times on March 1.

Storms had led protests of the annual New Orleans Labor Day celebration Southern Decadence. He and his followers sought to disrupt the event by shouting denunciations through bullhorns. Area businessmen obtained a restraining order in 2004 to keep Storms and his followers away from the annual Labor Day event.

Some of those business owners had little sympathy for Storms when the news broke. "He's done everything through the years to disturb [Southern Decadence] and try to make it into something nasty that it's not," event organizer Chuck Robinson told the Times-Picayune, which reported on Storms' arrest on March 1. "If the Rev. Storms is caught doing that in our city, it is ludicrous and heinous that he would have the nerve to complain about any kind of sexuality."

"He's, in my opinion, just repulsive," declared businessman Earl Bernhardt, who co-owns several Bourbon Street establishments. "I'm not surprised at all that he got caught doing that. Serves him right. He'll be out of our hair down here."

GLBT news site Towleroad.com reported that Storms had taken video footage of purported sex acts on Bourbon Street during Southern Decadence in 2002 and then distributed the video to lawmakers in hopes of seeing the annual event squelched.

"There's no economic gain that justifies an orgy in the streets," Storms declared at time. "That's all it is--a three-day orgy in the streets."

Speaking to news outlets following his arrest, Storms said that he had not been at the park because of the children playing there. ""I've never done anything inappropriate with children," Storms told the media, claiming that he had been doing lawn work in the vicinity. "I'm not a pedophile. I'm not a child molester."

Storms went on to say, "The nature of my problem is pornography," the Shreveport Times article added. He did not elaborate, save to say that he was seeking help.

Storms addressed his previous incarnation as an anti-gay crusader. "When I look back, there's a lot of things I would have done differently," he said. "I was very proudful, I was very arrogant, I was very mean-spirited at times."

Storms was initially held on a $5,000 bail, but was then turned loose because the prison system is overcrowded. Queerty.com reported that Storms could face a fine and a prison sentence of up to three years.