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An open letter to every senior pastor whose church wants to minister to those who pose a risk of harm: guest post by Simon Bass

August 9, 2015, 3:23 pm
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Simon Bass is the CEO of CCPAS (Churches' Child Protection Advisory Service), the leading independent Christian child protection charity in the UK. CCPAS has been safeguarding children since 1977. In light of my most recent posts on churches' mishandling of pedophiles and registered child sex offenders volunteering and employed in positions of leadership and trust in churches, I have asked Simon to give his expert guidance in context of these "offender-focused" churches. 

The Village Church

Elevation Church

Fairfax Community Church

Simon Bass:  The Christian Social Worker Who Protects Children From Christian Abusers

An open letter to every senior pastor whose church wants to minister to those who pose a risk of harm

It is commendable that your church wants to support sexual offenders in being part of your worshipping community, after all the gospel is for the ‘whosoever’. It is not meant to be critical in pointing out that as a pastor you are likely to have an optimistic view of people borne out of the Christian doctrine that no one is beyond God’s redemption; we are all sinners, but our sins are redeemed by God’s saving action in Jesus Christ. We are unworthy and undeserving by ourselves but God’s grace is poured out for the redemption of all who believe. Sometimes it is difficult to see beyond this, to have a critical understanding of the nature of perpetrators of sexual harm.

As shepherds you have a duty of care towards your flock, and especially those who are vulnerable; those children and adults in your congregation. As a good steward it is vital that before contemplating ministering to anyone who has committed sexual offences such an undertaking is not done so naively – the risk of harm to children is just too great. I say this based on the recidivism rates for sexual offenders, which sadly includes those who profess a faith in Jesus Christ. If we have learned anything from the clerical abuse scandals that have plagued the Catholic Church and other major denominations it is that professing faith does not mean we become sinless. Those who have sexually molested children will always pose a future risk to them. This is not to deny the transforming work of Jesus Christ but recognition of the addictive nature of sexual crimes.

In every fellowship there will be survivors of sexual abuse (based on national and international statistics of the number who have been victims of abuse in childhood). Many look to the church as a place of sanctuary and struggle when churches have sympathy and mobilise resources for perpetrators of abuse, whilst the pain and safety needs of victims are ignored.

How you as a pastor respond to perpetrators who have molested children must always have as a starting point the safety of children. Then you should give due consideration to the needs of survivors, and the affect ministering to perpetrators of abuse can have on them. If you appear to be one-sided you will alienate many in the church, and especially those who have been harmed. Survivors of abuse will only ever have confidence in your church if their voice is heard when you are working with those who have committed sexual violence against them.

I would urge you as pastors to use appropriate language when talking about sexual offenders, and by this I am talking about those who have molested and raped children, and filmed then shared these abusive acts. Don’t describe sexual offenders simply as offenders, nor describe them as ex-offenders, as it can be perceived that there is a denial of their offence and ignoring that they will always be a risk, and it consigns the abuse to the past. Certainly don’t describe their behavior as being about mistakes in the past, which is just too dismissive.

Boundaries
Ensuring your church is a safe and welcoming environment requires that you have a child protection policy in place, and that all your leaders have been trained in child safety, including safer recruitment, that you have clear working practices including what to do where abuse is disclosed or suspected. This would also include how you address the pastoral and counseling needs of those who have been affected by abuse. With this in place you will be better equipped to minister to sexual offenders, remember they will look for acceptance, and the church is often the only place where this can be found. It is understandable why sex offenders are drawn to church.

Some manipulative sex offenders will target churches, professing faith and using language and acting in ways suggestive that they are repentant, knowing they will be accepted, in order to gain contact with children in order to abuse them. Other sex offenders who truly want to turn away from the crimes they have committed will show fruit in keeping with repentance. One clear way is for the sex offender to agree to never working with children or wanting to have any position or authority within the church which would give rise to a child believing them to be trustworthy. This requires wisdom in considering what roles and titles you give to sex offenders to ensure they are not seen as a person in a position of trust.

Children are trusting, and if they believe a person is safe to be around because that is the impression you give at church, they are not going to be weary when approached outside of church. It is imperative that you engage in a covenant contract with the sex offender, outlining the boundaries they are expected to keep and how the church may be able to support in their rehabilitation to prevent the likelihood of them re-offending. Living with the consequence of the crime isn’t denying redemption. This should be written drawing on a professional risk assessment from their probation or law enforcement officer, or others involved in their aftercare. It should clearly state the crime they committed, and any sanctions or restrictions they are under, and what sex offender management plan that may be in place. Key leaders in the church need to be aware of this contract. Don’t assume that members of the church will refer to the sex offender register.

Be very clear as to what offences have been acknowledged, and dealt with by the courts, as further admissions can lead to you as pastors needing to mandatorily contact law enforcement. A situational risk assessment should also be undertaken to ascertain if you are able to provide the level of support and supervision needed to ensure the sex offender can be monitored sufficiently so as not to put children at risk. Churches don’t just operate in one building but include meeting in homes for bible studies and as a church family there will be offers of hospitality. These need to be included in the contract, which should be constantly reviewed, and remain in force indefinitely.

Other considerations
I have known sex offenders who have said the church should cease the contract such as at the time of the end of their probation. The risk they posed though had not changed so the contract should remain. Certainly don’t give public ministry to sex offenders or opportunity for them to share their testimony. It is grossly offensive to survivors of abuse, for some it is an opportunity to groom a congregation and other sexual offenders will get sexual gratification from re-telling their story. It is unfair to their victims, not least because it risks identifying them.

I believe that sex offenders can be part of church but because of the nature of the offence there are many aspects of ministry that they should not be involved in, starting with not having any role where they are in any position of trust. Many churches provide pastoral support and recovery programs but again this is not something a sex offender should be involved in. Due to the predisposition to sexually abuse a child, this is a matter for long term intense therapeutic intervention; this disqualifies sexual offenders from acting as facilitators within certain recovery programs, for example where providing care or counsel to anyone dealing with addiction, especially sex addictions or pornography. This is simply foolhardy. I have known sex offenders who began viewing pornography and then downloaded child abuse images. Some victims of sexual abuse have become addicted to alcohol or drugs in order to cope with that abuse. For these reasons it is therefore totally inappropriate to have a sex offender involved in these ministries.

Finally
Churches should always be a place of acceptance and refuge and welcome, so let’s first ensure that survivors of abuse believe this first. Working with sex offenders require you as pastors to recognize that this is a specialist area where you should be working collaboratively with appropriate professionals and their agencies.  It’s therefore vital to work with law enforcement and get support from organizations such as G.R.A.C.E. and Stop it Now!,  and survivor advocacy organizations such as SNAP.

Simon Bass
Chief Executive, CCPAS www.ccpas.co.uk
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Former Second Baptist Church of Houston minister accused of child sex abuse: more information and more questions

September 20, 2014, 2:44 pm
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I received an email today from someone providing more information on the accusations of child sex abuse against former Second Baptist Church of Houston music minister Eddie Struble that I have written about previously in several posts here, here and here. There are police reports from the Spring Valley Police Department here and here and the Houston Police Department here. 

Here are some of the contents of the email:

Amy, 

 Saw your blog on sexual abuse of children and teens and wholeheartedly support it, provided everything checks out. In the case of ES, everything said about him preying on a boy, a young man really (*of 16/17) is true. 

*editor's note: the Houston police department report states that the abuse began on 12/01/06 and continued until 10/15/09 which I believe would correspond to said victim's age as 14-17 years old.

Classmates know that he visited the boy in question daily at his home until the wee hrs.

 Many of us knew ES both from church where he had an impressive position as director of a large choir and orchestra, and also from the school that our own kids went to, where he liked to hang out at games. He knew almost all of the students there, was very 'huggy' with them, had their cell phone numbers etc. When the pastor was told about the above situation, the matter was referred to relevant church staff, who said they had ways of investigating such matters and to leave it to them. 

ES was removed from office somehow, but the church never reported back. When asked, they answered that 'it was true', as I suspect the police reports you show testify to. So the voicemail on your web site by Second is pertinently untrue, and a way of the corporate church to avoid legal responsibility since they did not report the matter (possibly to protect the family and ironically, feeding the rumor mill that keeps bringing up these questions).

[voicemail mentioned above embedded here]


 This had immediate unintended consequences, namely that ES applied to schools in the area, including ours. Luckily our kids' school was aware, even somehow responsible, since ES had actually traveled with the school's sports teams on a road trip or two (while not employed by them nor having any kids at the school himself, can you believe it!?! Our kids had been very aware of ES inclinations by then (the investigation by Second took 2 months) and had warned the classmates and the school staff, who by then became very concerned about the school's reputation and role in the matter).

 I believe he was finally served with a restraining order by the school since he kept showing up and contacting kids by phone and on Facebook etc. 

 A supporter



From information I have received from other credible sources, I believe the school referenced in the email above that served Eddie Struble with a restraining order is Faith West Academy in Katy, Texas. The staff is listed here. In July 2011, I contacted Kirk Rightmire, Public Relations Director for Faith West, by email. His reply and my email are below:

Amy,

After inquiring to other staff members and what I know, Faith West and it's employees were never directly involved with any situations involving Eddie. In act, he never was a part of this organization. Therefore, we have no information at all regarding the family’s personal affairs. Our role was to support the family and their request. Any information would need to come from them directly. Thank you for your ministry.

Blessings!

Kirk Rightmire

Kirk Rightmire
Director of Education
Faith West Academy & Community Center
krightmire@faithwest.org

Romans 12: 1 & 2

On Tue, Jul 19, 2011 at 4:34 PM, Houston Snap <spacecitysnap@gmail.com> wrote:

Mr. Krightmire, [I misspelled his name.]

I am contacting you about a serious concern about Eddie Struble, a former music minister at Second Baptist. I understand Eddie had caused concern at Faith West regarding a student. I was contacted by some concerned parents in the Dallas/Fort Worth area where Eddie now lives and is visiting churches. I have recently been asked to be the Houston leader for SNAP, www.snapnetwork.org, a confidential support group for survivors of clergy abuse.

 I spoke with the pastor at First Baptist Humble a few weeks ago, Barry Jeffries, where Eddie recently worked as interim music minister. He told me that Eddie was fired from there last October for "suspicious behavior." I also called Hits Theatre where Eddie worked as a vocal coach, and they told me that they are "aware of the allegations" when I mentioned concern that there could have been teenage male victims of abuse by Eddie at the theater. 

I have communicated my concern about Eddie with a former Dallas County probation officer who worked with sex offenders for 10 years who helped form the specialized sex offender unit for Dallas County who is working with a Keller police detective, in the DFW area, about these concerns regarding Eddie. The Keller detective has a copy of a police report and restraining order that was filed against Eddie by the family of a teenage male victim from Second Baptist. I also have seen the report from Spring Valley police. It is my understanding, from a former Second Baptist minister, that Eddie was forced to leave Second as a result of these allegations of abuse. However, David Dixon, executive pastor, left me a detailed message stating that Second Baptist has "no information at all" regarding any of the allegations against Eddie. He also stated that "nothing has ever come to us about the individual that you talk about," and he made a point to say again, "We have no information whatsoever."

 I am concerned that there could potentially be more victims at Second and in the Houston area whom have never come forward to tell anyone. If you or anyone else at Faith West have any information to assist the Keller police detective, I can put you in touch with him.


Sincerely,
Amy Smith
Houston SNAP

www.snapnetwork.org

Two critical questions:

1. Has Second Baptist Church reported the knowledge of or suspicions of child sex abuse by Eddie Struble as they are required to do by the Texas mandatory reporting law passed in 1971? 

2. Has Faith West Academy reported the knowledge of or suspicions of child sex abuse by Eddie Struble that prompted them to obtain a restraining order as they are required to do by the Texas mandatory reporting law passed in 1971?

SNAP statement on Eddie Struble:

SNAP believes that church officials have a moral and civic duty, when confronted with proof or credible allegations of wrongdoing, to aggressively seek out victims, witnesses and whistleblowers and beg them to call police and prosecutors so that those who commit or conceal crimes – especially against children – will be charged, convicted and jailed which prevents future crimes and cover ups.

