Betrayal of Trust: Clergy Abuse of Children

By Annie Laurie Gaylor

Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 750
Madison, Wisconsin 53701
Copyright 1988, Annie Laurie Gaylor

The first nonfiction book addressing the religious scandal of molestation of minors by members of the clergy was "Betrayal of Trust: Clergy Abuse of Children" by Annie Laurie Gaylor, which was published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation in 1988. Although the book is now out-of-print, and cites cases dating to the 1980s, it unfortunately is not out-of-date; all too little has changed since the first public exposure of pedophilia by priests and pastors. "Betrayal of Trust" (92 pages) documents the patterns of denial, inaction, cover-up, collusion, "forgiveness of sins," and blame of victims endemic in many church congregations and denominations. Print copies (Kinkos-bound) and a few used copies while they last are available from FFRF, PO Box 750, Madison WI 53701 for $10 ppd.

The entire book (now out of print) is reproduced below.

"He's a respected member of our community. . ."

". . .one drop of ink in crystal clear water. . ."

"Hey, Father, we've got a little problem. . ."

"It's not our job to judge . . . it's the Lord's job."

"He's a wonderful person. He's got our support 100 percent."

"When he preached, his face was just shining like an angel."

"It's not for you to judge. That's for God to do."

"He's a good man. If he did this, he will have to answer to God when he dies."

"I thought he was doing the right thing, because he was a priest."--Eleven year old boy victim

"I feel like my church has betrayed me."--His mother

"We have the right to know if an abuser is living among us."--Letter to editor

"Something like this can destroy a person."--Parent

"Being a preacher, we thought he was a good man."--Father of girl victim

"This is the worst case of sexual abuse I've seen during my 30 years in law enforcement."--Sheriff

"He wrapped himself in religious piety, used his position in the church and the community to shield himself and . . . to find children . . . to seduce them."--U.S. Attorney

"The defendant used his position of trust to get these girls."--Prosecutor

"Dressed up in sheep's clothing, he is a wolf that preys on our children."--Prosecutor

"This family turned to the church for help, and all the doors slammed shut."--Victims' Attorney

"I think the Catholic Church has its atonement to make as well. They helped create you."--Judge

"Priests now have a license to sexually betray their parishioners and the church will turn its back on innocent victims."--Attorney

"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?
"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
--Matthew 7:16,18,20

"Since the primary motive of the evil is disguise, one of the places evil people are most likely to be found is within the church. What better way to conceal one's evil from oneself, as well as from others, than to be a deacon or some other highly visible form of Christian within our culture? . . . . I do not mean to imply that the evil are anything other than a small minority among the religious or that the religious motives of most people are in any way spurious. I mean only that evil people tend to gravitate toward piety for the disguise and concealment it can offer them."
--Martin Buber
Good and Evil
(Philosopher/theologian)

". . . [Regarding] the convention that clergymen are more virtuous than other men. Any average selection of mankind, set apart and told that it excels the rest in virtue, must tend to sink below the average."
--Bertrand Russell
"Religion and the Churches," 1916
(Philosopher/ social critic)

Dedication

This publication is dedicated to Sherry,
three times the victim of religious men,
and to the multitude of children
betrayed by "pillars of the church."

Acknowledgment

The author is indebted to newspapers and reporters in North America for disclosing the facts on clergy abuse of children, sometimes involving exemplary investigative journalism in the face of heated controversy. The author is also grateful to the many readers of Freethought Today who conscientiously clipped and sent in many of the news accounts used in this book, as well as to several individuals, especially former minister Dan Barker, for encouraging an activist stance.

Introduction
Chapter 1 -- SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN
Chapter 2 -- BETRAYAL OF TRUST
Chapter 3 -- IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING
Chapter 4 -- SCENE OF THE CRIME
Chapter 5 -- CLERGY MALPRACTICE
Chapter 6 -- SEE NO EVIL
Chapter 7 -- COVER-UP IN THE CHURCH
Chapter 8 -- FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES
Chapter 9 -- SINS OF THE FATHERS
Chapter 10 -- HEAR NO EVIL
Chapter 11 -- OFFER THE SACRIFICES
Chapter 12 -- LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER
Chapter 13 -- ALL MANNER OF EVIL
Chapter 14 -- WHO MONITORS THE CLERGY?
Chapter 15 -- CONCLUSION
Appendix

INTRODUCTION: A religious scandal

This is a book that had to be written, not one that I or our organization had ever sought to publish. It started writing itself when, through the pages of our monthly newspaper Freethought Today, we started chronicling the alarming and startling number of criminal cases involving ministers and priests who are molesting children. The sources are unsolicited clippings from area newspapers sent in by our relatively small readership. A brief sampling from over the years:

