The Buffalo Diocese, temporarily headed by Albany Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, filed for bankruptcy Friday morning as it grapples with hundreds of lawsuits alleging decades of child sexual abuse and cover-ups.
It is the second New York diocese to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy – which allows for reorganization of assets instead of liquidation. The Diocese of Rochester filed for bankruptcy in September. The decision was largely anticipated as the Buffalo diocese, facing more than 250 lawsuits over the past six months alleging sexual abuse, has emerged as the most-named defendant in all Child Victims Act cases.
The state’s Child Victims Act in August opened a one-year window temporarily eliminating the statute of limitations for civil cases involving sex crimes. Since then, more than 1,600 cases have been filed statewide, many of them resurfacing decades-old allegations.
In a filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of New York – first reported by The Buffalo News – the Buffalo Diocese identified $10 million to $50 million in assets and $50 million to $100 million in liabilities. In court filings, Scharfenberger asserted that the filing was necessary “in order to respond to claims stemming from the Child Victims Act in an equitable and comprehensive manner, and to reorganize the financial affairs of the Diocese in order to permit it to continue to fulfill its ministries to the Catholic faithful of the Diocese.”
“We have no more urgent work than to bring about justice and healing for those harmed by the scourge of sexual abuse,” Scharfenberger said in a Friday statement.
The decision puts all lawsuits against the diocese on pause as leaders determine how best to address the allegations and compensate accusers. It does not affect the daily operations of local parishes.
Scharfenberger, who is temporarily leading the Buffalo Diocese after the resignation of its former Bishop Richard Malone in December, will address the media in Buffalo at a 1 p.m. news conference. He had been weighing the decision for months, repeatedly telling reporters that a decision would come “soon.”
“Whatever we do has to be done in a way that puts victims first,” Scharfenberger told Albany reporters in December, acknowledging that bankruptcy could freeze litigation but may also offer more equal payouts to survivors who have filed claims. “We want to look at all of those things, and then that might be the best way to go.”
He said at the time that the Albany Diocese is not considering a bankruptcy filing, and likely would not for “the next year or so.” The Albany Diocese has also faced its share of Child Victims Act cases, though far fewer, at about 65. The Albany Diocese serves about half the number of Catholics as the Buffalo Diocese.
“The decision in Buffalo does not affect the Diocese of Albany in any way,” Albany Diocese spokeswoman Mary DeTurris-Poust said in an email. “Until we know the full financial scope of the CVA as it relates to the Diocese of Albany, we cannot and will not make any decisions. We have nothing to announce, other than that we continue to respond in justice to survivors of abuse and urge anyone who has suffered such abuse to come forward.”
Survivors and attorneys, reacting to Friday’s filing, criticized the decision as a roundabout way of denying victims their day in court. They noted that bankruptcy allows the diocese to avoid releasing certain information and files about priests and clergy accused of abusing children – documents that would typically be unearthed during the discovery process.
Manhattan-based attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents dozens of survivors suing the Buffalo Diocese, said the diocese “is using bankruptcy to continue to conceal the truth about predator priests.”
State Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan, a sponsor of the Child Victims Act, said the filing could help reveal “how deep the pockets are of the institution” – but at the expense of preventing survivors from speaking out in front of a judge in a public courtroom.
“It’s despicable that an institution that was responsible for the abuse of thousands of young people across the state of New York would try to hide behind the bankruptcy laws to prevent these individuals from receiving the entirety of the claim due to them,” he said.
The Pedophile Priests of St Thomas More parish in Durham NH are Fathers Joseph Desmond, Paul McHugh and Leon Gaulin. St Thomas More Parish 6 Madbury Road Durham New Hampshire 03824-0620 1-603-868-2666
It took many years for Yohanes — not his real name — to pluck up enough courage to reveal he had been sexually abused.
He says he was first attacked in 2008 while serving as a 12-year-old altar boy at St. Herkulanus Parish Church in Depok in Indonesia’s West Java province.
It happened after his fellow altar boys had returned home from spending time with their spiritual mentor, Syharil Marbun, who then allegedly took him to a secluded place and assaulted him.
He says he was too scared to report it because the perpetrator was an acolyte trainer and highly respected in the parish. “I didn’t even tell my parents,” he told UCA News.
The fact that his parents were also close to the alleged perpetrator also made it hard for him to reveal what happened,” according to Yohanes, who is now 24 years old and works in Jakarta.
He says he felt if he kept his distance from Marbun nothing would happen again, but he claims it did five years later in 2013 when he was 17.
He claims Marbun attacked him again after luring him to his house after an event they had attended with his parents.
“At the time, I thought he would not bother me as I was older and a long time had passed without incident, but it happened again,” he says. “I felt broken, depressed and dirty. My relationship with God was also broken.”
Feeling ashamed, he continued to build walls between himself and his parents and friends. However, things started to change on May 30 when he received an unexpected call from a friend inviting him to attend a parish meeting.
At the meeting, attended by other former altar boys, he was asked directly whether he had been sexually abused by Marbun. He was shocked to learn that many of the others at the meeting were also victims.
The fact that others were prepared to speak about their experiences encouraged him to do the same.
He says he felt guilty about not speaking out earlier about what had happened, which could have prevented further crimes.
“I didn’t believe there would be other victims,” he says, adding the revelation made him determined to help the parish team and lawyers investigate all the claims further.
“I felt a change in me after dismissing my fears. Now I feel free,” he says.
On June 6, during a meeting in which the victims’ parents, the parish priest and lawyers confronted Marbun, Yohanes’ testimony was pivotal.
Marbun, who initially denied the allegations, saying his acts of affection were misunderstood, finally confessed after Yohanes explained his experiences in detail.
“He could not deny it anymore,” Yohanes said. Marbun allegedly wrote down 13 names of other children he had abused. It is believed Marbun may have abused and raped at least 21 boys.
Yohanes is now actively involved in tracking down other victims. “I feel some are thinking like I did and are reluctant to speak. Many victims have turned to drugs to blot out the trauma,” he says.
Positive sign
The case is the first case of sexual abuse in the Indonesian Church to be prosecuted by state authorities. Previous crimes were kept quiet or settled privately to avoid bringing shame on the Church as well as the victims, observers say.
Father Yosep Sirilus Natet, the parish priest of St. Herkulanus Church, which comes under Bogor Diocese, said the parish fully backs the alleged victims and the police in investigating the case.
Azas Tigor Nainggolan, a lawyer representing the victims, told UCA News that this case could open the lid on other such cases.
Since this case came to light, he has received word of other alleged abuses committed by church workers and religious people. He did not say whether any accusations were being made against clerics.