We urge anyone who has seen, suspected or suffered child sex crimes by Eddie Struble to come forward immediately and contact law enforcement, begin to heal and protect other kids.

The light of truth and knowledge is our greatest tool to protect kids,



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Fight for GK: they said

October 2, 2014, 11:29 am
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The pervasive cycle of child sex abuse and cover-up among Baptist and other evangelical churches: aka "Passing the trash"

October 5, 2014, 4:37 pm
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Last week a lawsuit was filed against two large, popular Houston churches, Second Baptist Church (a Baptist mega-church) and Community of Faith. The lawsuit claims "the organizations were negligent by employing a youth pastor who was convicted of sexually soliciting their daughter while working there," according to a Houston Chronicle story."
Foster was part of a "marketing scheme" by Second Baptist that allowed youth pastors to encourage students in public schools to attend church activities and events, enticing them with fast food, the suit states. The goal was to recruit their parents to join. He later went to work for Community of Faith, the suit states.
The girl met Foster during her lunch hour at school, where he was able to get her involved in activities with Second Baptist. The two started a relationship as one of religious guidance, the suit states.
"This is no different than a pedophile with candy in his pocket," said Cris Feldman, attorney in the case for the parents of the girl, now 17. "It's just someone who worked for Second Baptist and was told to go into school lunch rooms and recruit."


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KPRC

Foster admitted to making online sexual advances to the girl. He met at her school when she was 12 years old.  He pleaded guilty to online solicitation of a minor.  Foster also pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl he also met at school in his role as youth pastor.  Foster is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.
The lawsuit claims Second Baptist Church didn't train Foster to work with minors and knew about Foster's sinister agenda. 
"What we have here is the proverbial pedophile with the candy in his pocket," the victim's attorney, Cris Feldman, said.  
"Except this pedophile was sent into public schools with candy in his pocket provided by Second Baptist.  We believe the evidence will show that Second Baptist had full knowledge of what was going on. Or at least some idea of what was going on with Mr. Foster in that he lacked proper judgment in his actions around children."
Gary Moore, a spokesperson for Second Baptist, denied the allegations and said the church's heart aches for the victim.
"Second Baptist Church did not know of any of those allegations," Moore said in a statement.  "If these happened and if Second had been made aware of them, we would have immediately terminated anyone involved and ensured that such conduct did not continue for one minute.
Notice that Gary Moore, Second Baptist spokesperson, does not say one word about the church calling police to report the abuse as required by Texas mandatory child abuse reporting law.

See my recent post here on another former minister at Second Baptist Church of Houston accused of child sexual abuse.

In searching for news stories on the Chad Foster lawsuit, I came across a 1994 lawsuit against the First Baptist Church of Houston, our former church of almost 18 years. I was not previously aware of this lawsuit.

Marshall v. First Baptist Church of Houston
Appellant Reece Marshall brought this negligence suit against appellee, First Baptist Church of Houston. The Church moved for summary judgment on the ground that Marshall's claim is barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The trial court granted the Church's motion for summary judgment, and Marshall has appealed this ruling. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Marshall was born on November 3, 1971. While he was growing up, he and his parents were active members of the First Baptist Church of Houston.In 1984, when he was 12 years old, Marshall was allegedly sexually molested by Steve Roddy, the director of children's music at the Church.
Initially, Marshall told no one of this incident.   However, in 1987 he told a couple of Church members and Minister Gerald Ray what had happened. Ray did not notify law enforcement officials, the Texas Department of Human Services, or Marshall's parents. In 1988, Marshall told Pastor John Bisagno about the alleged sexual assault, and Bisagno also failed to report the incident. Finally, in 1989, Marshall told Ministers Johnnie Deurwyn, Charles Poor, and Felix Wagner of the alleged sexual assault, and these individuals, likewise, failed to report the incident.
Marshall reached the age of majority on November 3, 1989. Over the years, Marshall suffered some emotional problems, which he contends are the direct result of the molestation and the inadequate response to Roddy's actions by ministers of the Church. In 1990, Marshall's psychological problems became severe, and he began receiving counseling on July 23, 1990.
During this time, Marshall's therapist obtained his history, which revealed the allegations of sexual abuse in addition to the allegation that Marshall's attempts to receive help from Church officials had been rejected. On February 12, 1991, Marshall was hospitalized for depression and anxiety attacks. A psychiatrist diagnosed Marshall with multiple personality disorder and chronic and severe post traumatic stress disorder.
Marshall filed suit against the First Baptist Church on January 6, 1994, alleging that the Church was liable for a continuing course of actionable conduct occurring in 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988 and 1989, which included not only the sexual assault committed by its minister, but also the rejection of Marshall's cries for help by Church officials.
The trial court granted appellee's motion for summary judgment on the ground that the two year statute of limitations barred Marshall's claim. Marshall subsequently filed a motion for new trial which was overruled.
... 
Because Marshall turned 18 on November 3, 1989, the statute of limitations began running on that date and he had until November 3, 1991, to file his claim. 
Finally, Marshall argues that the doctrine of equitable estoppel prevents the Church from asserting its limitations defense because its actions prevented him from discovering his injury and its cause. 
I wrote here last year about the chastising phone call I received from Doug Bischoff, an associate pastor at Houston's First Baptist Church, the church in the lawsuit above. Doug called me to express disapproval of our SNAP child sex abuse awareness event at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting held in Houston in 2013. Senior Pastor Gregg Matte was the President of the SBC Pastors' Conference that preceded the annual meeting.

After the phone call from Doug, my husband met first just with Doug, and then a couple of weeks later with Doug and Gregg Matte. I wrote about this meeting here. They were joined in that meeting by Charles Poor, Minister of Counseling Emeritus & Staff Liaison to Deacons. Charles Poor is the same minister who is mentioned in the lawsuit Marshall v. First Baptist Church of Houston. The lawsuit states that in 1989 the child sexual assault victim "told Ministers Johnnie Deurwyn, Charles Poor, and Felix Wagner of the alleged sexual assault, and these individuals, likewise, failed to report the incident."
A few months ago, I wrote about being chastised as an abuse advocate by a pastor at our church at the time, Houston's First Baptist Church.  Someone at Houston's First Baptist, Prestonwood Baptist, or the executive staff of the SBC called the Houston police about our plans to hold an awareness event outside the 2013 annual meeting at the George R. Brown convention center in Houston. After this, my husband requested a meeting at HFBC with head pastor Gregg Matte. They were joined by Doug Bischoff, the pastor that called to chastise me, and a deacon. Before that meeting, Gregg Matte told my husband that he didn't want anything said in the meeting "to end up on a blog." My husband told them all in that meeting, that they should have no problem having cameras there recording every word. Why the secrecy? Why would they not want the whole world to know that they will not stand for child sexual abuse being covered up? Or do they want the darkness and silence surrounding child sex abuse in the church to continue, like Paige Patterson encourages by his comments?

I never received a phone call or email from Gregg Matte. I only have my impressions of his meeting with my husband to go on. While Gregg Matte did express outrage over child sexual abuse, it seems there was a lot of outrage over protecting the image of Houston's First Baptist after this story appeared in the Associated Baptist Press.
The alleged perpetrator of child sex assault cited in the lawsuit is Steve Roddy, a former associate minister of music at Houston's First Baptist Church.

Stephen Roddy is the founder and director of the Houston's Children Chorus, which he founded in 1989. Is this the same Steve Roddy that is named in the lawsuit?
Prior to the founding of the Houston Children’s Chorus, Mr. Roddy served as organist / music associate at First Baptist Church of Houston, First Presbyterian Church, St. Luke’s Methodist Church, as well as Tallowood Baptist Church. He most recently served for ten years as Director of Music at Grace Presbyterian Church of Houston.
Mr. Roddy is a native of Dayton, Ohio and Memphis, Tennessee and  is a graduate of Auburn University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. He is currently President of the Houston Chapter of Choristers Guild. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Texas Foundation for the Arts and on the Board of Directors for the Center for Christian Music Studies at Baylor University. He is also on the advisory Board for the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Houston Masterworks Chorus.
Stephen Roddy is listed here as the Director of Traditional Worship at Chapelwood United Methodist Church in Houston.

How many other kids may have been harmed in the years since the cries for help went ignored by the pastors at Houston's First Baptist Church? In the June 2013 meeting with my husband, was Gregg Matte aware of the lawsuit against his church alleging child sexual assault by former minister Steve Roddy and the failure to report this abuse by several other ministers? Charles Poor is named in this lawsuit. He sat there in that meeting with my husband hearing how Doug Bischoff had come to the conclusion after talking to me and my husband that it was best that I "step down from teaching" 6th grade girls Bible study at the church. Doug had told my husband that he "had to watch out for the kids." That's the reason he gave for thinking it was best for me to step down, given my volunteer service with SNAP as an advocate for survivors of sex abuse.

From my personal experience with pastors that cover up child sex abuse in their churches, they have no shame.

God help us.

The light of truth and knowledge is the greatest tool to protect kids.

Update 10/9/14:


















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My StoryCorps recording in Chicago

October 22, 2014, 11:31 am
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More stories from fellow SNAP advocates and survivors here:

In August 2014 SNAP entered a community partnership with StoryCorps. Since 2003 StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 50,000 interviews with over 90,000 participants. With the storyteller's permission, each conversation is recorded on a CD to share and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, and millions listen to their weekly broadcasts on NPR's Morning Edition and on their Listen pages. To help commemorate the 25th Anniversary of SNAP at the 2014 National Conference, StoryCorps reserved two full recording days for SNAP members to share their stories. Since then, others have been able to record at the StoryCorps booths in San Francisco, Atlanta and Chicago.
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Protecting predators. Perpetuating abuse. Shunning victims: mom of a victim of child sex abuse from Second Baptist Church Houston shares her story

October 28, 2014, 10:09 am
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HOUSTON -
KPRC: The mother of a girl who was targeted by her youth pastor says the pastor exposed himself online via Skype during secret video-chat sessions. For the first time, the girl’s mother spoke publicly and only to Local 2 Investigates.
The mom of another child sex abuse victim from Second Baptist Houston has reached out to me and SNAP and shared her and her daughter's story. It is with her permission that I share this story. We hope that this story encourages others to speak out, come forward to law enforcement, begin to heal, tell their stories, and help protect other kids. The pervasive cycle of darkness, silence and secrecy promoted by churches like Second Baptist and others of which I am personally aware, protects predators. Shining the light of truth to expose those who harm kids and those who cover up these crimes protects kids.

We applaud the strength and courage of this mom and her daughter. I have removed the alleged perpetrator's name from this story to protect the identity of his daughter who is also an alleged victim.

My daughter was 14. Second Baptist had just taken over the North campus out of Kingwood and sent a guy over to be the director at the singles parenting class that I was in. Also a deacon. That's how we met we started dating. Seemed like a good guy being involved in ministry and such. During the time that we were dating some things that he did seemed little odd. Just strange behaviors I won't get into. And I was doing a quiet time titled knowing God's will and applying it to your life and I used my relationship with this particular guy as the focal point because it was the one thing in my life that just didn't seem right. I ended up breaking up with him after discussing some of the things in Christian counseling and realizing that I wasn't crazy like he had made me feel . He had some real issues, sexual issues he was hiding.

My daughter did competitive cheer and several months after [alleged perp] and I broke up we were out to dinner with the cheer moms after competition and people began to ask where he was and she spoke up and said "my mom broke up with him and I'm glad because he likes to massage my butt and always make sexual comments to me and my friends." It was the first time I ever heard of that and I was shocked. And a little hurt because as close as she and I were I couldn't believe she waited until after we broke up, and we are in a large group, to break that news to me. When I asked her why, she said he told her if she told me anything it would destroy my happiness. So I took her to a Christian counselor and she told the counselor. 