Case, 1982: A Louisville, Kentucky pastor convicted of sodomy and sexual abuse of young boys testified anonymously before a Senate subcommittee in April, 1982, about hunting boys for sex. He recounted how he had cruised areas where teenaged boys congregate in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Louisville. He received a suspended sentence in March 1982 of 10 years in prison and was given five years' probation. (Source: Lexington Herald, 4/2/82)

Case, 1983: Rev. Wilbert Thomas, pastor of the Christian Alliance Holiness Church in Trenton, New Jersey, was indicted on charges of conspiring to control his congregation through criminal acts, including sexual assault, lewdness, involuntary servitude and beatings of women and children. He was convicted in 1985. (Source: Trenton Times, 2/83; 1985)

Case, 1984: Denouncing the "high degree of viciousness and cruelty" in the crimes, a judge sentenced Rev. Lawrence Gerard Smith, a priest, to eight months in prison. Smith, who was convicted of molesting Vietnamese boys he worked with in Hayward, California, was accused of taking advantage of their inability to speak English. (Source: [Lehighton, Pennsylvania] The Times News, 3/1/84)

Case, 1984: Rev. James E. Wynn, pastor of Mount Pisgah Baptist Temple in Asbury Park, New Jersey, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for sexually assaulting two young girls who were members of his congregation. Wynn was diagnosed as a "compulsive, repetitive sex offender" by doctors who examined him. The girls ranged in age from nine to 13 at the time of the assaults, which occurred at church or in the minister's home. The pastor steadfastly maintained his innocence. His attorney Charles Frankel told the judge at the time of sentencing that his client "stands before your honor with a clear conscience head unbowed." The church fired him from his duties a month after his conviction. Superior Court Judge James Kennedy stated that "these offenses involved the most drastic breach of trust anyone can imagine." (Source: Newark Star-Ledger, 10/13/84)

Case, 1985: Rev. P. Henry Leech, one of three Roman Catholic priests in Rhode Island accused in 1984 of having sex with children, pleaded no contest in August 1985 to eight counts of sexual assault, including sodomy and battery. (Source: Newark Star-Ledger, 8185)

Case, 1986: Baptist Rev. Bobby Harold Epps of Starke, Florida pleaded guilty in May, 1986 to performing a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a child under the age of 16. He was convicted of fondling a girl in a church office, and masturbating in her presence when giving her a ride home following a church activity. (Source: Gainesville Sun, 5/28/86)

Case, 1987: Father Robert William Klein of Brainerd, Minnesota, was found guilty on December 18, 1987 of third-degree sexual conduct involving children. Klein possessed a collection of 650 photos of boys modeling underwear or wrestling, and was described as "on the spectrum of what it means to be a pedophile." The priest/child molester used treats such as cookies, trips to Dairy Queen, and a treehouse in his backyard to lure youngsters. County Attorney Stephen Rathke said Klein might be a good, generous man, but "unfortunately, he's also a child molester." (Source: Brainerd Daily Dispatch, 12/18/87)

Case, 1988: Rev. William S. Barrett, a rector of Episcopal churches in Moreau and Fort Edward, New York, pleaded guilty to providing alcohol and drugs and showing pornography to two 14 year old boys with whom he engaged in oral sex. Barrett's crimes were particularly shocking to those who knew him since he had made a 20-year volunteer career of supposedly helping troubled youths. He was a certified foster parent for eight years, and had founded Project STRIVE in the late 1960s, a program for troubled youths. Barrett was known as a very religious man, who offered prayers during class reunions. (Source: Schenectady Gazette, 1/15/88)

On the average, three or four such reports cross my desk every week. All of these reports continue to stun me: priests, ministers or other "men of God" flagrantly abusing large numbers of children or young adolescents under the very noses of devout, unsuspecting parents, during church events and on church property, while churches cover up or rationalize abuse, and church members not uncommonly side with the abusers by blaming the victims.

When you read about a case of child molestation by a priest or minister, it may seem like an isolated phenomenon. But based on a study of child abusers by Dr. Gene G. Abel of Emory University, what appears to be a single aberrant case actually may involve hundreds of victims of the same pedophile. Even if crimes by sexually abusive clergy were confined to those documented in this book--a sampling of some of the criminal and civil cases reported by newspapers mainly in the years 1986 and 1987--the problem would be staggering. In recent major scandals in the Catholic dioceses, publicity from one case usually has led to the exposure of a network of pedophilic priests whose actions have gone unprotested by church superiors. This makes public exposure a vital part of prevention of future crimes.

Some readers may protest that spotlighting clergy criminals is taking a cheap shot, or may even object that it is "religion-bashing." This book carefully outlines many reasons why it is not unfair to place clergy abuse in the spotlight. Betrayal of Trust documents the special advantages clerical abusers have with their church, the state and with child victims. The most important reason for this book, however, is that "while Nero fiddles, Rome burns." Unpleasant as it may be to face, there are pedophiles among the clergy who are harming children at this moment. Even if some in our society consider it a topic beyond the pale, only awareness can help these children.

