Swaggart, a Louisiana native and captivating Pentecostal preacher, encapsulated his downfall in a tearful 1988 sermon, in which he wept and apologised but made no reference to his connection to a prostitute — an encounter which had been caught on camera.
"I have sinned against you," Swaggart told parishioners nationwide.
"I beg you to forgive me."
Many did: Swaggart continued preaching for decades, but with a reduced audience. Swaggart said he first heard the call of God at age 8; he preached and worked part-time in oilfields until he was 23 before moving entirely into a personal ministry.
He moved from meetings and halls to a hosting a radio show, publishing a magazine and then appearing on television. His outspoken views made him a lightning rod for attention, and proved lucrative: in 1986 alone Jimmy Swaggart Ministries was estimated to have made $US142 million.
The 1988 scandal, in which Debra Murphree said the preacher had paid her to pose nude, arose after a rival preacher whom Swaggart had accused of sexual misdeeds hired a photographer to trail Swaggart. The preacher was caught out again in 1991 when police in California detained Swaggart with another prostitute.
After that Swaggart largely confined himself to preaching in person at his church, and to a wider audience via radio or the internet. Jimmy Swaggart died on July 1 aged 90. — Allied Media/agencies
