A woman who told The Examiner about sexual harassment and intimidation at her Landover church was fired from her job there Wednesday after her story was picked up by the Fox tabloid news show A Current Affair.

Citing the story broken by The Examiner, "A Current Affair" previewed a show about Wyatt's harassment complaint against her pastor March 25. Three days later, officials at First Baptist Church of Highland Park, in the 6800 block of Sheriff Road, contacted her attorney to set up the meeting, where she was fired.

"It's all been about retaliation," Wyatt told The Examiner. "I got a letter that told me if I didn't attend this meeting I would be fired."

Wyatt had been on administrative leave since late January, when she filed her complaint against the Rev. Henry P. Davis III. She claims he made inappropriate comments about her beauty in front of the congregation, and had improper physical contact with her during a one year period.

As Wyatt arrived at the church Wednesday morning, a cell phone call from a church employee informed her she would be fired. During the meeting, Wyatt said one church elder and three attorneys questioned her about her high school record and whether she had any felony convictions. When she refused to answer, they told her attorney via conference call that Wyatt was not participating in their investigation.

Then they fired her.

"For the record, she doesn't have any felony convictions," said her attorney, Diane Seltzer, of the District. "It's so retaliatory, and it's so transparent that it's hard to believe it happened in 2005."

Phone calls to church spokeswoman Wendy A. Cartwright and to Davis were not returned Thursday.

Davis has retaliated against Wyatt and anyone who supports her ever since she brought her concerns to his attention, Wyatt said.

He fired her husband from his job providing church security and suspended Wyatt with pay from her job putting together the church newsletter.

After local Fox affiliate WTTG picked up the story Feb. 3, church officials defrocked ordained minister NoVail Scott, who Wyatt said spoke out about the harassment allegations during a church membership meeting.

Since then, she has moved on to another church, but the pain of separation from her friends and congregation has been almost too much, Wyatt said. "I'm just trying to keep myself from crying too much, because after a while you just make yourself sick.

Copyright 2005 The Washington Newspaper Company