Hypocrisy is yet another major issue that must be addressed when sexual abuse by clergy occurs. When a profession claims a "calling of God," divine guidance and moral superiority, it begs for close scrutiny. Clergymen portray themselves as of a higher moral caliber, which makes their crimes at minimum newsworthy, even, arguably, worse than others.

It is everyone's business to protect children, the most vulnerable group in our society. Only when the public is aware and educated about this hidden abuse can we prevent future abuse. Church-going parents, and those who depend on church organizations for child care, Scouting and other social activities, should not be kept in ignorance of this aspect of child sexual abuse, particularly if it happens in their church! The parents of children who have been victimized by ministers and priests need to know their children are not the only ones. Groups already set up to deal with sexual victimization need to be fortified in their efforts to stop abuse when a clergyman is involved. The media need to be aware that the problem is not isolated to one sensational case in their community, or to some case buried in the back pages of a local newspaper.

It is true that pedophiles seek refuge in professions other than the clergy that can also provide access to children (but none giving them quite the prestige the typical minister receives). The Committee to Protect Children from Abusive Clergy would welcome more public attention focused on all aspects of child abuse, including incest or the problem of pedophilic coaches, police officers or pediatricians. This book, however, is restricted to those cases involving pedophiles under the cover of the church, for the excellent reason that, as documented here, churches are essentially providing sanctuary to pedophiles among their official ranks. The emotional reaction of the public to this problem, the modus operandi of such abusers and the psychology of denial when a pedophile is a priest or minister make the crimes of sufficient complexity to warrant special attention.

The Committee to Protect Children From Abusive Clergy was formed when it became clear that no one appears to be policing the clergy, that in fact most churches have dealt with such crimes in a callous and irresponsible manner. Church officials have looked the other way, or ostracized families who have complained about clergy abuse. Through the details gleaned from documented cases, patterns emerge. Certain refrains are heard repeatedly. From Victims: "I thought it must be right since he was a priest." From Victims' Families: "Being a preacher, we thought he was a good man." From Abusing Ministers: "I was only trying to help this family." From Defenders of Molesting Ministers: "We are taught forgiveness of sins."

As this book was nearing completion, the subject of molestation within the ministry took on a sudden, timely prominence, with the national syndication of several articles about the crisis of molesting priests within the Catholic Church. Associated Press Religion Editor George Cornell included the problem in his list of the top ten religion stories of 1987. Even religious pollster George Gallup spoke out in late 1987 against child sexual abuse in the church: "The most heart-rending thing is that our children are defenseless. The church should be the protector of children. But sometimes, incredibly, the ministers are themselves the molesters. And when such cases have surfaced their fellow clergy or hierarchy have hidden the facts. But the church could give a gift to children . . . the knowledge of how to protect themselves against child molesters. . ."

The problem is by no means confined to the Catholic Church. But with its financial liability for sexual abuse--with estimates at $1 billion in damages by 1995--and the massive stonewalling and cover-ups as documented here, the problem is seen in the Catholic Church at its worst. In some dioceses, pedophilia truly appears to be viewed by some Catholic officials as a way of life. Decisions by the Catholic Church to flagrantly ignore abuse or even reward pedophiles with greater responsibility over children, prompt the question of whether the church has tacitly condoned pedophilia. Why? To risk alienating its dwindling supply of priests? As a bizarre twist on a sexist attitude that priests must "sow their wild oats"--like that typical rationalization of a parent protecting a rapist son? Is child molestation a pillar of the priesthood? Without it, would its male hierarchy and doctrine of celibacy crumble? These are not unfair questions, given the Catholic officials' awe-inspiring track record of inaction, indifference and collusion.

The facts can speak for themselves. Full documentation of recent criminal and civil court cases involving pedophilic clergy is presented here, in an overall context of understanding pedophilia, wherever it occurs. The cases selected are not inclusive--to list all of the data collected by the Committee to Protect Children from Abusive Clergy to date would be prohibitive and reading them all would be numbing--but they are representative. An appendix summarizes up-to-date professional advice on "protective behaviors" and "antivictim training" with resources suggested.

Betrayal of Trust: Clergy Abuse of Children is written not just as an exposŽ and sourcebook but as an aid to parents, educators, churches and professionals dealing with this facet of child sexual abuse. This hidden abuse needs to be fully exposed, documented and halted. (A caveat: A rational approach is required. Sensitivity, precaution and education are in order, not hysteria, or even, as has occurred in some places, a paranoid witch-hunt looking for "Satan worshippers" or "occultists." In the cases documented here, the only "demons" are those which may exist in a pedophile's threats to terrify a religious child into submission. These cases involve "the priest or minister next door," and the abuse can be detected and prevented.)