“They need to be investigated further,” said Nainggolan, who is also working with the bishops’ Commission for Justice, Peace, and Migrant-Itinerant People.
He said sexual abuse has long been a problem but no one dared speak up. Many Catholics have even criticized efforts to pursue such cases through the courts.
Nainggolan said many church people consider such cases as disgracing the Church, so should not be made public.
“But I feel the perpetrators, whoever they are, are criminals who must be prosecuted,” he said.
Inspired by Pope Francis
Yohanes hopes the case against Marbun will be the starting point for renewal in the Indonesian Church. “I’m pursuing this because I want to see drastic change on this issue within the Catholic Church,” he said.
He admitted feeling strengthened after reading about Pope Francis’ commitment to ending sexual abuse in the Church, including abolishing the rule of “pontifical secrecy” that allowed it to be covered up.
“I feel what we are doing is carrying out the Holy Father’s will,” he said.
“It also means that there is no more reason for the Church to cover such things up. It’s time for victims to speak out.
”Yohanes also called on the Church and parents to listen to children more closely.
“When I first told my parents about the abuse, their response amazed me. My parents cried and pledged full support in seeking legal action,” he said.
His parents, he said, had forgiven his abuser, which he said he might do in time. “But for now, I want him to face justice so that there are no more victims.”
The Pedophile Priests of St Thomas More parish in Durham NH are Fathers Joseph Desmond, Paul McHugh and Leon Gaulin. St Thomas More Parish 6 Madbury Road Durham New Hampshire 03824-0620 1-603-868-2666
Time to start hunting down all Christian pedophiles and fucking execute them. Time to stop treating these vile, evil scumbags with kid gloves and just fucking kill them all.
The Pedophile Priests of St Thomas More parish in Durham NH are Fathers Joseph Desmond, Paul McHugh and Leon Gaulin. St Thomas More Parish 6 Madbury Road Durham New Hampshire 03824-0620 1-603-868-2666
Hundreds of thousands of Christian priests, pastors, ministers, lay people, school teachers, politicians, movie and music stars, etc have been busted for raping kids. Most of these scumbags are lucky if they do one fucking day in jail.
I have shared reports where these fucking shitstains on the underwear of humanity have gotten as little as six fucking months for raping a child. Some of these fucking scumbags have raped dozens, and even hundreds of children.
They have raped deaf/mute children, down’s syndrome children, infants as young as six months. And? No one is able to stop these fuckers.
They are protected by their leaders and pew polishers of their cult churches of pedophilia. The parents offer up their children on the altar of rape by these Christian scumbags and then slam their child when they get raped.
It is time, far past time, to stop this shit. The only way to do so is to start getting fucking serious and start fucking executing all of these Christian pedophiles. Execute them in fucking gruesome, brutal ways and maybe they will get the hint and stop raping kids?
One of my favorite ideas for putting these fuckers to death is the good old Rat Torture. We strip these fuckers and bind them to a table. We put a fucking rat on their crotch, a cage over the rat and a bowl of coals on top of the cage, just like the Roman Catholic and Protestant torturers used to do to others during their Inquisitions. And we let the rat eat their junk.
Should these scumbags survive this? Then the next step would be to put these mother fucking child rapist pigs in the Judas Chair. How appropriate for these Judases. And all their Pedophile Pimp Leaders, no matter what the denomination? All deserve the Judas Chair Treatment.
It is time to hunt down each and every one of these Christian pedophiles, drag them out of their fucking places they are hiding at, and fucking execute them in public. No more kid gloves with these fuckers.
Since 1950 alone? To the present? Over one hundred thousand Christian priests and pastors have been busted for pedophile crimes. Some of these diseased scum have victim counts in the hundreds. Some have raped infants as young as six months.
Even with this being fully exposed? These disgusting Christians? Just will NOT STOP raping kids. And? If they do get caught? They might get lucky to face charges if they do not hide behind the statutes of limitations. But? Typically? If they do get any prison time? It is barely a slap on the wrist.
And these? Are just the Christian priests and pastors being busted for pedophile crimes. This does not include all the Christian school teachers, gym coaches, politicians, police officers, etc who also been busted for raping children. Even Christian parents have been busted for raping their own children.
This is so rampant in the Christian religion, and despite all the warnings, all the exposure, all the crap that has been reported about this?
Each and every day? We have new reports, not historical ones of 20 years or more ago, of these degenerate, disgusting pedo priests and pastors are being busted and exposed each day. We cannot go one week without reporting on at least a dozen new cases of these perverted Christians raping kids.
Time to put to death Christian pedophiles
If you go around as a group and rape kids and then? Get practically no punishment? Then there is absolutely no incentive to stop your actions of your group. If your group has been exposed for protecting child rapists and scumbag child porn producers? And attacking the victims? Then we know? YOU do not care, as a group, the harm that your scumbag pedophiles are doing to children and it will always be business as usual.
So? We truly have to incentivize these scumbag shitstains on the underwear of humanity Christians.
If they can demand brutal death penalty punishments for lgbts, or we atheists? Then we? Should be able to demand a brutal, death penalty punishment for all their disgusting pedophiles and pedophile pimps.
So? I am taking the twisted troglodyte Matthew McLaughlin’s Sodomite Suppression Act ballot initiative he filed in California where he wanted Christians to have the right to walk up to anyone they deemed as lgbt and pull out a gun and blow their heads off or kill them by any means convienent to save us all from the wrath of their sky daddy.
The Christian Pedophile Suppression Act
Children are our most precious of all humans. They are innocent. They cannot protect themselves from adults and the harm adults do to them. This is why Children must be especially protected against harm caused to them by adults. Especially? Those Christian adults.
Far too many Christian priests and pastors and others? Have proven? They cannot be trusted around our children. Far too many of these Christian priests and pastors have raped children, some with victim counts in the hundreds. This has gone on far too long.
Far too many leaders of these Christian denominations have been proven that they will protect their pedophiles, to protect the reputation of their churches, over the protection of the children their pedophiles rape and torture.
Far too many Christians in the pulpits? Seem to willingly sacrifice their children on the altar of pedophile rape in these churches. They also love to stand up and defend their cults of pedophiles, just like we have constantly seen in the Roman Catholic Church. They defend and protect their Pedophile Pimp leaders and sing praises of how these are actually? Holy men of god and we have no right to call them out, demand they be defrocked, be ex-communicated, be arrested and prosecuted for their crimes of being scum who protected their pedophiles.