 The counselor relayed it to the church and she called CPS because she said by law she had to. To make sure that the child was protected and I was no longer dating the guy which I wasn't. She convinced me to speak with the church as well. I did that and I also called CPS. When I called CPS they "accidentally" told me that this was the second reported incident he had on file with them. The first one with his own daughter when she was two years old a pediatrician reported that she had been molested. That case was closed because the two-year-old couldn't talk about it and the mother got addicted to pain medication so [alleged perp], the guy, and his mother had her committed to a psychiatric facility. When she got out she did the best thing she knew how and took her daughter and moved out of state. 

That's all fact and was told to me by the mother of the daughter and CPS. That was also relayed to the church and Dr. Ed Young directly because no one would listen to me. In writing. In emails. My daughter told a camp counselor when she was at camp who told the church. My daughter also told the youth minister Jonathan Gray.... [Jonathan Gray is still a youth pastor at Second Baptist North campus.] In addition one Sunday she asked if she could stay after church to ask Jonathan a question. When she came to the car she was crying. I asked her what she asked and she told me she asked him why doesn't God do anything about [alleged perp.] He couldn't answer the question. It was a simple one really because who was God to her .... the church ...so she was asking why doesn't the church do anything about [alleged perp] because all I asked was that he be removed from ministry.

They wouldn't do it. And instead I got removed. I was teaching in the youth group and they had said over and over and over I was the best teacher they ever had but after this situation happened and I spoke out I got fired but he kept his job. When I asked them what they were going to do about it they said it was none of my business, how Second would handle it and all ministers that I talk to were advised to ignore any emails that I sent and eventually they were blocked so they wouldn't go through anymore. All this is fact. And to be honest with you, what [alleged perp] did to my daughter, and she will probably tell you the same thing, is nowhere near as hurtful and painful as for what the church didn't do. 

That's what's made the last nine years unbearable and neither one of us has stepped foot in church since, not because we don't believe in God, because I'm actually closer to God than I've ever been, but because we no longer believe in churches and the ministry they provide. They don't do background checks, even when they're being told all they have to do is pray about it and God will provide the answers, they don't do that. 

With a little bit of prayer and research on my part I found out that he touched his own daughter, his own sister got fired from a job for being a peeping Tom, took pictures of his girlfriend, broke into her house while she was sleeping and took naked pictures of her. All of that I found out with a little bit of research. And I don't even have the means that they have for research. I am not an FBI agent. I'm not a police officer.  I'm just a mom. I even screenshot the conversation that my daughter and his daughter had where she was telling my daughter that he touches her all the time like that but he doesn't mean anything by it. I sent that to the church and nothing. And he never gets in trouble because he goes just far enough without crossing the line. Basically what he did was sneak into my daughter's room while she was sleeping and started rubbing her butt as if massaging it. She pretended like she was asleep because she was scared then she said he got up and left. 

That's the story Amy. I really hate talking about because it's hurtful! And because I endured it for a very long time just trying to get him removed from ministry.


This is by far the ugliest thing I've ever had to deal with. It's so ugly and evil. It's like something from American horror story.

In Houston, to make a report of sexual abuse you can go into any police station or call the numbers listed here (resources for sex assault victims). The Houston police number for the child sex crimes unit is 713-731-5356 or call the Texas abuse hotline 1-800-252-5400.

You can also make a Cyber Tip report here which will be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agency for possible investigation:
The CyberTipline® receives leads and tips regarding suspected crimes of sexual exploitation committed against children. More than 2.5 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation have been made to the CyberTipline between 1998 and June 2014.
If you have information regarding possible child sexual exploitation, report it to the CyberTipline.
The light of truth and knowledge is our greatest tool to protect kids.
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Emails from Morrison Heights Baptist Church pastor Greg Belser and Prestonwood Baptist Church pastor Neal Jeffrey reveal internal church investigation of child sex crimes

December 9, 2014, 11:50 am
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Last week 2 pastors in Odessa, Texas were arrested for failure to report child sex abuse by a youth minister at their church.

SNAP: Two preachers did not report suspected child abuse

KWES  NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com |

ODESSA - Don and Gina Haislett, the pastor and co-pastor of Life Church in Odessa, were arrested Tuesday and charged with failure to report child abuse, a Class A Misdemeanor.
According to Odessa Police, the Haisletts conducted their own investigation into a sexual relationship he had with one victim and inappropriate text messages he allegedly sent others.
The pastors did this for three weeks without contacting officials, even after they removed De Los Santos from his youth minister duties.
"This goes on more than people realize," said Cpl. Steve LeSueur, the Odessa Police spokesman.
"And it doesn't just involve churches. It involves day cares [and] schools. If anyone is aware that there is child abuse taking place, they need to report it immediately to police. It's a crime if you don't report child abuse. It's a crime if you don't report a felony"


The Wartburg Watch and FBC Jax Watchdogs have both covered this story.

I did an interview about this story with the Odessa American:

Amy Smith, spokesperson for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, said that internal investigations at churches regarding child abuse is a common practice.

“These types of crimes unfortunately are commonly handled by the church internally just like this church did,” Smith said. “That has the effect to continue to endanger more children. Typically they try to handle it internally thinking they are doing the best thing for the church but they are enabling that person to continue abusing children.”

 “We really are glad and thankful for the police department there who are prosecuting this crime,” Smith said. “I think it will do a lot to protect kids and send a clear message to churches or other organizations who may hear an allegation of abuse and they will think twice about handling it on their own.”

Prestonwood Baptist Church and Morrison Heights Baptist Church pastors, when faced with credible allegations of child sex abuse by former music minister and Clinton High School choir teacher John Langworthy, also conducted their own internal investigations, even seeking out and speaking with victims. They were mandated to report these allegations of abuse. They broke the law and have endangered more kids by failing to report these felonies.

In 1989, when Prestonwood then youth pastor Neal Jeffrey (now an executive staff minister) and head pastor Jack Graham discovered victims of child sex abuse by Langworthy in the church, they involved church lawyers, according to an email from Neal Jeffrey. One victim recalls a meeting with Prestonwood church lawyers who took statements from him and other alleged victims. To my knowledge, they have yet to make the mandated call to police to report these allegations of child sex crimes, though, in an email to me, executive pastor Mike Buster said that Prestonwood would "cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies concerning this matter."





My dad, a former Prestonwood deacon, states that "the attorneys for the church handled it. Randy Addison was the attorney. He handled the staff. Bill Taylor was the administrative minister."

In newly published emails, Morrison Heights Baptist Church pastor and ERLC Leadership Council member Greg Belser, reveals to me and one of Langworthy's victims, that he and the church elders were conducting their own investigation into these alleged child sex crimes, without reporting this to law enforcement. One of the church elders who participated in the internal church investigation and contacted me and spoke to media on behalf of the church, is Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn. Greg Belser, going so far as to solicit information on additional victims in order to speak with them, told a victim:
As for your continued search for victims, that would be an important help to us. John is insistent that you will find none, other than just the crude and vulgar behavior. If you do find someone, we would want to talk firsthand with them and in complete confidence.


Greg Belser revealed in an email to me in February 2011 that he and the elders were conducting their own investigation that would take several weeks and that they would "formulate a long-term action plan, based on our findings." I received a call from Belser in April 2011, after they had conducted their own investigation without law enforcement, and he said that they had come to the decision to keep Langworthy on staff at Morrison Heights.





In August 2011, Langworthy confessed publicly in a morning worship service at Morrison Heights. He was arrested in September 2011, indicted, and pleaded guilty on January 22, 2013 in Jackson, Mississippi:
Langworthy, 50, was accused of molesting five boys between the ages of 6 and 13 between 1980 and 1984. The incidents happened while Langworthy was babysitting each of the children at his sister's home in Jackson and at his dorm room at Mississippi College, according to the indictments.
Two of the victims testified during Tuesday's hearing.
"I want you to know I do not hate you. I have forgiven you. In fact, my heart is sad for you in many ways," said one of the victims.
The victims said Langworthy used his position and influence in the church to gain access to them.
"These aren't isolated incidents. This is a manipulative pattern. It's sick and depraved," one of the victims testified.
The victims, now grown men, said they wanted Langworthy to know how his actions impacted their lives.
"You have caused more pain and agony in my family than any situation outside of my dad passing away this year," one of the victims told Langworthy from the witness stand.
Langworthy's wife, Kathy Langworthy, remains on the music staff at Morrison Heights Baptist Church.

Although Langworthy was sentenced to 50 years in prison, all of it was suspended, so he is not in prison. As far I know, he is still employed at a pharmacy in Clinton, Mississippi.

We hope that any others who have suffered, seen or suspected child sex abuse by Langworthy, in Texas, Mississippi or elsewhere, will call police, expose wrongdoers, protect kids and start healing. Silence only helps predators.

Prestonwood Baptist Church and the Cone of Silence

The light of truth and knowledge is our greatest tool to protect kids.
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Hope for Children

December 12, 2014, 9:29 am
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We're raising money to help two young survivors of sexual abuse. These little five year-old boys deserve a wonderful Christmas. Please consider sharing a small portion of what you've been blessed with with these precious families.

In support of the brave, little survivors of child sex offender Greg Kelley and the Fight for GK cult that has mercilessly attacked them, a Go Fund Me fundraiser has been started this week by a Leander/Cedar Park area local woman, Kim Williams Frank. As a mom of child sexual abuse survivors, Kim could remain silent no more. Well done, Kim, and thank you to all who donate.

Kim Frank, in her own words to Fight for GK aka Justice Served (one in the same):

You guys need to stop this. Have you ever looked your child in the eye as they confessed to you that one of the most horrific crimes imaginable was committed against them? Have you ever sat there, internally pleading with God that what your precious baby is saying isn't true? Have you experienced the horror of learning that you unknowingly placed your child in harm’s way, exposing him to someone like Greg, someone who seems so good and trustworthy? No? Well I have. And let me tell you, that if 15 years ago while I tried to put the pieces of my children’s innocence back together, a group of people like you stood and publicly called my children liars and made it very clear that they were not believed, not supported, and in fact the cause of putting someone unjustly in jail, I would have moved away. I would have left all my belongings behind and moved my children far away from people like you. 

This is horrible what you’re doing to not only these precious little boys, but their families, and families like mine who are survivors of sexual abuse. You’re creating an environment where it’s not safe for a young child to confess abuse because you will all rally against them. You’re making it seem much easier for children to suffer the life-long (and it is very much life-long) damage of sexual abuse in private because the pain of the backlash from crying out is more than their little minds can handle. Is that what you are trying to do? 

Because Greg is guilty so I can’t think of any other reason your groups would continue on with this pointless charade. You are not a martyr, Jake. You’re not going to save the world by giving the appearance of freeing an “innocent” man. He was identified by two young boys who gave detailed accounts of their attacks. And don’t tell me you believe the kids “may” have been abused, but not by Greg. BS. My children were the only witnesses to their molestation just like Greg’s victims were the only witnesses to his abuse. 

Don’t you see…child molesters don’t molest in public. The victims will almost ALWAYS be the only witness unless they are caught in the act and that’s very rare. I don’t know how you can all read the facts and still doubt Greg’s guilt. I’m just blown away by that. I understand that you don’t want to believe Greg is capable of this. We never want to believe anyone could be capable of such a terrible crime against a child. But the fact remains that child molesters are all around us. A quick search on the internet will sadly confirm that you are surrounded by them. I’m sure the friends and families of all the child molesters in your neighborhood didn’t want to believe their guilt either, but sooner or later you have to accept it. 

Child molesters are fathers, brothers, uncles, clergy, babysitters, teachers, doctors…friends. They clothe themselves in humble, trustworthy skin while underneath, unseen by those closest to them, their blood runs cold. They can go undetectable for years, but eventually they get caught. 

Like Greg. Greg molested those boys. I am 100% positive of this. Those boys described too much for there to be any doubt. Greg admitted in an interview that he spent time with them, then turned around and said he didn’t. One of the most chilling responses I heard Greg say when asked by a reporter if he had any inappropriate contact with the children was, “In my point of view, No.” Is that the answer of an innocent man? In my point of view? But see, Greg’s point of view is very twisted. Listen for yourself here: http://www.kvue.com/.../greg-kelley-interview-on-kvue.../ about 1:54 into the interview. That’s the response of a guilty man, the response of a man who lies about being a marine sniper, and a man who lies about molesting children.

