Brother Tony's Boys - Paperback

by Mike Echols (Author)

For over twenty-five years, charismatic Pentecostal evangelist Brother Tony Leyva used Christianity, the Bible, and his status as an "annointed prophet of God" to gain access to, seduce, and sexually assault the young sons of his enthralled followers in twenty-three states. How could such heinous acts continue undetected for over two decades?Brother Tony's Boys peels back the multiple layers of this twisted evangelist's double life to answer this and other bone-chilling questions. Read the riveting true story of how Leyva brought his old-fashioned hellfire and brimstone revival to cities and towns from Florida to New York and from Illinois to Louisiana and, under the cloak of God, systematically manipulated and sexually assaulted adolescent boys and procured victims for other "men of God."Using eyewitness accounts of victims, Mike Echols, author of the bestseller and five-time Emmy nominated miniseries I Know My First Name Is Steven, strips bare the world of Pentecostals in the United States today to reveal how, in this unique yet growing Christian sect, impassioned faith and devotion to the "annointed ones" blinded parents to the evil in their midst.

Back Jacket

Pentecostal evangelist Mario Ivan "Tony" Leyva was considered by many to be a true prophet of God. Clutching his black Bible, for over twenty-five years Brother Tony delivered mesmerizing sermons to millions of people. When he proclaimed his vision and version of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Leyva's devoted followers readily gave their hard-earned dollars to one who, they thought, was clearly doing the Lord's work. But at the same time, Brother Tony used Christianity and his status as a respected Pentecostal evangelist and prophet of God to systematically and insidiously put an end to the childhood innocence of young adolescent boys in twenty-three states. This is the hard-hitting true crime story of how Leyva and his preacher cohorts seduced, sodomized, and pimped the young sons of hundreds of unsuspecting parents who came to hear them preach. How did it happen? How could this serial pederast get away with his crimes for so long without parents' knowing? And how could these crimes against nearly a thousand boys go undetected by law enforcement for over two decades? Based on his meticulous interviews with victims, their parents, and others, Mike Echols answers these and many other questions.

Author Biography

Mike Echols is the author of I Know My Name Is Steven, the true story of the nation's longest stranger abduction of a child who was eventually returned safely. The book was the basis for the five-time Emmy-nominated miniseries of the same title.