The privilege, prestige and power of pedophilic priests and pastors has been maintained at the expense and pain of children, who may suffer all their lives because of this betrayal of trust. It is time to protect children from abusive clergy.

--Annie Laurie Gaylor
January, 1988

CHAPTER 1: SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN
"I have been betrayed by my church"

They are like victims of incest, taken advantage of by a person in authority and then trust has been betrayed.
--Attorney Gloria Allred

Several case histories

Faye and Glenn Gastal of Louisiana, devout Catholics, were overjoyed when their seven year old son became an altar boy. They were especially pleased that Rev. Gilbert Gauthe, their son's priest, took a personal interest in him, inviting him on outings and sleepovers at the rectory for "religious training." They did not connect this new friendship with their son's altered behavior. Nor did anyone, even doctors, connect it to the need to hospitalize him once for unexplained rectal bleeding. Father Gauthe, incidentally, visited the boy in the hospital, bringing a present.

Only several years later, when another family went public with the shocking news that Father Gauthe had molested their son, did the Gastals learn that the same thing had happened to their child.

The sexual reign of terror imposed by Father Gauthe upon the Gastal boy started with sodomy on his first day as an altar boy. He and other victims were told by Gauthe that sex with priests was a special religious rite for which they had been chosen by God. Gauthe admitted to molesting 37 boys and one girl, although officials suspect him of abusing twice as many children. These children were continuously molested (some as many as 200 times by the priest), and anally and orally raped--during church outings, when alone with the priest, and in the company of other altar boys. Gauthe also pornographically photographed children. The crimes occurred in the rectory, sacristy, confessional, and the priest's camper.

The Gastal boy testified at age 11 that at first he believed that being molested by priests was part of being an altar boy, and that his parents knew what was happening: "I thought he was doing the right thing because he was a priest." Later, the priest guaranteed his silence by threatening that "he would hurt my daddy, he'd kill him." Even after the abuse had ended, he testified that he "feels funny" when his own father hugs him. His mother characterized him as frightened and unable to accept affection.

This boy received a one million dollar award for damages from the Catholic Church on February 7, 1986. His parents received $250,000 as compensation for their pain, and for ostracism and harassment by the Catholic community. Unlike the other victimized families, the Gastals refused to settle out of court with the Catholic Church, and insisted on their day in court. The Church has paid at least $12 million to Gauthe's victims as of late 1987 in 16 cases, with more pending. The priest, who pleaded guilty in October 1985, is now serving a 20-year prison sentence. Gauthe was only one of several priests from the same Louisiana diocese implicated. Trial lawyer J. Minos Simon, retained by one of the families from the Esther-Henry, Louisiana area, publicly subpoenaed diocesan files on 27 other local priests he said had been accused of sexual improprieties. The church responded by admitting liability in the Gauthe case.

When the Louisiana scandal initially broke, the first family to go public with a complaint was forced out of business by the community, which felt it was wrong to "attack the Church in public." When the weekly newspaper, The Times of Acadiana of Lafayette, Louisiana, published an article about the cover-up and editorialized that the local bishop should resign, a monsignor in the diocese persuaded prominent local Catholic businesspersons to boycott the newspaper, costing it a painful $25,000 in lost advertising revenues.

"At first everyone wanted to circle the wagons and protect the church. Then they were afraid the civil suits would be taking money out of their own pockets because they are the ones who support the diocese. Now they want to know what the church has done to make sure this kind of crime doesn't happen again," one church member told the New York Times in 1985.

Community protectiveness toward the Church changed when it was revealed that a bishop and monsignor were aware of child molestation reports against Rev. Gauthe for more than 10 years before his abuse was halted. Attorney Paul Hebert, who represented one of the first families to pursue prosecution of Gauthe, said the church did not react with shock or even concern, although his complaint resulted in Gauthe's removal from the diocese. He said Monsignor Richard Mouton told him: "If the kids would come in and confess their sins, and still want to go forward, we'll see what happens." Hebert's reply was "See you in court."

The church dealt with Father Gauthe's abuse by transferring him. Parents confronted the priest as early as 1972. In 1974, Gauthe admitted to a bishop that he had made "imprudent touches" in "one isolated case." Nevertheless, the following year the bishop appointed him chaplain of the diocesan Boy Scouts. In 1977, more parents complained. Gauthe was directed to seek psychiatric treatment, but in 1978 was transferred to another family parish. The sworn statement of one church official was "I am trained as a priest to forget sins." The enormity of the scandal prompted even the National Catholic Reporter to condemn the cover-ups.

The fallout from Father Gauthe's pedophilic reign continues. A reward of $1.8 million was made in late 1987 to a victim who is now an adult, Calvin John Mire of Intracoastal City, Louisiana. A claim by the victim's wife was dismissed.