 Please stop torturing these families by continuing on with this. Please think about what you’re doing and support these precious children instead. You’ve said many times you want to support the children and families, so do it! Greg doesn’t need another dozen books mailed to his cell, he needs to think about his actions. Why not send books to the children instead? Greg is not the victim here. Those children are not the cause of Greg’s incarceration, Greg is. The detective didn’t botch the case and cause Greg’s incarceration, Greg did. Chief Mannix didn’t prevent a retrial by “making stuff up”, Greg did. And trust me on this one, NO parent would coach their child to say things that would get someone convicted. Hear that loud and clear!!! You coach your child for the Spelling Bee. You coach your child in soccer. There is zero benefit in coaching a child to wrongfully accuse someone of sexual abuse and putting them through all this. 

Greg molested two sweet little boys and THAT'S why they said the things they said...not because they were coached. They are the victims. And their families are victims of added cruelty at your hands by being made to feel like they are not believed or supported. My children and so many of my adult friends who are survivors of sexual abuse are being so negatively affected by this group I can’t even tell you. You are not helping Greg. You are hurting our community. You've had your shot at a retrial and it was denied. The facts are clear and what you have presented is exaggerated and skewed so it's over. 

Please pray about what you’re doing and let this end for the sake of those little boys. I’ll be delivering donations to Victim Services next week for these sweet boys. If anyone would like to contribute, please let me know. Thanks for reading this.


Kim





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The audacity and cold-hearted cruelty of celebrity preacher Jack Graham in one tweet

January 16, 2015, 8:31 am
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Dallas Voice:
While that was the most famous case of child abuse, there have been other allegations.
In the late 1980s, minister John Langworthy was dismissed after charges of child abuse. Langworthy moved to Clinton, Miss. where he served at Morrison Heights Southern Baptist for two decades
“There, he recently received a 50-year suspended sentence for molesting multiple boys as young as 6,” according to Baptist News Global. “But Langworthy avoided prison time because, in the plea bargain process, prosecutors were concerned about the statute of limitations.”
In December, referring to Langworthy, they posted:
“It still seems unbelievable that Jack Graham was a 2-term President of the Southern Baptist Convention and has been given a complete pass (so far) for his role in allowing a predator to go on a multi-decade rampage raping children across Mississippi. Truly jaw dropping when you think about it.”
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When a retweet is described as perpetuating the violence: Tony Jones and the Sonoran Theological Group

January 16, 2015, 9:53 am
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I am posting an email that I received earlier this week from Amy Jacober, a leader in the Sonoran Theological Group. The email is in reference to the issue of very serious questions that are being raised about Tony Jones, "Theological Provocateur" and a leader in the Emergent Movement and founder of the Jopa Group. The Sonoran Theological Group has an upcoming event, Christianity 21, that is organized by Tony Jones' Jopa Group. 
About the Jopa Group:
Tony, Doug and a third friend, Mark Scandrette, rolled into church sanctuaries and basements across the country where religious thinkers lined chairs and stretched out in aisle-ways to talk, argue, laugh, and craft new ways of living faith together. The roadshow brought new allies together and became the first of many efforts to come that combined innovative content with relational events.
Since then, the scope of JoPa’s events has grown to include several annual events and a host of other offerings.
Each year, Church Planters Academy and Christianity 21 will add to the national faith conversation by inviting smart, progressive, and often provocative thought leaders to share their latest ideas and practices.
The questions being raised about Tony Jones are centered on the serious allegations of emotional and physical abuse by his ex-wife, Julie McMahon. I first learned about these disturbing allegations in the comment thread of this post by David Hayward. Earlier this week, the discussion about these allegations ramped up after the announcement that Rachel Held Evans would be launching a new conference "Why Christian" organized by Tony Jones and the Jopa Group.
Nadia Bolz Weber and Rachel Held Evans have announced an all-female lineup at their new conference 'Why Christian?' this September. Held in Minneapolis, the conference will seek to explore why we continue to follow Jesus in the wake of corruption, hypocrisy and televangelists.
Their announcement has been greeted with much anticipation on Twitter:
The subject of the email "retweets" refers to these 2 tweets that I retweeted:







Here is the original tweet in that conversation:




Towards the conclusion of her email, Amy Jacober describes my RT as perpetuating the "violence."

From: Amy Jacober <amy.jacober@gmail.com>
Date: January 14, 2015 at 10:19:34 PM CST
To:watchkeepamy@gmail.com
Subject:retweets
Hello! My name is Amy Jacober. I have referenced your blog many times and recommended it to many readers. I have written about you when you were egregiously treated and prayed for you. 

I was a professor at Truett Seminary. It is a long story but the abuse that takes place in and around Baylor and the seminary is rampant. I had my fill. Upon leaving to care for sick parents, I am part of a small group trying to offer affordable theological education. I spend a lot of time with those abused by churches, academic institutions, and systemic financial problems. It has cost my family in ways that are far too great to detail here. 

Our small start up training the poorest ministers was asked to be a part of a conference where we might meet some people in our community to better serve the needs of untrained leaders. I consult and help churches with things like back ground checks and writing safe sanctuary policies. My world for twenty years has been advocating for the least of these, including spending a great deal of time with friends with disabilities and crying out to my teaching colleagues to address the spiritual and physical needs of these friends so that further abuse does not continue. The name of that conference is C21. 

Today, one of my colleagues at our small start up responded to an accusation that we (STG) support abuse. You retweeted it. We had never heard of any such allegations and were taken by surprise. Wihtin moments, it was misquoted, edited in multiple variations at this point. We should never have responded to the bait. What you have taught me is that speaking up for what is right brings violence, unless you are the person in power. Today, you are the person in power. It has grieved me to my very soul. It has been like living with the abuse of Baylor (your alma mater) all over again. People in power, who do not fact check, sling mud and then think nothing of the lives they are destroying always stun me. Mostly they stun me because I honestly don't think they realize what they are doing.  I know, you know this pattern well. I assume you did not do this maliciously, rather it was an easy soundbite and you bought into it. 

I know you have done good work in the past. I have been an advocate and ally. Please, in the future, do not do this to others. You have just become the very thing you fight against. I have spent much of the day dying inside as I think through all of the young women I have ministered to over the years assuring them that there are responsible, non-reactionary advocates out there and they can be brave. I wonder if I'll have that chance again. I wonder about my very reputation as the retweets keep flying. You are powerful, whether you realize it or not. Please, please, please, before you ever retweet something where a person or organization is being accused that you do not know, do your homework before you perpetuate the violence. 

This is not an e-mail from our group, it is from me alone, Amy Jacober. I'd be delighted to talk if you see fit. What you retweeted is not the full story. I am a part of The Sonoran Theological Group. 


grace and peace-Amy Jacober, PhD, MSW


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Anonymous Mailer Rants: Prestonwood Baptist Church and convicted child sex offender John Langworthy

January 16, 2015, 10:03 pm
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It was brought to my attention last July that several contacts of mine had received anonymous mailings at their home or office. Author and speaker Mary DeMuth is among those who received this mailing. She wrote about it here.
In my work with sexual abuse victims, I am used to undergoing attack in subtle and not so subtle ways, but this one made me nervous. Whoever sent this knew my home address. What is strange is that I haven’t written about this case, or publicly commented on it here. I have been angry at institutions that have chosen to prefer the perpetrator over the predator and have written about that here. I also applaud Boz Tchividjian’s brave work in this area.
So yesterday, I received another letter. I kept it as evidence. (Anyone know if I have any recourse?)
The whole thing makes me angry, and this is why: Only cowards send anonymous letters in the mail. If this person feels so strongly about the rightness of the situation, why not dialog here? Why not address me in a public setting? To send “evidence” to my home address is underhanded and bordering on harassment.
If you wrote it, my request is this: show yourself and share your views in public. And by all means, STOP sending me anonymous diatribes.

Today I was made aware that the anonymous mailer has sent a 22 page rant to one of my contacts on the same subject: Prestonwood Baptist Church and convicted child sex offender John Langworthy. I was told that the mailing contains a list of other purported recipients. If someone has put this much time and effort into making their point, why remain anonymous? What does he have to hide?  What sort of a coward writes this kind of a letter and hides his identity?

I decided to post here the anonymous mailing from last summer. I redacted portions that contain information identifying one of Langworthy's victims from Prestonwood. This Prestonwood victim has told me that he came forward to tell Neal Jeffrey, then youth minister, about the abuse by Langworthy later in the summer of 1989, after Langworthy had been fired by Jack Graham because of allegations of child sexual abuse. Langworthy had already moved back to his home state of Mississippi when the victim discussed by the anonymous mailer came forward. This victim came forward to prosecutors in Mississippi and assisted in the conviction of Langworthy there in January 2013 for the felony sexual assault of 5 boys ages 6-13. He pleaded guilty and received a 50 year suspended sentence and is a registered sex offender. See the criminal court documents mentioning this victim from Prestonwood here. This victim's mother gave a statement to the media in January 2013 alleging a cover up by Prestonwood.



The narrative put forth by the anonymous mailer contradicts facts shared with me by my father, a former deacon at Prestonwood who was intimately involved in John Langworthy's dismissal.  A few years ago, after talking to Mike Buster at Prestonwood, my dad reconfirmed that the sexual activity started when the victim was 15, and continued until age 17. These allegations were not reported to police as required by the Texas mandatory child abuse reporting law. In addition, this anonymous letter writer claims there was only one victim, but my father emailed me about multiple boys at Prestonwood that came forward to accuse John Langworthy.  I personally know this victim detailed by the anonymous mailer, and he confirmed the same timeline my dad told me about. You can see my father's written details below.

Anonymous mailer seems to know this victim well as he writes about the victim's story. Anonymous mailer writes that he knows where this victim works now. Has anonymous mailer reached out to this victim? I know that he has not.

I have spoken with another two of Langworthy's victims from Prestonwood, one of whom personally told his story to Brett Shipp at WFAA (linked below). I was in the courtroom in Mississippi the day of the conviction, along with his victims from Mississippi, and one of his victims from Prestonwood. I listened to two of the Mississippi victims give victim impact statements. I will never forget that day.





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Mega Manifesto: On Behalf of Prestonwood Baptist Church and Convicted Child Molester John Langworthy

January 30, 2015, 12:00 am
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Over the last two weeks 26 named individuals have received an anonymous package in the mail.  Inside was a 24 page essay.  I am the subject of this composition.

The anonymous writer spends dozens of pages attacking my truthfulness, motivations, and personal character.  He claims to be a proponent of Jack Grahamand the rest of the leadership at Prestonwood Baptist Church.  The letters were addressed to a variety of people: Prestonwood leadership, SNAP leaders, TV and newspaper reporters, bloggers, and others.  He did not send me a copy, but several of my contacts sent me theirs.

This approach is curious, because if this anonymous writer had just sent me a copy, I could have posted it for the entire public to read much sooner.  Take a look.


Among his many ramblings, you’ll find an alarming quote on Page 19: “I am dead serious and committed to exposing Amy Smith’s many falsehoods and stopping her continued and relentless attacks upon Prestonwood and Jack Graham.”  The combination of threatening language (“dead serious”, “stopping her”) and creepy anonymity meant I had to report this to the local police.  They have taken my statement, copies of the letter and envelope, as well as other collateral materials, and they have begun their investigation.  It is a federal crime to threaten someone using the Post Office, and the authorities assured me they take this seriously.

The writer reveals nothing new, quotes no sources, contacted no one involved in the matter, and certainly does not reveal his identity.  I have received these kinds of threats before, and heard all of these same lies.  So why am I posting this particular mega-manifesto?

Because this man embodies several emotionally twisted viewpoints that are shared by the leaders at Prestonwood Baptist Church, as well as other religious institutions that marginalize the victims of child sexual abuse.  I will go through the entire document and address his claims, false facts, personal attacks, and ignorant views.  But the overarching problem with this man, and others like him in church leadership is this:

In twenty-four pages he uses so many negative adjectives to describe me that I chose to stop counting. “Bogus”, “fact-free”, “obsessed”, “scurrilous” just to name a few.  But he doesn’t write a single negative thing about confessed , convicted child rapist John Langworthy.  Quite the contrary, this writer describes him as “high-spirited, engaging, and charismatic”.  And when he finally mentions the subject of Langworthy’s five counts of child sexual abuse, he calls them “indiscretions.”