Far too many Christians? Do not give a damn about the victims and survivors of their pedophile priests and pastors. They do not care that thousands of victims have committed suicide, due to what happened to them and their coming under viscious, vile attacks by Christians when they do speak out about what happened to them. I know. I have faced this many times. I have had Roman Catholics tell me? I deserve to be raped again, or that I deserve to be beaten to death for “lying” about their church. I have had Bob Jones University pedophile defenders vilely attack me for defending and helping their pedo victims. I have had Southern Baptist punks threatening me, for exposing their Southern Baptist pedophile pukes.
Far too many victims and survivors? Go through this on a daily basis by Christians attacking them? For their having the courage and guts to speak about the horrors and evil perpetrated upon them by the Christian priest or pastor who raped them and their pew polishing congregants standing up and defending their pedophile scum over the victim of that pedophile scum.
Time for a Christian Pedophile Suppression Act
Children should in fact? Be protected above all others. Children cannot fight back against an adult raping them. Especially a Christian pedophile cause they are now at two levels, they had to fight off their pedophile and the sick and twisted theolgical shit that Christian pedophile uses to control their victims.
NO Christian should receive a slap on the wrist for raping a child. No Christian should receive a slap on the wrist or no punishment for their protecting their pedophiles.
ALL CHRISTIAN PEDOPHILES EXPOSED? ALL CHRISTIAN PEDOPHILE PIMPS EXPOSED? DESERVE A DEATH PENALTY PUNISHMENT. OF THE WORST POSSIBLE KIND
IF A CHRISTIAN PRIEST OR PASTOR IS EXPOSED AS BEING A DISGUSTING PEDOPHILE? IF A CHRISTIAN LEADER IS EXPOSED FOR BEING A PEDOPHILE PIMP? THEY SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER, USING THE CHRISTIAN TORTURE TOOLS OF THEIR INQUISITIONAL PERIOD.
First up? The Rat Torture
We strip these motherfuckers. We bind them to a table. We place a starving rat on their junk, we place a cage over the rat and a bowl of hot coals on top of the cage. Then? We let the rat eat their junk. The very instrument they raped a child with? Should be torn off of them.
Next up? The Judas Chair
What could be more appropriate? The Judas Chair. Covered in spikes designed to penetrate the skin, but close over the wound so the pedophile does not bleed out while they are in the chair. We leave them in it for a while to think of how much a bunch of Judas’s they were to the innocent children they raped and brutalized. Then? We do how Christians used to do it, place a large bucket of coal under the seat. As it heats up? The Christian pedophile attempts to escape it, ripping off huge chunks of their vile flesh as they do. I mean if this was good enough for Christians to do to those they tortured during their Inquisitions? It is good enough to use on their Christian pedophiles.
Drawing and Quartering
We then? Draw and quarter these Christian pedophile scumbags and their Christian pedophile pimp scumbags. We then? Put their damn heads on pikes before their churches with the following warnings.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO ANY CHRISTIAN PRIEST, PASTOR WHO RAPES A CHILD OR ANY LEADER WHO PROTECTS ONE OF THEIR PEDOPHILES.
These Christian pedophiles and their Christian pedophile pimps? Gave no mercy to their victims. They even denied a whole lot of them? Justice. And far too many of them? Have gotten away with their Crimes Against Humanity and their Crimes Against the Children of the World.
And again? Far too many of their victims? Have committed suicide and? These scumbags should be charged with First Degree Murder for their victims who committed suicide.
These Christian pedophiles and their Pedophile Pimps? All deserve to be put to brutal deaths. They have harmed far too many children in the last 70 years alone. MILLIONS of children. And? They truly refuse to stop. Or do any true and contructive ways of making it stop. They also continue to fight against any changes to statutes of limitations that allow victims and survivors to receive justice. They hide their Pedophile Pimp leaders behind sovereign immunity laws to get away with their crimes.
TIME FOR ALL THIS TO TRULY STOP.
Children deserve to be protected AT ALL COSTS. A Christian priest or pastor? Should NEVER be allowed to get away with their crimes against children and suffer the ultimate penalty if they do.
There should ne NO statutes of limitations against child rape or child abuse. There should be NO sovereign immunity laws for these pedophile pimp leaders to hide behind. This is pure evil and wrong.
So? It is far past time? To demand brutal, death penalty punishments for Christian pedophiles and their pedophile pimps. Maybe if we do so? If we put a few thousand of their disgusting, degenerate pedophiles and pedophile pimps to brutal deaths? Then? They will get the hint to stop raping our children. Cause they sure seemed to have not learned any other way.
Well? We know how much Christians from Project Veritas and their churches they attend? Are always fighting over which children they are going to spend their day gang raping.
This is a long report of 13 pages. I am going to take some sections of it to post, but if you wish to read the whole report? Please download it.
Abstract: Utilizing data from 326 cases of alleged child sexual abuse that occurred at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian congregations, this study examines demographic and contextual characteristics of alleged child sexual abuse that took place within the most prevalent religious environment in the United States. Research questions are addressed in this study. First, what type of child sexual abuse most commonly occurs at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian congregations? Second, where do such offenses physically take place? Third, who are the offenders and what role(s) do they assume in the congregations? We find that the overwhelming majority of offenses were contact offenses that occurred on church premises or at the offender’s home, and that most offenders were white male pastors or youth ministers who were approximately 40 years in age. We conclude with policy implications and recommendations for future research.
Specifically, three faith-based insurance companies that provide coverage for 165,500 churches—mostly Protestant Christian churches and 5500 other religious-oriented organizations—reported 7095 claims of alleged sexual abuse by clergy, church staff, congregation members, or volunteers between 1987 and 2007 (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2007). This is an average of 260 claims of alleged sexual abuse per year, which resulted in $87.8 million in total claims being paid (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2007). Although information on the extent and context of abuse is preliminary and limited, these previous statistics suggest to us the need for systematic research on child sexual abuse within US Protestant congregations. This study will provide a more comprehensive understanding of alleged child sexual abuse that occurs with Protestant Christian congregations, while also serving as a strong foundation for future research on this understudied topic.
The overwhelming majority of studies that have been published on this topic have focused on either individual cases of abuse, how to stop abuse from occurring, how to recover from such instances of sexual abuse, or some combination of those (see Capps 1993; Flynn 2003; Horst 2000;Muse 1992; Poling 1999).
Even though the above issues are crucial for study, there is even less information about what offenses occur at a national level, where they physically take place, and who offends. This information is especially crucial when considering Capps’ (1993) three key reasons why religious leaders have the strong potential to engage in sexual abuse. These reasons are the (1) power of access throughout the church and victim accessibility; (2) power from not being under the surveillance of others; and (3) power over congregants by being privy to personal knowledge (e.g., marital issues and addictions).