Says Faye Gastal about her son's abuse: "I wanted to teach him to be a good Catholic, to believe in God. I have been betrayed by my church." Unfortunately, the Gauthe case, as this book documents, is only the tip of the iceberg. (Sources: Washington Post/New York Times 1985; Miami Herald/Associated Press, 2/8/86; San Jose Mercury News, 12/31/87; Wisconsin State Journal, 12/13/87)

"Priests have a license to sexually betray their parishioners"

Rita Milla was a 16 year old teenager, a devout Catholic whose activities centered around St. Philomena Church, Carson, California, where she sang in the choir and taught religion to young children. Her confessor Father Santiago Tamayo began to reach through the broken screen in the confessional to fondle her breasts. Telling Rita's parents that she was accompanying him on his rounds at convalescent homes, he began to take her to his brother's apartment, where he engaged in various sexual activities. By January 1980, Father Tamayo was engaging in sexual intercourse with her. Then he introduced Father Cruces to her, who also used her sexually. Next he introduced her to five other priests, all of whom encouraged her compliance, flaunting their religious authority over her. Rita told news media that the priests had said sex was natural and that "priests get lonely, too." They assured her that it was morally and ethically right to allow priests to touch her, and to have sex with them. By doing so, they told her, she would help them in their religious work. They used their church position as spiritual advisors, counselors and confessors to induce her cooperation.

She became pregnant in January 1982. Tamayo packed Rita off to the Philippines, telling her parents that Rita would "study medicine," intending that she have her baby in secrecy and leave it there. She was sent only $450 to last seven months. She lived with cockroaches and ate only one meal a day.

"As a result," said her attorney Gloria Allred of Los Angeles, "she became malnourished," and nearly died during a Caesarian section. She gave birth to a daughter in October 1982 and kept her.

Rita said Bishop Abaya of the Philippines visited her at the hospital, promising to help. After she returned to the states and no help materialized, she then consulted Bishop Ward in Los Angeles. His response: there was nothing he could do. Rita said that she still "believed in the Church"--up until that point. After that final betrayal of trust, Rita and her mother filed a landmark "clergy malpractice" suit on February 8, 1984 to establish paternity, set up child support, and sue the priests and the Church for civil conspiracy for breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, deceit and clergy malpractice.

"Rita and her mother's purpose in filing this lawsuit," explained her attorney, "is to protect other young women from the pain and suffering caused by priests who abuse their position of trust. Rita's mother feels that Catholic parents have a right to expect a high standard of conduct from their priests, when they entrust them with their children, and this trust must not be betrayed."

The suit also sought to force the church to establish a policy to support children fathered by "fathers." The courts dismissed the case, citing a one-year time limit.

"Her faith in the Catholic Church prevented Rita from bringing suit earlier. Priests now have a license to sexually betray their parishioners and the church will turn its back on innocent victims," commented Allred. However, she filed a new suit in 1987 to represent other women who were similarly seduced as devout teenagers and used by Catholic priests, then abandoned when they became pregnant. "They are like victims of incest," Allred noted, "taken advantage of by a person in authority and then trust has been betrayed." (Sources: Legal brief of Rita Milla v. Los Angeles Diocese, 1984; Los Angeles Times, 3/87; Donahue Show, 11/87)

"Three religious experiences"

The following account is an excerpt of an article written by Sherry Matulis, a writer who is featured in the Planned Parenthood film "Personal Choices." She has testified before Congress about her search for an illegal abortion, after becoming pregnant from rape. Clergy abuse, as this testimony and the two letters which follow exemplify, is not a new problem. These personal histories poignantly reveal how victims' lives are shadowed by abuse occurring long ago:

My first major bonafide Religious Experience, the remembrance of which is thankfully hazy with age, was at the hands (and other appendages) of a master of just such hypocrisy, a deacon of the church and the Dirty Old Man prototype. It's anybody's guess how many youngsters, babies really, this pious old pervert "deflowered" in his time; telling them if they spoke of it to anyone, God would rend them asunder and send the pieces directly to Hell to burn forever.

He raped me when I was five. I know I wasn't the first. I sincerely doubt I was the last. And I also doubt that any of his small victims ever did snitch on him. Threats like being "rendered asunder" and having to "burn forever" have a very ominous ring to the ears of five and six year olds. . .

Seven years after this initial "baptism by fire," we left the little Iowa town and settled in Peoria, Illinois, where, within just a few short months, I had my second Religious Experience; this one falling in the near-miss category. A bit too near for comfort.

I was a very, uh, "developed" twelve going on twenty at the time; and on coming to the Big City, I had discovered that wonder of wonders: lipstick. Suffice it to say that within the more fundamentalist churches, this sort of discovery ranks just slightly below Darwin's. Brazen hussies wear lipstick. Brazen sinful hussies wear it to church. I wore it to church. I believe my reasoning was, at the time, that since I was doomed to Hell anyway, I wasn't about to go without my make-up.