This is at the core of the problem of religious institutions’ failure to address these crimes: men like him obviously do not see them as despicable crimes perpetrated against the most innocent in society.  These church leaders and their spokespeople minimize the sickening behavior of these felons.  This is a theme that SNAP leaders, volunteers, and countless survivors immediately recognize, and it is shameful that churches still ignore it.  I have spent years taking my story public because the leaders at Prestonwood continue to guide men like this writer to attack people like me.

The writer claims that only one person was sexually abused by John Langworthy during his tenure at Prestonwood, and that the sexual contact began after this person’s 17th birthday.  The entire twenty-four page document rests on this single claim.  Unfortunately for the victims, the families, and this anonymous writer, this claim is entirely false.  I have communicated with three male survivors that John Langworthy molested at Prestonwood, and each of them were minors when the crimes were committed, and Langworthy was in a ministerial position of trust over them.  This has been confirmed by one of the victim’s families, as well as my own father, a deeply involved deacon, who emailed me that one of the victims was 15 years old.  One of the victims chose to speak to a Dallas reporter, and another Prestonwood victim who assisted the Mississippi prosecutor is listed in the court documents. 

One last item before I address this writer directly.  His almost endless rant is empty of facts or sources.  He never quotes anyone but me (and often incorrectly).  I can only conclude that the writer’s “extensive research” did not include any contact with victims, victim’s families, me, my family, or anyone else except for his friends in Prestonwood Baptist Church leadership.  And the cowardly act of remaining anonymous means that no legitimate news source could use the material, even if they wanted to.

Dear Coward,

[Apologies for guessing your name; you didn’t sign the letter.  As my husband often says, “anyone who makes anonymous attacks on someone else is just a coward”]

I was recently sent several copies of your 24 page letter regarding…well, me.  I gave up after several minutes of trying to count the number of times you wrote my name.  It was harder still to count the number of critical adjectives describing me, my views, or my friends.  And although you chose to not send me a copy, I feel compelled to share your troubling opinions with the world, and address your false claim, twisted viewpoint, and ignorant comments.

As a disclaimer, I will not spend my time picking apart each sentence, though it is tempting and probably necessary to do so.  Aside from a handful of random facts (eg, Prestonwood Baptist Church’s membership rolls), your entire letter is false.

Page 4

This is the first instance where you quote me as saying John Langworthy molested “dozens” of young boys while at Prestonwood and “hundreds” of young boys in Mississippi.  I would ask you to include a URL reference, audio file, or photocopy of me saying this, but you would not be able to.  I never made these specific comments.  It seems you are quoting others who have expressed similar concerns on the allegations of the cover-up of abuse at Prestonwood.

I did decide in 2010 to let people know the fact that John Langworthy sexually molested several members of the Prestonwood youth group in the late 1980s, a fact that turns the stomachs of most people I talk to.  Especially in light of the additional fact that for years he had been employed in teaching children in public schools as well as leading children’s choirs in a large church in Clinton, Mississippi.

In the years since contacting Morrison Heights Baptist Church, Prestonwood Baptist Church and the Clinton School District, I have personally communicated with three victims that were minors, underage, from John Langworthy’s Prestonwood employment, when he sexually abused them as he was in a ministerial position of trust over them.  As if the testimony of several victims was not enough, this has been confirmed by several other sources.  First, one of the victim’s families has told me very clearly that the abuse was when their son was underage.  Second, my father was a deacon at Prestonwood at the time, and he had intimate knowledge of Prestonwood’s response to this crime.  In fact, he emailed me stating that several boys came forward to incriminate Langworthy in 1989.  Also, he stated that he knew one of the victims where the abuse started when the victim was 15. 

The youth described by your letter has told me that he did not come forward until several weeks after John Langworthy was fired from Prestonwood Baptist Church and had already moved back to Mississippi.

Let me also point out that one of the victims chose to speakto Brett Shipp at WFAA, directly emailing Brett a statement to be read on camera.  Also, one of the Prestonwood victims who helped the Mississippi prosecutor is listed in the court documents as a “child” at the time he was molested.

Finally, Prestonwood has tacitly admitted to the fact that John Langworthy’s victims were underage, and that a crime was involved.  When asked by investigative reporter Brett Shipp why they did not report this to the police in 1989, their response was “it was handled.”  They could have answered the question by stating they had no knowledge at the time of any minors being involved.  But they did not.  Like most well-lawyered companies, they wrote a non-answer that was accurate without confessing wrongdoing.  And to this day, Jack Graham could easily preach, speak, tweet, blog, or publicly state that he was unaware of minors involved in the John Langworthy matter.  But he cannot make this statement.  Because it is not true.

“Even the youth’s own mother told Smith in 2013 that her son’s relationship with Langworthy had only been going on for a few months.”

This is not true at all.  She never told me that, and given the obvious fact that you did not contact the victim’s mother or me, I wonder how you came to write this lie.

“The parents did not contact the authorities either since they also knew that no crime had occurred.”

The very nature of this crime often leaves victims and their families with a false sense of shame, guilt and fear.  It is why our society considers these child predators to be monsters.  Not only do they physically and mentally abuse their victims at the time of the abuse, but they infect their victims with lies that they can suffer with for a lifetime.  Many wait decades before speaking about these crimes out loud, and some never do so.

Page 5

Your claim that announcements were made to the school-age departments.  I find your claim disturbing that the leadership felt it appropriate to walk into a room filled with Junior High students and tell them that a member of the staff had been fired for “sexual indiscretions” (your words, not mine).  As a parent, I am horrified by the possibility that “sexual indiscretions” by a minister would be discussed in front of kids.

Even if your description were true, it would have left out a crucial message: that if anyone else in the church was harmed by this staff member, to please report this crime to the police.  Studies show that child predators rarely have a single victim, but instead prey on several children, often at the same time.  If church officials knew of one, they should have suspected others, and done something about it, first and foremost by reporting it to the police for a full investigation.

Page 6

“In an attempt to further portray both Langworthy and Prestonwood in a negative way”

John Langworthy is a convicted and registered child sex offender, with five court-documented victims who ranged in age from 6 to 13.  How in the world could I “further” portray this monster in a negative way? 



Watch John Langworthy's August 7, 2011 Statement at Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Faith & Lifestyle  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

As I mentioned earlier in my blog post, you’ve found hundreds of ways to insult my character.  And yet you describe a confessed, convicted child predator as: “very talented, high-spirited, engaging, and charismatic.”  I may never understand what drives you to write such words about this disgusting criminal.  Is it your ignorance of how child predators attract their prey?  Is it your extremely low intelligence?  Or is it that you can commiserate with John Langworthy’s attraction to underage boys?

You claim that my “fishing expedition” came up empty.  I did choose to reach out to several men who were in the youth group during John Langworthy’s child molesting days at Prestonwood.  Three of them told me that they had been molested by John while at Prestonwood, and that the sexual contact occurred when they were minors.

Pages 7-8

“her repeated claims that Jack Graham ‘let loose a monster to molest dozens if not hundreds of young boys’…”

This is not the first example of your inability to research and/or document.  I never said or wrote those words.  Because they are not mine, I can only speculate that these were comments made by others in response to my story.  I have shared the facts of this matter, and those facts put your friends at Prestonwood Baptist Church in a very negative light.

“Both the youth and the youth’s parents…had no issue with it.”

Either through ignorance, unintelligence, or deceit, you have the wrong view of the victims of child sexual abuse.  These victims, and often their families, suffer in silence for years and decades after the abuse.  This is the rule, not the exception.  Stories like Dale Hansen, R.A. Dickey, TeriHatcher and Tyler Perry are just higher profile stories that show how long it can take for a victim of child sexual abuse to go public with the crime committed against them.  You and your friends at Prestonwood Baptist confuse silence with consent.

Pages 9-10

“As it turns out, the Mississippi man knew Langworthy in the early 1980s when he was a young boy and Langworthy was a college student.  They were members of the same church in Jackson and Langworthy had baby-sat on several occasions for the family.”

It was at this point of reading your letter that I started to wonder if you were John Langworthy himself.  Once I dismissed that idea, I started to wonder if you were also a serial child molester.  You write these two sentences so casually; your sentences almost have a down-home feeling to them.  There’s one problem: that baby-sitting was how John Langworthy got access to this “young boy” so he could perform repeated, disgusting, and criminal acts upon him for four years.  You mention briefly that this man “alleged” that John Langworthy “inappropriately touched him.”  These are light words for a heinous felony committed by a man who confessed in court to these exact child sex crimes.

And for reasons I will never comprehend, you completely leave out the other four victims who came forward in Mississippi.  All of them suffered at John Langworthy’s criminal appetite.  Could it be that you left out these men because one of them was abused when he was six years old?  It might make your friend John Langworthy look bad if you pointed your readers to the court documents that detail the criminal sex acts he performed on a six year old boy.

“…and no jail time…”

Your in depth research was either misfiring on this day, or you are deliberately misleading your audience.  John Langworthy was sentenced to five years’ probation, but he was also given a 50 year suspended sentence, meaning he did not serve jail time.

Apparently, in your mind, his criminal violation of these five children is less of a crime because of the statute of limitations issues brought up by his defense attorney.  At no point did John Langworthy mount a defense of his actions.  He simply fought jail time using a technicality.

“There appears to be no basis for Smith’s repeated claims that Graham refused to meet with the youth or his parents…”

Except for the fact that they told me so.

And this fits with the description of Jack Graham and other mega-church pastors.  They like to tweet pictures of themselves with sports stars, politicians, and other celebrity speakers.  But when a member of their church that is not wealthy or influential in the community tries to visit with them, they are handled by middle management.

“it was up to them to do so, not Smith.”

If you knew that a person committed a crime, what would you do?  It appears that you would decide that only the victim has the responsibility to report the crime.  I will assume you make these comments out of low intelligence or pure ignorance, so let me explain why our society has public reporting laws.

The law requires you to report your knowledge of crimes to the police.  For many crimes, such as murder and kidnapping, the victim cannot speak for themselves.  Other crimes, such as rape, child molesting, or elder abuse, leave the victims and their families in such a state that often they choose not to go straight to the authorities.  But this does not mean that a crime was not committed, or that a criminal is not still on the loose.  And the rest of us in society want these criminals in jail because we do not want them to commit any more crimes.

And so, Mr. Coward, it is up to each of us in a free society to stand up for those who have been harmed, and to be concerned for those who are in harm’s way.

Pages 11-14

“Based on my findings, Tynes had most likely met Amy Smith a few weeks earlier when Smith was holding a SNAP protest rally on January 27 in front of Prestonwood.”

Your findings are foolish.  To my knowledge Tynes was not at that event, and I did not meet him there.  I have never met Chris Tynes face to face.

As for the rest of your comments on Chris Tynes, I will let him respond to your rambling comments.  I will state that I do not, nor have I ever, administered the PBCSilentNoMoreFacebook page.  And all of the quotes you list in your letter were written by someone other than me.

Page 16

Your letter begins to address the leaders of Survivor’s Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.  You claim that you support SNAP’s mission to help those victims of child sex abuse at the hands of religious leaders.  But there is another layer to SNAP’s mission that you vehemently oppose.  We seek to end the culture that exists in many churches to keep these crimes silent and/or handle them through self-investigation.

Recently we were looking to attend a church.  Before we visited, I found a link to their written child protection policy.  The policy concluded by telling members to bring any knowledge of child abuse to the attention of church leaders, where it would be thoroughly investigated, without any mention of going to the police.

This is simply against the law.  At that church, just like Prestonwood, child abuse should be immediately reported to the police.  It is up to law enforcement officials to investigate claims of child abuse, not a deacon body or pastoral staff.