Garland and Argueta (2010) later identified factors that may be related to sexual abuse committed by religious leaders. These factors are (1) family members, friends, and victims ignored warning signs; (2) the niceness culture (i.e., discounting sexual flirting for being friendly); (3) ease of private communication; (4) no oversight; (5) multiple roles (e.g., pastor, marital counselor, etc.); and (6) inherent trust in the sanctuary.
With the lack of specific research on sexual abuse within these environments, it is pertinent to briefly examine the sexual misconduct literature within these environments for contextual purposes.
1.1.1. Clergy Offender Characteristics
One universal trait that has been found in prior studies pertaining to both sexual misconduct and abuse is that the overwhelming majority of known offenders are male (Francis and Baldo 1998; Friberg and Laaser 1998; Garland and Argueta 2010; Thoburn and Whitman 2004). This characteristic should not come as a surprise since most Christian denominations (88%) only allow males to assume leadership positions within the church (Cooperative Congregations Studies Partnership 2010).
A second key characteristic found regarding clergy that do engage in sexual abuse is that only a small percentage are believed to have some form of paraphilia, which is an extreme fixation on a certain individual, object, or situation that results in intense sexual arousal (American Psychiatric Association 2013). Specifically, 2% are believed to be potentially diagnosable as a pedophile (i.e., sexual focus on prepubescent children), while 4% could be diagnosable as an ephebophile (i.e., sexual fixation on those between the ages of 15 and 19 years of age) (Sipe 1990, 1995).
Other psychological issues that have been attributed to priests that have been known to engage in child sexual abuse include addiction, depression, and even cognitive dysfunction (Blanchard 1991; Plante and Aldridge 2005).
A third key characteristic found regarding clergy who have reported to have engaged in sexual misconduct have had higher-than-normal levels of narcissism when using Raskin and Hall’s (1979) Narcissistic Personality Inventory (see Brock and Lukens 1989; Francis and Baldo 1998; Hands 1992; Muse 1992; Muse and Chase 1993; Seat et al. 1993). Narcissism is seen as a key trait that can amplify instances of sexual abuse for individuals in positions of power.
1.1.3. Offense Locations
For instances of sexual misconduct and abuse that occurred within Protestant Christian churches, Chaves and Garland (2009) found that most (92%) sexual misconduct occurred in a private setting. Garland and Argueta (2010) found that most sexual misconduct/abuse occurred inside the offender’s church office while conducting a counselling session. Since Protestant Christian clergy generally live off the church campus, this may restrict their attempts to commit sexual abuse due to less absolute privacy (Bohm et al. 2014; Fegert et al. 2011).
Despite research that has examined sexual misconduct and abuse within religious settings, there still exists a need for research pertaining to offenses that occur at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian churches. Such information is crucial with an estimated 314,000 churches in the US, with a substantial portion of that population being occupied by the ages with the highest known sexual victimization rates (Grammich et al. 2012; Pew Research Center 2007). Any environment that may be conducive for instances of sexual abuse is essential to study because of long-lasting side effects, such as depression, increased substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts/attempts/completions (see Beitchman et al. 1992; Dube et al. 2005; Najdowski and Ullman 2009; Rossow and Lauritzen 2001; Simpson and Miller 2002). As such, the expansion of research into specific and contextual information regarding child sexual abuse that occur at or through activities provided by Protestant Christian churches is imperative.
1.2. Clergy Sexual Misconduct
Sexual misconduct refers to clergy that have engaged in legal, sexual relations, adultery, or some other related sexual action with a congregant that is deemed unethical or improper within these environments. Several studies have attempted to understand the prevalence of clergy sexual misconduct among Protestant Christian clergy (see Cooper 2002; Francis and Stacks 2003; Meek et al. 2004; Seat et al. 1993; Thoburn and Whitman 2004). Studies 1% to as many as 38.5% of all clergy, across a wide range of Christian denominations, have engaged in sexual misconduct of some form (Francis and Stacks 2003; Meek et al. 2004; Seat et al. 1993; Thoburn and Whitman 2004).
The Present Study
There are three foci for the present study. First, we examine the types of child sexual abuse alleged to occur within Protestant Christian congregations. Second, we provide information on where these offenses are alleged to occur. Third, we examine who commits alleged offenses within these environments and which role(s) they assume within their congregations. It is important to understand these core contextual characteristics, to provide a framework for additional research on this topic, and to provide law enforcement officers and faith leaders with information that could be useful in preventing and controlling child sexual abuse in faith environments.
Results
4.1. Offense Type
Across all 326 cases that resulted in an arrest, a total of 454 individual offenses were alleged to have occurred. Since the 326 cases occurred in 41 total states, numerous local and state jurisdictions were crossed. As such, the name for a particular offense in one jurisdiction may be entirely different in the legal definition, severity, and overall scope than an offense with the same/similar name in another jurisdiction. As such, sexual offenses were organized into the two categories of (1) contact offenses and (2) non-contact offenses.
A similar categorization strategy has been employed in prior studies examining sexual offenses (see Babchishin et al. 2015; MacPherson 2010). Contact offenses are criminal actions that involved the offender making some form of direct physical contact with the victim’s body, whereas non-contact offenses are still sexual in nature, yet do not involve the offender making direct physical contact with the victim.
A third category of property offenses was also developed to include the property offenses (e.g., possession of criminal tools, and burglary) that were alleged to have occurred during the commission of the alleged sexual abuse.
4.1.1. Contact Offenses
Contact offenses refer to alleged offenses that involved some direct physical sexual contact between the offender and the victim(s) (Mair and Stevens 1994). Notable examples of contact offenses include, but are not limited to, sexual assault, rape, and groping. In total, contact offenses represented fully 80% (n = 363) of the 454 total offenses. Therefore, the overwhelming majority of all offenses included direct physical sexual contact between the offender and the victim(s). The total number of victims per case ranged from one to as many as 20 individuals. However, the vast majority of cases involved only one known victim at 61.7%. We must note here that cases involving child pornography were not included in this part of the analysis. Therefore, the number of cases is 321.
4.1.2. Non-Contact Offenses
Non-contact sex offenses refer to those where the offender did not have physical sexual contact with any victim(s) (Mair and Stevens 1994). Some examples of non-contact sex offenses include stalking, sexual harassment, and possession of child pornography. Across all 326 cases, non-contact offenses represented 18.9% (n = 89) of the 454 separate offenses. Although this is a sizeable minority, it is important to consider that 79.1% (n = 258) of cases involved the offender being charged with both contact and non-contact sex offenses when arrested, and only 7.4% (n = 24) were charged with solely a non-contact sexual offense.