The reasoning was deemed faulty, and the following Sunday the pastor said he wanted to have a talk with me. A private talk . . . After services . . . In the rectory . . . Whereupon, I made yet another discovery. He did indeed want me to remove that horrid lipstick. But in a most unconventional manner.

Well, friends, I hadn't been hanging around the religious set for twelve whole years without picking up some savvy. I mean, we are no longer talking about a dumb, frightened five year old here. I let him get his pants down, all the way down, around his ankles. And then I ran like hell!

But one can never run far enough, I guess. I didn't run far enough, anyway, to escape my third major Religious Experience, some years later . . . I will just say that I was again raped, quite savagely this time, by another religious nut. And this rape resulted in pregnancy. Which, in turn, resulted in my having to suffer an illegal abortion--a sort of "rape" in itself, and no less traumatizing than the original variety.

The following two remembrances of abuse are excerpted from letters by women molested as teenagers by clergymen, and were originally published in the Madison, Wisconsin Feminist Connection, April, 1984.

When I was in high school, specifically 10th and 11th grade, I was very actively involved in a Baptist church in Upper Northeastern Wisconsin. During this time I was very depressed about issues at home. I often sought counsel from my minister and also babysat for his children.

He began saying things that confused me--things about my looks and shape. He also began to touch me--hugs, pats, handholding, putting his arm around me. Although confused, I trusted him and was very needy. He also said things about taking my father's place. This went on for a long time.

Then one night as he took me home he stopped the car and held me, then he began kissing me and saying he wanted to make love to me. I was very frightened and confused--I began to cry and he took me home. Of course, I received the famous last words: "Don't ever tell anyone." I was very upset and felt responsible.

I never told anyone about this until about three years later. I told a counselor at the college I was attending. This college is affiliated with my church and is about an hour away from the church. This lady didn't believe me and broke confidentiality. She and her husband confronted this minister. Of course he changed the story, minimized his part, and blamed me.

My incident wasn't as severe as it could have been but it has affected my life. I am afraid of getting involved with men because I can't trust them.

Here is yet another memory of religious abuse.

Thirty years ago, when I was 12, 1 was "seduced" by a young parish priest to have an affair with him. My friend also was having an "affair" with him. Although there was no intercourse involved there was a lot of hugging and kissing and some petting. We often met secretly in the church or parochial school I attended for eight years. Sometimes we met off the church/school property and went for rides in the country in his car. I always hid on the floor near the back seat where no one could see me.

This young priest asked me to wear a gold friendship ring and he had one too. The rings looked like wedding bands. He asked me to come to be his housekeeper when I finished high school. Of course, even though I wanted to be a nun, I said I would.

Eventually the guilt of my deeds overcame me and I confessed this relationship to a priest at another church. Our C.Y.O. (Catholic Youth Organization) had visited another church for a retreat. The priest I confessed to made me agree to meet him outside the confessional so I could divulge the priest's name. I was very scared, but I did.

Eventually the young priest was removed from the parish and asked to live with the bishop. I never told my parents or anybody for a long time. I was afraid my parents would not believe me or would severely punish me for my acts.

But interestingly enough, neither the priest I confessed to nor the bishop followed up on how I was getting along. I was 12 years old at the time and had to cope on my own with a very unpleasant situation. Needless to say, my self-image was affected by this experience. I also had trouble trusting authority, I guess, for a long time. I was psychologically damaged by the experience.

The pastor of the parish also touched the sweaters and budding breasts of sixth, seventh and eighth graders. When we told our parents that he did this, they thought we were letting our imaginations get out of control. In those days parents stood by adults and kids were not listened to as much as they are today.

Needless to say, I do not have much respect for the clergy. The young parish priest I had the "affair" with eventually left the priesthood, got married and had three children. He is now a principal of a high school. I often wondered what he would do if some clergyman had an affair with his daughter. I'm certain he'd be more than mildly upset.

We must teach women that their bodies belong to them and they owe nothing to anyone. Self-respect is the key. It is difficult to get this message to young girls when society still treats women as second-class citizens. I would warn young women to become suspicious of any clergyman that took an unusual interest in them. He might have sexual intentions in mind. I think that Rita Milla will never be able to collect enough money for the damage that was done to her psychologically.

CHAPTER 2: BETRAYAL OF TRUST
Sexual abuse Of children

As outrageous as it might seem, there is an open season on children for the sexual predator.
--Roland Summit, M.D.

Sexual abuse of children is a major public health problem, if not an epidemic, conservatively involving an estimated 20 to 25 percent of all children. (Some studies estimate that half of all children are sexually abused in some way by the age of 18.) "As outrageous as it might seem, there is an open season on children for the sexual predator," writes Roland Summit, M.D., an adjunct professor of psychiatry at UCLA and pioneer of treatment programs for child victims of incest and abuse. Statistics are shaky. Depending on the study, one out of every three or four girls, and one out of every five to ten boys, are sexually molested at some point during their childhood. In 80 to 90 percent of the cases, the offender is well known to the victim.