Pages 17-18

I find it shocking that you claim to know my parents.  I also find it very telling that this would be part of your letter.  This has been the most heartbreaking and difficult part of telling the truth: that my own mother and father would choose their former church over me. 

We spent the better part of a year, long after the story broke, trying to meet with my parents face-to-face.  In a series of phone calls and emails we were either ignored or told no.  My father insists that I have to apologize to Jack Graham and Neal Jeffrey before he ever sees me again.

You write “I know that my parents would treat me the same way if I did what Amy has done no matter how much they love me or my children.”  You have really horrible parents.  Between your parents and the churches you’ve attended, you have failed to see what true love really is.

In one of the most bittersweet moments of this traumatic episode, I had to tell my children that their grandparents had emailed us that they never wanted to see us again.  But it forced me to tell them outright that I would never do that to them; I would always love them unconditionally.  There is nothing they can say or do that would ever make me reject them.  In fact, as I told them, even if they pushed me away, I would pursue them.  If God, in all his perfection, could love me in that way, it is the least I can do to love my children unconditionally.

You urge some of your readers to reach out to my parents to hear their side of the story; this is one of the few things we agree on.  Though they still refuse to speak to me, they are free to tell their story publicly.  Moreover, I wish you would do the same.  You spent a considerable amount of time writing your letter, but I am unaware of you ever engaging me directly.  My phone number, email, and website are certainly easy to find.  I invite you to post comments on my blog.

But be warned.  I will ask you to answer some specific questions, and insist that you give clear answers.  My husband’s favorite is, “do you think that adults who have sexual contact with sixteen year-olds should go to prison?”  I might ask you to explain your theory of how a serial child predator with at least eight victims by 1989 can move to Clinton and immediately start working at a school without being tempted to repeat his crimes?  I also might ask you if you think that the mandatory child abuse reporting laws should be changed, or if we should enforce them?

Finally, thank you for documenting the bizarre and twisted views that still permeate many churches.  Your letter was uninteresting, uninspiring, and stomach-turning.  “Sunlight is the best disinfectant," and “the light of truth and knowledge is our greatest tool to protect kids.”

Sincerely,

Amy Smith

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Victims prod Ft. Worth Catholic officials about abuse

February 4, 2015, 4:20 pm
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Wednesday, February 4, 2015
SNAP media event at St. Patrick Cathedral in Fort Worth, Texas with survivor Monica Baez
My statement today at the SNAP media event:
We are here today to prod Ft. Worth Catholic officials to do more to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded. Specifically, we urge Bishop Michael Olson to
1. make public the personnel files of Fr. Bede Mitchel, a recently-outed predator priest,
2. post at least three more names of credibly accused child molesting clerics on his website, and
3. send a letter rebuking an Arkansas church staffer who made harsh remarks that hurt a victim, and
4.  aggressively reach out to others who may have been hurt by Fr. Mitchel and other predator priests.   
Let’s take these one at a time.
First, last week a settlement was announced in a clergy sex abuse and cover up lawsuit involving Fr. Mitchel and two Catholic institutions: the Ft. Worth diocese and an Arkansas abbey. The victim is a Ft. Worth woman and the crimes took place in Cooke County at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Muenster. The alleged predator is a now-deceased priest, Fr. Bede Mitchel, who taught at Corpus Christi Academy and Laneri High School in Ft. Worth, worked at six local parishes and traveled extensively leading retreats and missions.
We urge Ft. Worth’s bishop to make public every piece of paper in his files about Fr. Mitchel. Since Fr. Mitchel’s colleague in Arkansas claims Fr. Mitchel is innocent, the Ft. Worth bishop should let parishioners, police, prosecutors, parents and the public see and judge for themselves about the allegations against Fr. Mitchel. (Besides, Ft. Worth’s bishop has repeatedly pledged to be “open” about clergy sex cases and the US bishops national abuse policy mandates such openness.)
Second, in 2013, the Ft. Worth diocese posted some names of predator priests on its website. About 30 US bishops have done this. We’re glad Ft. Worth’s bishop did. But his list is incomplete.
It makes no mention of three credibly accused child molesting clerics who spent time in the Ft. Worth diocese: Fr. Mitchel, Fr. Tony Pistone and Fr. Hugh John Sutton. It’s wrong and reckless to help these predator priests exploiting technicalities by keeping them off the diocesan website. For the safety of kids and the healing of victims,we urge Ft. Worth’s bishop to come clean now and add these three predator priests’ names – and any other child molesting clerics’ names – immediately.
(Last year, Fr. Sutton was accused of molesting at least one child at Notre Dame Catholic School in Wichita Falls, TX in the early 1990s. In 2005, Fr. Pistone left his post at a Catholic school in St. Louis MO, campus after accusations surfaced that he had groped a youth at Nolan Catholic High School in Ft. Worth TX in 1980s.)
Third, often in clergy sex abuse and cover up cases, we see church officials playing “good cop, bad cop.” One church figure postures as ‘pastoral’ while letting - or encouraging - another church figure to ‘talk tough’ and deter other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers from reporting possible crimes against innocent kids and vulnerable adults.
That’s what is happening here. In this case, the Ft. Worth bishop is playing good cop while letting his Arkansas Catholic colleague play bad cop.
Olson makes bland public comments about the Fr. Mitchel case while letting his Arkansas colleague make callous public remarks about the case and the victim. Last week, the Arkansas church official, Abbot Jerome Kodell of Subiaco Abbey, told the Ft. Worth Star Telegram that “If this had gone to trial, Fr. Mitchel would have been found innocent.”
Fr. Mitchel is deceased. So Kodell’s comments don’t help Fr. Mitchel. That begs the question: What possible good can come of these remarks? They depress and hurt victims and keeps them from reporting crimes and getting help. And they rub even more salt into the deep wounds of this brave family.
So we urge the Ft. Worth bishop to write – and make public – a letter censuring Kodell for this “insensitive” remarkwhich we believe was designed to discourage other victims from speaking up about Fr. Mitchel and other predator priests.
The Ft. Worth bishop would not sit idly by while an out-of-state Catholic figure told Ft. Worth Catholics to lobby for abortion or the death penalty or donate to Baptists, not to the diocese. Nor should the Ft. Worth bishop sit idly by while this Arkansas Catholic official makes the Ft. Worth diocese a more dangerous and secretive place. 
Why should the Ft. Worth bishop publicly chastise his colleague in Arkansas? Because that Arkansas Catholic official’s mean-spirited remark was published in a Ft. Worth newspaper. Because that Arkansas Catholic official is hurting the Ft. Worth bishop’s flock. Because that Arkansas Catholic official is deterring Ft. Worth Catholics from speaking up about known and suspected child sex crimes. And finally, because all that’s needed for evil to triumph, as Edmund Burke said, “is for good men to do nothing.”
It endangers Ft. Worth citizens and Catholics for Ft. Worth’s bishop to tell his flock “If you were hurt, come to us,” while letting a colleague essentially tell that same flock “If you speak up, we’ll attack your honesty and publicly defend your predator.”
Fourth, a caring shepherd would, without prompting, aggressively reach out to others who may have been hurt by Fr. Mitchel and other predator priests. But too often, church officials talk like caring shepherds but act like callous CEOs. We beg the Ft. Worth bishop to use parish bulletins, church websites, and pulpit announcements to seek out others who may have been assaulted by Fr. Mitchel and prod them to speak up, expose wrongdoing, and start healing.
Regardless of what Catholic officials, in Texas or Arkansas, do or don’t do, we in SNAP urge every single person who may have seen, suspected or suffered clergy crimes or cover ups – in the Fr. Mitchel case or any case – to call police, protect others, deter cover ups and join us on the tough but crucial path to recovery, justice and prevention. Staying trapped in silence, shame, confusion and self-blame endangers kids, prolongs suffering and helps only those who commit and conceal heinous crimes against children.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We were founded in 1988 and have more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org.
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Dallas Observer cover story on Prestonwood Baptist Church and former minister and child sex offender John Langworthy

March 3, 2015, 11:23 am
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Photo by Dylan Hollingsworth for the Dallas Observer

Last week the Dallas Observer's cover story "Don't Ask Don't Tell" by reporter Amy Silverstein provided the most in-depth look to date at the issue of child sexual abuse and cover up of this abuse by former minister John Langworthy at my former church, Prestonwood Baptist Church. It's a long read, but I hope you'll take the time. We are very grateful to Amy Silverstein and the Dallas Observer for such a thorough piece giving a voice to these survivors and shining a light for others who feel they do not have a voice.

An Advocate for the Sexually Abused Demands Answers from Prestonwood Baptist Church

The letter was anonymous, just like other warnings that came before it. In late January, it arrived in the mailboxes of advocates who work on behalf of Christian sex-abuse victims. For 26 pages, it offered a rambling defense of a place that shouldn't need one — Prestonwood Baptist Church, a Plano mega-church with 37,000 members, three campuses, decades of mostly good publicity and a celebrity pastor named Jack Graham.
 But for the last several years, the church has come under scrutiny from a small, vocal group of Christian critics for its handling of child sexual abuse. None of the critics has been more effective than Amy Smith, the daughter of a former Prestonwood deacon. Five years ago, Smith alerted a church in Mississippi that a pastor on its staff had been quietly accused of child molestation at Prestonwood decades before.
John Langworthy, a former youth minister at Prestonwood, resigned from the Mississippi church not long after Smith spoke up and soon faced criminal charges in that state. He pleaded guilty to molesting five boys between the ages of 6 and 13 in the early '80s in Mississippi. He avoided prison time and is now registered as a child sex offender. Smith was widely credited for bringing Langworthy's crimes to light and causing him to admit to "sexual indiscretions" from the pulpit of his Mississippi church. The case disappeared from headlines soon after, but Smith has stayed on Prestonwood's case, holding rallies outside the church, seeking other victims and publicly pressuring Graham to open up about what he knew of Langworthy's crimes.
A Prestonwood/Langworthy survivor's mother speaks to the Dallas Observer:
He still doesn't want to reveal his name, but he recently gave his mother the OK to talk with the Observer. "He just doesn't want it to come back on him or me" she says. "I told him, 'Look, anything I can do to make Prestonwood's life miserable, I want to do.'"
When the family moved to Dallas and began attending Prestonwood in the late 1980s, her 15-year-old son was a quiet kid who never gave his parents trouble. "I don't know what I would have done if I had a child that didn't do the right things, but he was a model child," his mother says.
But she sensed something was off early on, when Langworthy paid a surprise visit to their home shortly after they arrived. "I just love your son," Langworthy told her as he put his arms around him.
The next warning the mother remembers are the letters. Langworthy had been mailing notes to her son. She doesn't remember what they said exactly. They weren't sexually graphic, but were suggestive enough to raise flags. Her mother-in-law looked at the letters too, she says, and was even more alarmed. "She was afraid that John was a pedophile," she says. So the family called Langworthy. He couldn't get there fast enough. They told him not to hurt their son.
The mother says she looked Langworthy in the eye. "Under no circumstances are you to write any more letters to my son," she says she told him. The parents explained to their son that the letters were wrong and destroyed them, but they continued to go to the church and let their son be part of the youth group, just like before.
The mother says she didn't think Langworthy would actually abuse her son, especially after being warned. "Even if [Langworthy] wanted to, he would not hurt my son now because we had confronted him with it," she rationalized.
Life briefly returned to normal, or so she thought until the day she got a phone call from a psychiatrist to confirm an appointment with her son. She knew nothing about it.
Later on the day of that surprise call, her son came home with a guest, Neal Jeffrey, who remains on the Prestonwood staff as an associate pastor. Together, she says, her son and the man broke the news that her son had been hurt. Jeffrey was there, the mother thinks, because her son "wanted somebody there to tell us, because he didn't want to do it by himself." Still unsure of the specifics, she only knows that Langworthy had sexually abused her son, somehow. They had a group hug, and she agreed to send her son to the psychiatrist, appointments that she believes were funded by the church. "We sure weren't going to pay for it," she says.
Within days, Langworthy left town, she says. The family had been at the church for a total of two years before Langworthy left, the mother says, making her son 17 by the time he came forward.
Already angry at the church for how it let her find out about the abuse and the psychiatric appointments, she was even more distraught several months later when she got wind that Langworthy had a job at an elementary school in Clinton, Mississippi. (None of his admitted molestations took place there.) She says her husband called the school's principal. "He said back to my husband, 'Well you have put this in my lap and now I've got to do something about it.'"
But the family never reported Langworthy to the police. A phone call they got from a deacon named Allen Jordan convinced them it wouldn't be a good idea. He wasn't yelling, but he was emphatic the family not say anything, the mother recalls. "You better be careful about what you write, that's all I've got to say," Jordan said when reached for comment. "That's a warning to you. You better be careful about what you write."
And those letters still had her worried. "We were concerned that, well, John wrote notes, but [her son] wrote notes back to him, and I don't know what those notes contained. I'm sure it was an innocent 15-year old boy," she says, but "we were afraid that if John would have kept those letters, the church would have found those letters and would have tried to do something" to make it look like "it was initiated from the other side, not from John. We did worry about that."
In 1989 in Mississippi, Langworthy found a doctor who called the mother and told her Langworthy had been cured. She agreed to meet Langworthy, but wasn't convinced. "I'm no doctor," she says, "but I know once a pedophile, you're always a pedophile." Still, her son stayed at Prestonwood, married and went on to become a minister himself. He remained close to Neal Jeffrey. Decades passed before what happened to her son came into the open. It started in 2010 with a Facebook message to her son from Allen Jordan's daughter, a woman named Amy.
"I admire Amy very much," the mother says. Her son last spoke to Jeffrey as the allegations were bubbling to the surface. Jeffrey didn't even remember he had been abused, her son told her. "I think [her son] always gave Neal the benefit of the doubt, but when that happened and Neal didn't remember he was one of the boys, he washed his hands of him," she says.
A survivor of child sex crimes by Langworthy in the Mississippi criminal case also spoke with the Dallas Observer for this story:
Smith says she has been in touch with at least three men who say Langworthy assaulted them at Prestonwood, though only the mother of the one agreed to speak to the Observer. Her son spoke to Hinds County prosecutors, but didn't have to testify.
Another Langworthy victim, abused in Mississippi and part of the criminal case, agreed to speak to the Observer on the condition he wasn't identified. He was 8 years old when it started, he said. He didn't understand what had happened to him until he was in his late teens. In the '80s, people didn't deal with sex abuse the head-on way they do now, he says, and people trusted their church. He remembers Langworthy was extremely charming. "He's the kind of person who uses people and just the kind of person people flock to, so much so, [that] here's somebody who abuses people, and he still has people come to their defense," the victim says.
He doesn't speak to Langworthy but is otherwise still part of the Baptist Church and quotes from the Bible in the interview. He believes other victims still haven't come forward and won't unless more church officials discuss Langworthy's abuse publicly and encourage victims to speak out."When it is owned up to and revealed it is the truth, and it is not denied ... and shoved away as something that was just 'inappropriate behavior,' or 'There were accusations made,' but actually own up to the truth..." he says, trailing off. "Nobody's ever said, 'Hey we messed up,' and I don't see what's wrong with that. Everybody makes mistakes." For many victims, he says, hearing a simple statement admitting those mistakes is the only way they'll heal.
 And yet, Prestonwood Baptist Church remains silent, even after Langworthy's conviction.