4.1.3. Property Offenses
Some individuals within the present study were also charged with a property offense at the point of arrest in conjunction with a sex offense (i.e., contact and/or non-contact). In total, a mere 1.1% (n = 5) of all offenses at the point of arrest were for a property crime (e.g., burglary and theft of a victim’s clothing).
4.2. Offense Locations
A total of 41 states were represented in the present study. The top five states that had the most reported instances of alleged sexual abuse were as follows: Florida (9.6%; n = 32), Texas (8.4%; n = 28), California (7.5%; n = 25), Illinois (5.1%; n = 17), and Tennessee and Alabama, respectively, at 4.2% (n = 14). Across the 326 cases, the specific offense location was available in 70.9% (n = 231) of the cases. Fully 29.1% (n = 95) cases did not have a specific location reported. Findings were divided into two primary subsections, being (1) general offense locations and (2) specific offense locations.
4.2.1. General Offense Locations
General offense location was divided into three distinct categories. These three categories were if the offense(s) occurred either exclusively (1) on church grounds; (2) off church grounds; or (3) both on and off church grounds. Among cases with a reported location (n = 231), 45.5% (n = 105) occurred exclusively off-site. Specifically, most cases with a reported offense location occurred within the offender’s home, victim’s home, or some other off-site location (e.g., hotel/motel room). In contrast, fully 35.5% (n = 82) of cases with a known location occurred exclusively on church grounds. Examples of such locations on church grounds included church offices, the parking lot, and the sanctuary. A sizeable minority of all offenses with a reported offense location took place both on and off the church grounds at 19.0% (n = 44).
4.2.2. Specific Offense Locations
Across all 326 cases, there were a total of 311 reported offense locations. Five unique offense locations were reported across the 311 offense locations. Table 1 presents the findings for the specific offense locations, percentages, and the total numbers.
Table 1. Offense locations. Location Percentage at the church 38.9% (n = 121) offender’s home 31.2% (n = 97) off-site 12.9% (n = 40) off-site church-sponsored activity 10.6% (n = 33) victim’s home 6.4% (n = 20) n = 311.
The most frequent specific offense location reported was that it occurred someplace at the church (e.g., office, basement, bathroom, etc.). Altogether, 38.9% (n = 121) of all offenses allegedly took place on the church premises, with 15.4% (n = 48) occurring within the personal office of the alleged offender.
The second most frequent specific offense location was at the offender’s home (31.2%; n = 97), thus suggesting some degree of planning and/or grooming by the offender to isolate the victim inside a relatively controlled environment. The third most frequent offense location was at a sponsored off-site church-sponsored activity (e.g., mission trips, camping trips, etc.), accounting for 10.6% (n = 33) of all cases with a known location. The fourth most frequent offense location was at an off-site (e.g., offender’s car) location at 12.9% (n = 40). The fifth and final specific offense location was alleged to have occurred within the victim’s home at 6.4% (n = 20).
4.3. Offender Characteristics
To meet the third goal of this study, the offender characteristics are presented. Altogether, 332 offenders across the 326 identified cases were identified. The remainder of this section is divided into the four subsections of (1) offender sex; (2) offender race/ethnicity; (3) offender age; and (4) offender role.
4.3.1. Offender Gender
The overwhelming majority of identified offenders were male. Specifically, male offenders were represented by 98.8% (n = 328) with female offenders at only 1.2% (n = 4) of the offender sample.
4.3.2. Offender Race/Ethnicity
There were five total races/ethnicities represented among the offender sample being White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American. A total of 18.3% (n = 61) of the race/ethnicity of the offender was missing. The overwhelming majority of offenders were identified as White (73.1%; n = 198) with Black representing 18.8% (n = 51) of all offenders. The remaining three races/ethnicities of Hispanic, Asian, and Native American accounted for less-than 10% of all offenders.
4.3.3. Offender Age
In total, 56 distinct offender ages were represented in the sample. Specifically, offender ages at the time of the alleged sexual abuse ranged from 18 to 88 years of age. Altogether, only 2.7% (n = 7) of all offender ages were missing, yielding 325 total cases. The mean age was 40.4 years of age with a standard deviation of 13.7 years. For male offenders (n = 315; 7 missing), the mean age was 40.5 with a standard deviation of 13.7 years. For female offenders (n = 4), the mean age was considerably younger at 23.5 with a standard deviation of 12.8 years. One’s age is oftentimes associated with one’s role within a church, with many positions relying upon a seniority system. Thus, the offender’s role held within the church is an important characteristic for understanding who occupies the role and how such a role can potentially influence one’s opportunities for victim access.
4.3.4. Offender Role
The specific role that the offender held within the church was available in 92.2% (n = 306) of the cases with 7.8% (n = 26) having no reported role. Across all cases, 12 distinct offender roles were represented within the sample. The overwhelming majority (80.1%) of offenders were employed in an official capacity within their respective churches with a substantial minority (19.9%) being volunteers.
Table 2 presents the findings for both male and female offender roles. Table 2. Offender Role within the Church. Offender Role Percentage Male Offender Roles Pastor 34.9% (n = 110) Youth Minister 31.4% (n = 99) Youth Volunteer 8.3% (n = 26) Associate Pastor 5.4% (n = 17) Music Minister 4.8% (n = 15) Volunteer 3.2% (n = 10) Sunday School Teacher 2.9% (n = 9) Deacon 2.2% (n = 7) Church Member 2.2% (n = 7) Church CampWorker 0.6% (n = 2) n = 315 Female Offender Roles Youth Volunteer 50% (n = 2) Youth Minister 25% (n = 1) Pastor’s Wife 25% (n = 1) n = 4
Male Offender Roles
Of the 328 male offenders in the present sample, 94.7% (n = 305) of their roles were known with 4.0% (n = 13) missing. The most frequent male offender role was a Pastor at 34.9% (n = 110) of the sample, followed by Youth Ministers at 31.4% (n = 99). The third most frequent offender role of Youth Volunteers was a sharp contrast in frequency compared to the first two roles consisting of 8.3% (n = 26) of the sample. Youth Volunteers can range from someone that is an unpaid church member to a young adult who assists with the youth ministry. Combined, those who occupy roles that require the direct supervision and/or interaction with youth (generally under 18 years of age), comprised 38.8% of the total offender sample. The fourth most frequent offender role was that of Associate Pastor, followed by Music Ministers. Specifically, Associate Pastors represented 5.4% (n = 17) of the sample, whereas Music Ministers held 4.8% (n = 15) of the total sample. Even though all but one of the male offender roles at this point have been employees of the church, the remainder of offenders held some volunteer role. Volunteers, the sixth most represented male offender role, made up 3.2% (n = 10) of the total sample. Volunteers is a general category that includes a wide-range of individuals serving in various capacities, such as a sports coach or bus driver. Yet another form of volunteer that was also represented were Sunday School Teachers at 2.9% (n = 9). Typically, Sunday School Teachers are tasked with preparing and instructing individuals with religious materials on a weekly or more basis. The eighth most represented offender role, Deacons (2.2%), are also individuals that provide a wide-range of services to the church, such as collecting tithes and visiting church members in the hospital. The ninth most represented male offender role was a general Church Member at 2.2% (n = 7) of the offenders. Somewhat unique when compared to the other offender roles present, Church Members do not occupy a specific role within the church, nor do they hold an official title. The final two male offender roles were Church Camp Workers (0.6%; n = 2) and Choir Volunteers (0.6%; n = 2). Church Camp Workers are individuals that worked for a short-term summer camp or other camp operated by the respective church. Choir Volunteers are those that sing within the respective church’s choir. Although male offenders held 10 distinct roles, the female offenders occupied only three individual roles.