Any incidence of child sexual exploitation must be treated as a public threat, because research indicates that pedophiles do not target just one child. Where one molested child is discovered, there may be 20 or 30 or 60 or even more than 200 other victims of the same assailant.

Discussing the problem of the pedophile who wears a clerical collar--clergymen who prey on children--has been taboo. Pastors, priests, deacons and other religious leaders are a subset of the dangerous class of "respected members of the community" who betray their position of authority and trust by sexually assaulting children. While it is always painful to learn of betrayal of trust by such men, society wears blinders when the crime is committed by clergy. The myths that "men of God" or "good Christians" can always be trusted, are holy keepers of morality and are above suspicion protect clergy molesters from detection. Dr. Michael Cox, director of a sexual offenders program at Baylor College of Medicine, treats more clergymen than people in many other professions. Obviously no one would claim that most clergymen sexually abuse children, or that only clergymen abuse children. But a startling number of ministers, church officials and avowed devout Christians have been convicted of sexual abuse and exploitation of children and teenagers--a religious scandal few wish to acknowledge.

Sexual abuse of children by trusted authority figures is a crime comparable to incest in its betrayal of trust, particularly since offenders usually exploit children in the context of a trusting relationship. Religious language encourages the idea that the church is an "extended family" which meets an individual's emotional needs for love, support and acceptance. Ministers purposely cultivate "father figure" images--Catholic priests are even formally addressed as "Father."

"You've got to be Catholic to appreciate the indoctrination you get as a child," explains George McGrath, an investigator with the Essex County, New Jersey prosecutor's office, who worked on a case involving a priest assaulting boys. "Priests are Christ's representatives on earth."

"The symbolic aspect of the title 'Father' should not be overlooked in understanding the position a priest has in relation to a child," wrote five Lafayette, Louisiana psychologists after interviewing 15 child victims of a priest. "Consider, if you will, the impact on a child [who] is sexually abused during the week, and on Sundays witnesses his parents bowing, kneeling, genuflecting, praying, receiving sacraments and graciously thanking the priest for his involvement in their lives. Such events [make] him believe that such sexual activities have been sanctioned by their parents. The even more astonishing act of molesting the child while in the confessional, followed by granting of absolution to the child, would be expected to inculcate very, very strong feelings of guilt."

The San Jose Mercury News reported that "Katherine R.," a 14 year old girl molested at age 12 in her own home by a priest, told her psychologist, "When I was little and looked up at him, I thought he looked like God."

"When the offender is a well-trusted authority figure," writes Susan J. Kelley, a specialist in child abuse with the Boston College School of Nursing, "the child feels an obligation to obey the offender and comply with their demands . . . the child learns early on in the relationship that he or she is incapable of avoiding the sexual advances of the offender. There is always an unequal power relationship between a child and adult, which is exploited during sexual abuse."

Sexual abuse of children is a crime of exploited power that can continue only in secrecy and when its existence and prevalence are denied. "Child molesters thrive in an atmosphere of ignorance, secrecy, and anonymity. If we are to protect our children from these criminals, we must educate where there is ignorance, reveal where there is secrecy, and identify where there is anonymity," write Robin Lenett and Bob Crane in It's O.K To Say No!

Just as it can be unthinkable that a family member is abusing his own child or young relative, it can be impossible for a church congregation or a victim's own parents to accept evidence that a popular priest or devout minister is sexually abusing minors under his direction.

This is one of the reasons for the widespread cover-up of clergy crimes against children. Clergymen and their supporters may believe that clergy are "above the law" and need answer only to "their God." Doctrines of "sin" and "forgiveness" can be promoted at the expense of the safety and rights of victimized children. As one angry churchgoer put it, "Some people worship preachers."

When denial and disbelief get translated into open defiance of the law and harassment and persecution of families who bravely press charges, the results can sear an already betrayed child for life. When a church or society reacts to a clergyperson's criminal acts by "overlooking" them, or by transferring him to another parish or church (out of sight, out of mind), or by a "wrist slap," that is collusion. The inevitable result is that previous victims will receive no support or counseling, and many children will become his future victims.

Even when a child has the courage to report abuse at the hands of a minister, many people will go to great lengths to deny that such an outrage could have occurred. That is why it is vital to create awareness of the potential for sexual abuse of children. Silence works only in favor of the status quo--to protect perpetrators. Only when society admits that a problem exists and is willing to take sensible educational steps to empower children in all situations involving adult authority figures will children be less vulnerable. Tragedies involving clerical betrayal can only be avoided or minimized if parents realize they need to take precautions toward any authority with whom their children come in contact--including ministers, priests and religious officials.