Boz Tchividjian, Executive Director of GRACE (), law professor,  blogger, author & speaker, wrote about the Dallas Observer story on his blog.

"Righteous” reputations of churches that don’t care 
Earlier this week, the Dallas Observer published a cover story about a former minister who was recently convicted of sexually abusing children in Mississippi. According to the article, prior to this offender getting caught for these crimes, he served as a youth minister in a Dallas area megachurch. The story reports that while serving in that position, a minor who had been part of the youth group stepped forward and disclosed to another pastor on staff that this individual had sexually abused him. The article reported that instead of reporting the youth minister to the police, the megachurch allowed him to leave town where he eventually found employment at another church. Not only did the church fail to report the offense and warn others about this offender, but it made no effort to find out if there were others who may have also been victimized.
Why do so many churches fail to do the right thing when they learn that one of their own has been accused of sexual abuse? All too often it’s because the victimized are repeatedly overshadowed by the need to protect a “righteous” reputation.  I’m afraid it’s a rationale embraced by so many church leaders because it’s convenient and sounds so “godly”. Here is an example of this distorted thought process:
The reputation of the church will be damaged when the public learns that it employed an alleged child molester -> a church whose reputation is damaged will lose members -> a church that loses members is a church that loses income -> a church that loses income is a church that will be required to tighten it’s budget, including reducing salaries and laying off staff -> a dwindling church is a church that has less relevance in the community -> a church that has less relevance in the community is a church that is failing to impact the world for Jesus.
Tragically, this type of response to the evils of abuse destroys lives, emboldens offenders, and produces churches that are rotting at the core. There’s nothing “righteous” about it.












Jehovah's Witnesses' silencing techniques: as terrifying as child abuse: Candace Conti


It took me learning about Jonathan’s other victims for me to speak up. In 2009, I looked on California’s Megan’s Law website, the state’s official list of registered sex offenders. There, I found he had been convicted a few years before for sexually abusing another 8-year-old girl. I felt horribly guilty that I hadn’t spoken up about him earlier. Now, I need to stop predators from doing this again.
The only way to end this abuse is by lifting this veil of secrecy once and for all.
I received this email from a child sex abuse survivor in response to the Dallas Observer story. He gave me permission to post his email along with his name:

Hi Amy,

My name is Keith Brown.

I just read the Observer article about your work with SNAP and just wanted to drop you a note to say that you're a true hero to me, and to those like me.

It's a long story, we all have our life journey, and I am one whose life was adversely impacted at a young age by a pedophile.  Taking a glance at your blog I'll say, you are correct, the abused can carry the pain of those events within themselves for a lifetime.

I carried my pain in silence for almost four decades.  During time with a therapist in 2005 during marriage counseling, some good things happened for me, and I am now free from the lingering pain from those dark events which the pedophile perpetrated against me.

Just in case you're wondering, no, my abuse was not connected to Prestonwood, as I was abused long before that congregation existed.

I don't know what to say really.  I think what I feel is, since you continue to pay an emotional and familial price for your dedicated life work, that among the anonymous letters you receive, also amidst being estranged from your family, I wanted to be one voice that says thank you, just thank you so much for being you, for continuing to fight, you're doing God's bidding, while being a voice in behalf of those without a voice.

You're great Amy, just keep doing what you're doing!

Sincerely,


Keith A. Brown





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Reckless endangerment of children at First Baptist Church Bedford, Texas

September 11, 2015, 4:43 am
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Photo by Danielle Grobmeier of Dallas Morning News



Earlier this week, FOX4 News in Dallas broke the story locally of a Baptist minister indicted on 29 counts of rape and sodomy of a child in Alabama who is now working at a church in the Dallas area. First Baptist Church Bedford hired Charles Kyle Adcock about 8 months ago as a music minister. Pastor Steve Knott apparently was aware of Adcock's charges when he hired him. Church leaders spoke with Elizabeth Dinh of CBS11 yesterday saying that they spoke with Adcock and believe his story that he is not guilty. We know about this story now because concerned parents spoke out.


Yesterday, we held a SNAP news conference at FBC Bedford to protect kids. 


“We think it’s incredibly irresponsible and reckless to have hired him in the first place,” says Amy Smith, who works with SNAP: Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Smith say she took to twitter to blast First Baptist’s pastor for hiring Adcock, and says she was immediately blocked from the church’s feed. Smith and another supporter staged a hastily arranged protest outside the church this afternoon. And although they were outnumbered by press, she insists it doesn’t take a crowd to warn parents.
“What we know about predators is they rarely have just one victim” says Smith, “and they’re very manipulative and often will find places like churches to have a position of trust. That word ‘minister’ signals to most churchgoers that he is safe.”
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And there are also children at Bedford’s First Baptist Church. SNAP advocates are encouraging parents to talk to their children and if they suspect any inappropriate behavior or contact, they’re asked to take those concerns to police. And by all means, says Smith, avoid church leadership.
“Sadly, many times, it’s a very typical, dangerous response– which is to protect the institution of church, and the image and reputation of the perpetrator or the pastor of the church, or the name on the building… instead of children,” says Smith, “and we say, `why take the risk?’ Why take the risk of hiring a guy who’s about to go on trial for 29 counts of rape and sodomy of a child? Why take the risk? Err on the side of caution and place the safety of kids, first.”
Yesterday afternoon, Adcock's bond was revoked and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Thursday, WHNT News 19 also learned Adcock has a new arrest warrant in Colbert County for violating the terms of his bond, for working around children.
Assistant District Attorney Angela Hulsey filed a motion to revoke Adcock’s bond stating, “the State has received information that the Defendant is employed by First Baptist Church in Bedford Texas as a Worship Pastor, which would allow him unsupervised contact with minors. This type of employment is a violation of the conditions of the Defendant’s release on bond.”
WFAA News 8 Dallas
At First Baptist in Bedford, Pastor Steve Knott hired Adcock to lead the adult choir and work with the church's audio/video equipment.
"We think it's incredibly irresponsible and reckless to have hired him in the first place," said Amy Smith with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
Smith said it doesn't matter that Adcock was not directly working with children in Bedford.
"Having a position as minister automatically places him in a position of trust," she said.
The church member who spoke with News 8 said a group of members talked to the pastor after learning of Adcock's past.
He said they also had a long talk with Adcock and decided to support him. The choir director has pleaded not guilty.
Adcock was arrested in Frisco in August of 2014 on the Alabama charges. First Baptist in Bedford hired him while he was free on a $500,000 bond.
"That's very alarming," Smith said.

We hope that anyone else who has been harmed by Adcock will come forward and contact police to begin to heal and to protect others.

The light of truth and knowledge is our greatest tool to protect kids.

I will update this post with any new information.
Update

Former Bedford minister in jail in Alabama
Judge revokes bond of former Shoals youth minister charged with sex crimes
Charles Adcock turned himself to Colbert County authorities on Monday morning and appeared in court, where Judge Hal Hughston revoked his bond.  He ruled that Adcock's new job would have put him working around children, a violation of his bond agreement. Prosecutors in Muscle Shoals requested his bond to be pulled as soon as they found out about the position.
"This is a flagrant disregard of the court's order," said Colbert County Distict Attorney Bryce Graham. "It is beyond belief."
He is now back in the Colbert County Jail, where he will await trial in January.
...
"Given what he's been accused of and indicted for,  it's incredibly irresponsible and reckless to take that risk with children's safety," stressed Amy Smith with the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. "He's been here long enough, he's had a chance to possibly groom other families to trust him, other children."

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Blocked but not silenced

September 16, 2015, 11:30 am
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Child sexual abuse lawsuit filed against TX pastor Billy Bob Burge and First Baptist Church of Rockwall after victim's abuse leads to suicide

September 24, 2015, 12:53 pm
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DALLAS, Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Carla Sweet and Ed Gomez of Dallas, Texas, filed suit today in Dallas, Texas, state court against First Baptist Church of Rockwall: seeking justice for their son, John "Jeremy" Sweet-Gomez, who was repeatedly sexually abused by a Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church of Rockwall.
The suit alleges that a Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church of Rockwall began sexually abusing Jeremy when he was approximately thirteen years old. The abuse included sodomy, oral sex, and inappropriate sexual touching. The suit states that the sexual abuses and assaults occurred "on church property and during church-sponsored religious trips." Jeremy suffered repeated sexual abuse as a teenager; he later committed suicide. 