Female Offender Roles
Even though there were only four female offenders represented, these offenders also warrant discussion. The three female offender roles were a Youth Volunteer, Youth Minister, and the Pastor’s Wife. Youth Volunteers represented 50% (n = 2) of the female offender sample while Youth Minister and the Pastor’s Wife had one case (i.e., 25%), respectively.
Sexual abuse of minors was rife among superiors of the Legionaries of Christ Catholic religious order, with at least 60 boys abused by its founder Father Marcial Maciel, a report by the group showed.
The report is important because for decades until 2006, including during all of the pontificate of Pope John Paul, the Vatican dismissed accusations by seminarians that Maciel had abused them sexually, some when they were as young as 12.
The order said the report, which was released on Saturday and covers the period since Maciel founded it in his native Mexico in 1941 to this year, was “an additional attempt (by the Legionaries) to confront their history”.
Maciel, who died in 2008, was perhaps the Roman Catholic Church’s most notorious pedophile, even abusing children he had fathered secretly with at least two women while living a double life and being feted by the Vatican and Church conservatives.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, 92, who was secretary of state under John Paul, was for years one of the Legionaries’ biggest protectors in the Vatican.
Pope Francis accepted his resignation as dean of the college of cardinals on Saturday and simultaneously changed church law to limit the dean’s position to a five-year term, rather than for life.
The Vatican first acknowledged Maciel’s crimes in 2006, when former Pope Benedict ordered him to retire to a life of “prayer and penitence”. But Benedict resisted calls from some in the Church who said the order should be dissolved because it was toxic to the core.
The Vatican instead took over the order in 2010 and began a process of reform.
The new report says that between 1941 and 2019, 175 minors were victims of abuse by 33 priests in the order. At least 60, or about one-third, were abused by Maciel himself, it said.
Most victims were boys between 11 and 16, it said.
ABUSE OF POWER
While the report said the 33 amounted to only 2.44% of the 1,353 priests ordained by the order, it said that nearly 43% of those who committed the abuse were in positions of authority, making it difficult to report or punish the abuse.
“(Abuse) was linked to the abuse of power and conscience on the part of some who took advantage of their posts to abuse,” it said.
Of the 33, six have died, eight have left the priesthood, and one had left the order. Of the 18 who remain members, four have “ministerial restrictions” to keep them away from minors and 14 have no public priestly ministry, the report said.
Seventy-four seminarians studying for the priesthood also abused minors and 81% of them were not ordained.
Father Christian Borgogno, a former member of the order, said that the numbers of those abused were “clearly unlikely” to be accurate and believed that they were much higher.
“It is difficult to think that this is anything more than a whitewash of the (Legionaries’) image,” he said in a tweet. He said the reported lacked “independent sources”.
After Maciel’s death, Vatican investigations found that he had also fathered several children with at least two women, visited them regularly and sent them money. He also used drugs.
Former members have said the order was run like a cult, with rules forbidding any criticism of the founder or questioning of his motives.
They said Maciel gave huge contributions to the Vatican during the papacy of John Paul, who admired the Legionaries’ orthodoxy and ability to produce vocations.
The Pedophile Priests of St Thomas More parish in Durham NH are Fathers Joseph Desmond, Paul McHugh and Leon Gaulin. St Thomas More Parish 6 Madbury Road Durham New Hampshire 03824-0620 1-603-868-2666
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: A deeply religious man, beloved by his church/community, targets and grooms a young child for sexual abuse. The child tells an adult and they report it to the elders of the church. The church investigates the abuse and then sweeps it all under the rug. The deeply religious man is never reported to the police, the victim is blamed for seducing the man, and the man goes on to molest many other children, leaving a trail of scarred families in his wake.
Your first reaction, naturally, is to assume that I’m talking about a Catholic priest because we all know the Church has a long and sordid history of covering for sexual predators. But, as the title of the article probably clued you in, this is far from a problem with just the Catholic Church.
This burgeoning crisis of abuse has received far less attention than the well-documented scandal that rocked the Catholic Church. That’s in part because the evangelical and fundamentalist world, unlike the Catholic hierarchy, is diverse and fractious, composed of thousands of far-flung denominations, ministries, parachurch groups, and missions like ABWE. Among Christian evangelicals, there is no central church authority to investigate, punish, or reform. Groups like ABWE answer only to themselves.
The scale of potential abuse is huge. Evangelical Protestants far outnumber Catholics in the United States, with more than 280,000 churches, religious schools, and affiliated organizations. In 2007, the three leading insurance companies that provide coverage for the majority of Protestant institutions said they received an average of 260 reports per year of child sexual abuse at the hands of church leaders and members. By contrast, the Catholic Church was reporting 228 “credible accusations” per year.
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Why do the most pious always seem to be the most prone to this kind of problem? Two reasons come to mind. The first is that they tend to be incredibly authoritarian. Conservatives defer to those in power and conservative Christians even more so. Add to that mix the fundamentalist demand for blind obedience and you have all the ingredients for disaster:
Like Catholics, fundamentalists preach strict obedience to religious authority. Sex is not only prohibited outside of marriage, but rarely discussed. These overlapping dynamics of silence and submission make conservative Christians a ripe target for sexual predators. As one convicted child abuser tells clinical psychologist Anna Salter in her book Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders, “Church people are easy to fool.”
In other words, the religion itself does not breed sexual predators but some variations of it create the most fertile ground for them to flourish. Like any other predator, they gravitate to bountiful and safe hunting grounds. Despite my own hostility towards religion as a militant atheist, I feel it’s important to make this distinction because all too often, people equate the religion with the crime which is not really fair. On the other hand, it’s perfectly reasonable, responsible even, to point out that it’s the “conservative” part of “conservative Christianity” that lends itself most to creating those hunting ground which is why you don’t see this kind of abuse proliferating in more liberal institutions:
Over the past five years, in fact, it has become increasingly clear—even to some conservative Christians—that fundamentalist churches face a widespread epidemic of sexual abuse and institutional denial that could ultimately involve more victims than the pedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church. In 2012, an investigation at Bob Jones University, known as the “fortress of fundamentalism,” revealed that the school had systematically covered up allegations of sexual assault and counseled victims to forgive their attackers. Sovereign Grace, a network of “neo-Calvinist” churches, has been facing multiple allegations of child molestation and sexual abuse. In 2014, a New Republic investigation found that school officials at Patrick Henry College, a popular destination for Christian homeschoolers, had routinely responded to rape and harassment claims by treating perpetrators with impunity, discouraging women from going to the police, and blaming them for dressing immodestly.
Despite the sexual abuse of women and the sexual abuse of children coming from very different kinds of darkness, the way these religious organizations respond is almost identical and that is not a coincidence. The reputation of the institution or group or even one man is considered far more important than the harm being inflicted on the victims. Justice is not even a consideration, especially when it’s a woman that was “asking for it.” At that point, it’s not really a crime. If you think that’s repulsive, these pious men can even convince themselves that little girls were asking for it, too.
In Joyce’s article, she recounts how Russel Ebersole and Russell Lloyd, two of the higher ups in the Association of Baptists for World Evangelicalism (ABWE), investigated claims by a 13-year-old girl named Kim that she had been molested by a respected member of the community. It did not go well for Kim:
As Kim struggled to answer their questions, the Russes became convinced that she was telling them the truth about Ketcham touching her. What they couldn’t believe, given fundamentalist precepts about the nature of sex and women, was that she was an innocent party. “It was lust in its most base form, uncontrolled in the body of a spiritually immature woman,” Lloyd wrote of the 13-year-old in his diary. Ketcham, he wrote, had become Kim’s “secret lover.”
The Russes “strongly encouraged” Kim to sign a statement, styled as a confession, in which she apologized for her role in a “relationship” that “transgressed God’s word.” She didn’t understand much of it, but she signed it anyway. “I did exactly what I was told,” she says.
Think about how warped and sick your worldview needs to be that you can consider a 13-year-old to be an equal partner in a sexual relationship with a 58-year-old man. Now think about how broken it would have to be to cover up the abuse and allow the man to continue molesting children for the next two decades. Now you have some tiny understanding of how twisted the mind of a Christian fundamentalist can be.
The worst part about all of this is that it doesn’t have to be this way. If religious leaders would go after sexual predators with both barrels blazing (metaphorically), they would be applauded for protecting their flock. Even I would go to the mat defending a church that exposed a predator as quickly as possible and helped bring the full weight of the law to bear. It’s nigh-impossible to weed them out before they hurt someone (unless they have a prior history, of course) but that’s true everywhere, not just for religious institutions. It’s not the crime that defines your institution but how you respond to it. So far, conservative Christians desperate to protect their reputations have succeeded only in covering themselves in shame and putting the lie to their claims of virtue.
Kim’s story doesn’t have a happy ending. Yet. Following 22 years of self harm and deep psychological damage, the full story came out in an extensive investigation. After years of being lied to by their church, Kim’s parents didn’t understand why their daughter was so damaged. Even Kim still blamed herself for the actions of a monster as well as her parents for not helping her. Now that it’s all out in the open and Kim finally understands that she was a victim like so many other women, there’s a chance for her and her family to heal. If only all of the victims of conservative Christianity were so lucky…
In church after church around the world, reports have come to light about children being molested by someone in the place where they should feel safest. The Roman Catholic Church is reeling from staggering financial judgments in lawsuits filed by molestation victims. Most of these cases have come into the spotlight many years after the alleged sexual crimes occurred.
For decades, the Catholic Church quietly settled abuse cases out of court and shuffled pedophile priests to different parishes. Not until the early 1980s did the news media start digging into allegations that had surfaced in places such as New Orleans, Louisiana.1 In 1992, the Boston scandals began a nightmare of litigation for Roman Catholic diocese administrators in the United States. After more than a decade, the end of litigation is not yet in sight.
But the Roman Catholic Church is only the most visible defendant. Lawyers also have other church organizations in their sights. In some of the targeted churches, leaders have made the same mistakes that got the Roman Catholic bishops into so much trouble. Incidents were concealed. Law enforcement agencies were stonewalled. Safeguards were lacking. Misconduct was not subjected to church discipline.
Sexual misconduct toward children in the church is not new, but attitudes and perspectives about child molesters have changed and absolutely must change. Otherwise we will continue to cope with devastated lives, financial disaster, and member disillusionment. Church leaders had better take a long, hard look at this issue.
To begin with, let us look at some facts about these crimes:
1. The vast majority of child molesters are male. 2. Victims may be male or female. 3. Child molesters tend to work hard to win positions of trust. Authority, trust, and respect enable molesters to manipulate children, parents, and other leaders. 4. A child molester will create fear in the child, so that the child is afraid to tell anyone. 5. There are no “typical” child molesters. They may be of any age. 6. A child molester in the church looks for and tries to create opportunities to be alone with a child or children. 7. Prior to being caught, the typical child molester attacks thirteen children. 8. Child molesters often are married, may show evidence of a strong Christian witness, and may be in positions of responsibility. 9. Child molesters often do not recognize that any harm has come to their victims. Frequently, there is more remorse from being caught than for injuries inflicted by the crime. 10. A child molester is very likely to return to criminal sexual behavior after release from prison.
FAQ: Why should I expect a child molester to come into my congregation?
ANSWER: Churches provide one of the best sources for children to be found. An atmosphere of trust and acceptance makes the church one of the easiest places for predators to find opportunities to attack victims.
Child Abuse Statistics on the Rise
Since the 1970s, child abuse is far more likely to be reported than it was before. In California, for example, the number of reports investigated rose from about 119,000 in 1976 to about 475,000 in 1988.5 A similar statistical increase occurred throughout the United States and Canada. In 1976, fewer than 6,000 incidents of a sexual nature involving children were reported to law enforcement and child welfare workers.