SNAP responds:

The lawsuit alleges that “Defendants entered into a civil conspiracy, accompanied by a meeting of the minds regarding concerted actions, the purposes of which were to conceal and minimize public knowledge of sexual misconduct and/or abuse by Pastor Burge. This conspiracy and concerted action was carried out by Defendants to conceal the fact that they individually and collectively committed acts of neglect, gross neglect, concealment, fraud, and breached fiduciary duties. Officials and agents or representatives of First Baptist Church of Rockwall, acting in concert, engaged in this conspiracy to avoid prosecution, to cover up sexual misconduct and abuse, and to conceal claims arising from crimes or conduct of their Youth Pastor.”
We urge officials at First Baptist Church of Rockwall to come clean with any information and to immediately report any known or suspected abuse by Billy Bob Burge to law enforcement. We hope that any other churches or places where Burge has had access to kids, including his current church employer Grace Community Church in Greenville, Texas, will aggressively reach out to anyone else that may have been harmed by Burge and urge them to call police.
We urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered pastor Burge’s alleged child sex crimes to come forward, get help, call police, expose wrongdoers, protect kids and start healing.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Yesterday I was notified that Billy Bob Burge was listed as the athletic trainer at Greenville Christian School.  I took a screenshot today on the school website that lists Burge as a trainer for the football team.

As of 2 pm today, Billy Bob Burge's name no longer appears on the link to the football staff, after I responded in an email to the Greenville Christian School administrator that Billy Bob Burge's name was listed as the trainer for the football team.

Below is an email exchange with Greenville Christian School administrator Steve Bowers:

Thu 9/24/2015 11:53 AM

Mrs. Smith,

Billy Bob Burge has never been “on staff” at Greenville Christian School, he has volunteered on and off helping with our football team.  He is no longer a volunteer ball boy / water boy with our football team at Greenville Christian School.  Most definitely, we are currently putting a plan in place to notify parents of the situation so they can take proper action.

Sincerely,

Steve Bowers

From: Watchkeepamy [mailto:watchkeepamy@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2015 10:59 AM
To: Steve Bowers
Subject: Re: Billy Bob Burge

Will he be remaining on staff at your school? Will you be notifying parents and urging anyone else that may have been or being abused by him to call police? We are concerned there may be more kids at risk. I've heard from a concerned parent today who described a pattern of red flag behavior by Billy Bob. 

On Sep 23, 2015, at 6:05 PM, Steve Bowers <steve.bowers@greenvillechristian.org> wrote:
Yes - we were just made aware of it.

Steve

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 23, 2015, at 5:26 PM, Watchkeepamy <watchkeepamy@gmail.com> wrote:
Are you aware of this?

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/baptist-pastors-sexual-abuse-of-a-child-leads-to-victims-suicide-as-an-adult-and-lawsuit-300147406.html

http://www.snapnetwork.org/tx_new_child_sexual_abuse_lawsuit_filed_against_baptist_church_and_accused_predator_pastor_snap_responds?recruiter_id=342

Amy Smith 

Yesterday morning I tweeted to Steve Lawson, Founding Pastor at Grace Community Church in Greenville, Texas where Billy Bob Burge is on staff as the Connection Pastor. 



He immediately blocked me on Twitter.

I received this email from Haley Lawson yesterday afternoon.







I have received a few calls from people concerned about more victims of Billy Bob Burge. One concerned parent said that we need to ask about the many sleepovers Billy Bob Burge had at his house with boys. There seems to be many red flags of predatory behavior displayed by Burge where he has had access to kids in Rockwall, Commerce and Greenville, Texas: First Baptist Rockwall, First Baptist Commerce, Commerce High School, First Baptist Church of Greenville, Grace Community Church in Greenville and Greenville Christian School. 

We urge anyone who has seen, suspected or suffered any abuse by Burge to come forward, contact police, seek justice, begin to heal and protect kids.

The light of truth and knowledge is our greatest tool to protect kids.

How to Prepare Your Kids for the Dangers of Sexual Predators

If you are looking for a guide on how to prepare your children for the dangers of sexual predators, The Well Armored Child: A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Sexual Abuse, by Joelle Casteix, might be the book for you. Casteix outlines how to take your child from being an “easy target” for sexual predators to a “hard target,” one who is not likely to experience sexual abuse. She summarizes: “The purpose of this book is to give you the tools to identify and stop the 90 percent of predators who are never arrested or convicted.”
The employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of any child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit conduct or simulation of such conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct; or the rape, and in cases of caretaker or interfamilial relationships, statutory rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children.
All of these avenues of abuse can leave a lasting and devastating impact on children.
The book’s author, Joelle Casteix, writes from a perspective of a child sexual abuse victim. She includes a thorough explanation of why she is qualified to write this book and the abuse that she endured throughout her high school years. Her personal experience bleeds through to each page. She now works to advocate for and mentor other child sexual abuse victims.


Update

Billy Bob Burge has resigned from Grace Community Church.
Burge could not be reached for comment, and Don French, business administrator at First Baptist Church of Rockwall, said “it was 25 years ago” and would not comment.

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Custom Ink responds to concerns about helping design shirts to raise funds for a convicted child rapist foundation

October 16, 2015, 8:37 am
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The Gregory Raymond Kelley Foundation was founded in 2014 to support a convicted felon, Greg Kelley, in prison for super aggravated sexual assault of a 4-year-old boy in Texas. 

The Gregory Raymond Kelley Foundation was founded in 2014 as a way to carry out Greg's passion for helping others while he unjustly remains in prison for something that he did not do. His supporters have rallied around him and we are free and want to use that freedom to serve each other in our community in Greg's name, just like it says in Galatians 5:13.

The GRK Foundation has had difficulties in the past raising funds online once sites like Go Fund Me were made aware of the nature of this foundation. Maddie Brimberry found a company, Custom Ink, to help design and host a t-shirt fundraiser sale to support the GRK Foundation. I called Custom Ink this morning and spoke with Jasmine who directed me to call Booster, a third party fundraiser for Custom Ink. I called Booster and was told that this is a Custom Ink issue. I went back to the Custom Ink site and began a chat with a Custom Ink agent. I have posted our conversation below.



Success! You are now chatting with 'Amanda M. '.
Amanda M. : Hi Amy Smith! Thank you for chatting with CustomInk! I'm quickly reviewing the form you've filled out to see what I can personally help you with today.
Amy Smith: Thank you.
Amy Smith:https://www.facebook.com/GRKFoundation?fref=ts
Amy Smith: GRK is a convicted child rapist in prison.
Amanda M. : I'm happy to help today. I'm sorry, about any confusion here. Let me take a peek at everything.
Amanda M. : One moment please.
Amy Smith: They are proudly thanking you for helping them raise funds for the rapist GRK. In the past other companies have shut them down (go fund me) when this was found out.
Amy Smith: I have asked questions on twitter about this as well but no response from you.
Amanda M. : I do apologize for the uncomfortable nature of this situation. It is not up to CustomInk or us as representatives to research or do background checks on our customers. We will absolutely not print anything pertaining to sexual offense, rape, demeaning behavior, etc. We will print the design if it follows all of our guidelines, in this case it does. Again I do understand the sensitivity of this matter and I absolutely understand your point. The customer is thanking us for the good job we've done with their shirts and our customer service not because we condone the behavior. We know nothing about this customer in any other capacity.
Amy Smith: I will post your response on my blog and let people know.
Amy Smith: I would want to know that a company does not care if they help a convicted felon in prison for raping a child.
Amanda M. : Amy, I sincerely apologize and I absolutely understand your point on this matter. While we do not agree with or condone the behavior in any way the design falls under our guidelines as it does not contain any vulgarities. We do have a legal team that reviews orders for such things as offensive language, vulgar material, etc.
Amy Smith: The name on the shirt, Gregory Raymond Kelley is a convicted felon in prison for raping a 4-year-old boy in Texas.
Amanda M. : I absolutely see where you are coming from. CustomInk is a platform for our customers, we don't feel comfortable determining guilt or innocence and who should or shouldn't be allowed to order shirts for their cause or reason.
Amy Smith: The state of Texas already determined guilt by a jury. He took a sentencing plea deal for 25 years in prison waving his right to appeal.
Amy Smith: I will post all of your responses on my blog.
Amanda M. : Thank you again for expressing your opinion and concern on this matter. I will pass your concern along to our team. I'm sorry that I'm not able to assist with this matter any further.
This chat has ended. Don't worry, if you think of more questions, open a new chat or give us a call at 1-800-293-4232.










 

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When Pastors Prey: Baptist perv Sammy Nuckolls

October 19, 2015, 11:08 am
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via Crime Watch Daily
Sammy Nuckolls, a man of God, preyed on his parishioners in the sickest of ways. As cops would uncover, the pastor's own home was exposed as a sex trap.







Amy Violette- betrayed by Sammy Nuckolls, a brave survivor speaks out



Peeping preacher's prison sentence stands
Prosecutor Steven Jubera suggested Nuckolls’ aims were not altruistic but driven by the same “narcissistic tendencies” that got him in trouble in the first place.
“House arrest is really not going to prevent him from doing what he did in his own home in the first place,” Jubera said.
Chatham said he was pleased to hear that Nuckolls is doing good work and adjusting well to prison. “Perhaps that is your calling,” he said.
As to Nuckolls’ motives, the judge said: “Only God Almighty can see your heart. What you are in front of me for is the pain and agony you have inflicted on 13 women here in my jurisdiction.”
Chatham said after 46 years as a prosecutor, defense attorney and judge: “I find our judicial system is second only to the Holy Bible to bring repentance in this world. I don’t know how many people would repent if they hadn’t been caught.”
Peeping preacher case comes to TV


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Hidden Predator Act lawsuit alleges continual child sexual abuse by GOP political consultant Jim Collins, former youth pastor at First Baptist Church Vidalia, Georgia

November 3, 2015, 10:19 am
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Rising Up with Courage- daybreak on Kauai





A Republican political consultant from Georgia was sued this week for allegedly forcing boys to perform sex acts and videotaping it.

WSAV reported that attorneys for Matt Stanley filed a lawsuit against Jim Collins for abuse that occurred between from 1996 and 2002 while attending First Baptist Church Vidalia, where Collins was a youth volunteer.

Collins is accused of instructing boys to perform “individual sexual acts, both privately and in a group setting.” The lawsuit alleges that he recorded the boys performing the acts at least once while at church. The “highly inappropriate, sexualized physical contact with many of the boys” continued while Collins was chaperoning out-of-town trips, the lawsuit says.

Stanley said that he was abused “more than a hundred times” from the age of 11 until he was 18 years old.

Vidalia Man Accused in Third Hidden Predator Lawsuit

“Individuals who violate and sexually abuse children should be put on notice that we survivors are breaking our silence and rising up with courage to fight for justice.” explained Angela Williams, an abuser survivor and founder of Voice Today.
One of those survivors is named Matt Stanley.
...
Also named in the suit – 50 “Doe’s”. Those are unnamed organizations who the lawsuit claims “negligent” by not protecting children from Collins.
First Baptist Church Vidalia is located in Vidalia, Georgia and is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. The senior pastor is Bucky Kennedy. Kennedy is also on the Board of Trustees of Brewton Parker, a coeducational institution owned by the Executive Committee of the Georgia Baptist Convention. 

The lawsuit states that in 1997 Jim Collins was hired as the youth pastor at FBC Vidalia after serving as a volunteer.

Hidden Predator Act lawsuit
Allegedly what started out as Bible classes at Collins' home later turned to viewing of pornographic material by Stanley and other youth from the church.  Sexual molesting occurred at Collins' home and on youth church trips, according to the suit.
Stanley said, "As a boy I was sexually abused by Jim Collins.  Jim used his position of authority in my local church to perpetrate his abuse for most of my adolescent years.
"Mr. Collins must provide an accounting for his actions.  Through this lawsuit, I hope to raise the public's awareness that child abuse is real and can flourish without our vigilance.
"Parents, you must be on guard.  Ask hard questions. Demand answers.  If, God forbid, you find your child has been abused in someway, please do all you can to insure your loved one seeks out and receives the vital counseling and support they will need."
The suit also accuses up to 50 unnamed John Does at the church of gross negligence in hiring Collins and failing to protect children from his sexual abuse.
Attorney James Carroll says it's still to be determined if any others will be sued. "The 'Does' are in the lawsuit in case we do decide to bring in additional persons.  We do know the identity of those who were involved and whether or not they are sued is a decision the Stanley family will make.  By leaving the 'Does' in gives us the opportunity to amend the complaint," he said.



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