Once sexual abuse became more widely recognized and reporting was encouraged, the number of reports increased to 130,000 in 1986. The number tripled between 1980 and 1986 alone. Today, more than 300,000 child sexual abuse reports are investigated annually in the United States.6
So, whereas the church might have been forgiven for being caught unawares by pedophiles in the 1970s, there is no excuse today. Ample warning has been given. The church is a natural magnet for children. Pedophiles hunt children. Thus, it would be foolish to think that pedophile child molesters wouldn’t regard the church as a hunting ground. However, in an interview with Christianity Today, attorney Richard Hammar, an author and expert in legal aspects of church life, said, “Our research indicates that 70 percent of churches are doing absolutely nothing to screen volunteer youth workers.”7
Molesters May Assault Many
There are no “absolute” statistics on the number of children molested every day in the United States, Canada, or any other country. Despite the increased awareness of the problem, and the likelihood that a sexual incident will be reported, many still go unreported. In some nations, molestation is not discussed as freely as it is in North America. We can only trace numbers of complaints, investigations, arrests, convictions, and releases.8 Research on adults who were sexually abused as children suggests that the large majority of victims do not report their abuse at the time it occurs. Children often keep their history of abuse a secret because they fear their parents’ rejection, punishment, and blame.9
In a typical church environment, guilt and the potential stigma associated with abuse, coupled with the understanding of how homosexual acts are viewed by the church, often will silence an abused child, particularly if he or she is in or near the teenage years. Younger children are often sworn to secrecy with threats of violence or some vague, undefined “doom” that will occur. The real tragedy is that, while their little lips are sealed, so are their hearts.
Remember, the typical child molester does not wear a sign. And the victims are not clamoring to tell their stories of molestation. They are sitting in church with sad eyes, quiet, confused, and hurting.
The typical child molester has a string of prior victims and may or may not have been detected yet. He is calculating and cunning, waiting for opportunity. The only question is whether the particular church he has chosen (or that chose him) will afford him the opportunity he needs.
One attempt to estimate the number of victims in 1998 was published in the 2001 Annual Review of Sociology. For all kinds of violent crime in 1998, including sexual attacks, 87.9 of every thousand U.S. adolescents between the ages of twelve to fifteen became victims. A slightly higher rate of 96.2 of every thousand teens between the ages of sixteen and nineteen became victims.
For people in their twenties, the chance of becoming a victim of violent crime drops rapidly. At age sixty-five, only 4.4 of every thousand persons are victims. Ross Macmillan, who wrote the report, observed that the age variables apply to all the kinds of violent crime studied. Robberies and sexual assaults were ten times as likely among adolescents. Other assaults were twenty-three times more likely.10
Sixty-seven percent of all victims of sexual assault reported to law enforcement agencies were under the age of eighteen; 34 percent of all victims were under the age of twelve. One of every seven victims of sexual assault reported to law enforcement agencies was under the age of six.11
Population and Pornography Increase Sex Crimes
Several reasons might be suggested for actual increases in crime numbers, as opposed to increases due to better reporting and a greater willingness to talk about behavior that might be identified as sexual. Natural increases in population certainly play a part in crime statistics. Another factor that is increasingly being blamed is the easier availability of child and adult pornography on the Internet, which may come to the attention of people who have sexual proclivities that they might not have acted upon in the past. Assuming that Internet pornography will not become more controlled and less available, we can expect that the rate of sexual assaults, including child molestation, will continue to outpace population growth. This increases the chances that our communities and our churches have pedophiles or people with pedophiliac tendencies. In short, pedophiles are all around, and some are church members.
MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF PEOPLE? WATCH PORNO. AND THEY SURE THE HELL DO NOT TURN OUT TO BE PEDOPHILES. BLAMING PEOPLE WATCHING PORN FOR PEDOPHILIA? ESPECIALLY ADULT PORN? IS BULLSHIT.
FAQ: What does a child molester look like?
ANSWER: He looks like you, especially if you are a man.
• Pedophiliac child molesters are invariably male. Although there are some female molesters, they are few and their victims are typically males in their teens. The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children reports: “In both clinical and nonclinical samples, the vast majority of offenders are male.”12 • A significant percentage of victims are males. A study undertaken by the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, of 457 male sex offenders who had committed crimes against children, found that about one-third of these sexual offenders targeted male victims.13 • Child molesters can be preteens or grandfathers. A U.S. Department of Justice report, titled “Criminal Offender Statistics,” found that criminal offenders who had victimized a child were on average five years older than violent offenders who had committed crimes against adults. Nearly 25 percent of child victimizers were age forty or older.14 Forty percent of the offenders who victimized children under the age of six were juveniles under the age of eighteen—one reason to keep male teens out of the nursery.15
A Child Molester May Have Been a Victim
It is not uncommon for molesters to have been victimized in their own childhood. There is also evidence that the greater number of male child molesters are homosexual. Quoting Journal of Sex Research statistics, David Wagner, an associate law professor at Regent University School of Law, said that heterosexuals outnumber homosexuals by a ratio of at least twenty to one (in other words, homosexuals comprise about 5 percent of the population), yet homosexual pedophiles commit about one-third of all child sex offenses.16
FAQ: Christ forgives sinners. So if a repentant child molester comes into my church, shouldn’t I treat him just as I would any other sinner?
ANSWER: No! If you do that, you may one day be called to account for your failure to recognize the danger posed by such an individual. Ignorance may not be a valid defense.
72-year-old Garry Evans is, er, was the pastor of the Rushville Baptist Temple in Rushville, Indiana where he regularly preached about the evils of homosexuality for nearly three decades.
Last October, he was arrested after several girls from his church, all under the age of 10, told their parents he had lured them into his office with candy then touched them inappropriately. Evans made bond as was released from custody.
Well, now, he’s back in jail. This time for trespassing and resisting law enforcement.
Earlier this week, Evans and his wife Gay stormed their son’s property. Apparently he and his parents had a falling out after the sex scandal broke last October.
The Evans circled their son’s yard then banged on the door. When their daughter-in-law told them they “weren’t welcome there,” they refused to leave and remained screaming and yelling on the front porch until the daughter-in-law chased them off with a baseball bat.
Police were called. According to reports, when they intervened, Evans and his wife became “verbally abusive and physically resisted officers.” They were arrested. Gay eventually posted bond and was released, but Garry remains in custody.
But the drama doesn’t stop there.
After getting home, Gay allegedly left her estranged son several threatening voicemails, which her daughter-in-law then shared on Facebook.
“I just got out of jail,” she said in one of the messages. “I hope you’re a very happy, son. Your daddy is in there and he’s probably going to be staying in there. What is wrong with you? You are sick!”
Other family members also joined in on the attacks.
“This is insane,” another voicemail from a different family member said. “What the f*ck is wrong with you, you stupid idiot?”
“You’re fine with them arresting your 72-year-old father and 70-year-old mother? Really? Really? Are you that big of a piece of scum?” said a third person in a third voicemail.
A jury trial in the molestation case is scheduled for March 20, 2018.
Atheist Militants Rising 
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