Awareness is the best prevention. Parents can educate themselves and take steps to ensure that children receive practical and nonalarming instruction in protective behaviors and antivictim training in schools, homes and churches. (Specific suggestions on prevention, detection and resources are included at the back of this book). Empowered children who know they have a right to question authority, to think for themselves, to feel safe all of the time, to be believed, and who know it is okay to say no, are far less vulnerable to exploitation--by any adult in authority.

Facts on child sexual abuse

Researcher, physician and psychiatrist Gene G. Abel of Emory University School of Medicine directed the largest study of pedophiles ever conducted. Over an eight-year period Abel studied 403 child abusers for the Antisocial and Violent Behavior Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Considered a landmark study, it revealed that 403 pedophiles had molested more than 67,000 children! The pedophilic abuse ranged from indecent exposure and verbal overtures to more serious assault--that involving sexual touch. This study confirmed that little girls were molested most often when all forms of abuse were considered. But it revealed that almost two-thirds of the victims of the more serious offenses--those involving touch--turned out to be little boys. Not only did these molesters prey on boys more often than they assault girls, but they molested shocking numbers of boys. Pedophiles who targeted male victims in this study averaged 282 victims, compared to 23 victims among men who assaulted girls. (However, an earlier study by Abel found that molesters who mainly abuse girls have as many as 60 girl victims.) Other studies, as summarized in a 1986 article by Richard 1. Lanyon, Department of Psychology at Arizona State University, had more traditional findings, with close to three-quarters of male pedophiles victimizing female children exclusively, one-quarter choosing male victims, and a small minority victimizing both sexes. Given these disparate findings and a general consensus that boys greatly underreport molestation, it is vital that no assumptions be made, and that children and adolescents of both sexes receive support and antivictim training.

All research shows that the typical child molester is able to harm large numbers of children without being caught, in part because he has already established a trusting relationship, playing on children's vulnerability, shame, naivetŽ, and loyalty, and fortifying his power to silence them through bribery, coercion and violent threats.

Many of the abusers studied in the NIMH research are "respected members of the community," respected by parents, trusted by children. They are men who often move themselves into positions of trust over children. "Molesters often become youth ministers, day-care workers, Boy Scout leaders, teachers, Big Brothers and pediatricians," according to Dr. Abel and Nora Harlow ("The Child Abuser," Redbook Magazine, August 1987).

Prof. Lanyon summarizes common myths about child molesters: "A number of widely held beliefs about child sexual abusers have been shown to have no substance. Most prominent is the stereotype that child molesters are socially marginal persons or 'dirty old men.' Indeed, the molester is most commonly a respectable, otherwise law-abiding person, who may escape detection for exactly that reason. Furthermore, the median age of first offense is reported to be as young as 16 (Groth et al., 1982). Second, most molestation is done by men who are not strangers, but who are known to the victim, and in fact are often related to the victim (Conte & Berliner, 1981). Third, data and experienced clinical opinion suggest that children do not fabricate accounts of being molested except in rare instances, presumably when there are clear motivations to do so (Meiselman, 1978; Summit, 1983)."

The blame-the-victim syndrome that children invent stories about being sexually abused helps protect the pedophile's "secret." Unfortunately, children are much more apt not to tell, or if they tell, to retract or deny the truth following censure or inappropriate reaction by adults. Most children cannot talk about sexual occurrences unless they have experienced them.

Many people are skeptical of reports of long-term sexual abuse because they assume that children would tell their parents immediately if ever molested. First, remember that a parent might be the offender. Second, it may be very hard for children to tell parents if they have not been given the vocabulary, permission or freedom to discuss their own bodies and personal safety. Children need safety tips on the sanctity of their own body in the same way they need advice about crossing the street or wearing warm clothes. If children have not been educated about their right to say "no," to question authority, to think for themselves and act in their own best interests, they are vulnerable to abuse. A child who has been molested also may be shamed or terrified into silence by a pedophile's threats. He or she may be convinced that something terrible will happen to those they love if they tell.

"Pedophilia" is the clinical term for an abnormal adult sexual desire for children. Although a small percentage are female, most pedophiles are male, which is why this book refers to abusers as "men" and "clergymen." A pedophile is someone who has a deviant sexual preference for children, sometimes male children, sometimes female children, or sometimes both sexes. Pedophilia is not homosexuality. The large majority of men who molest little boys are not gay, Dr. Abel's study shows. "Only 21 percent of the child molesters we studied who assault little boys were exclusively homosexual. Nearly 80 percent of the men who molested little boys were heterosexual or bisexual, and most of these men were married and had children of their own," according to Abel and Harlow. Abel's research confirmed that many pedophiles start abusing children when they themselves are 16 or 17. [Note that the criminal cases cited in this book do not specify age of the assailant. Ages ranged, from the time of discovery of the assault, from 20 years to 77 years. Victims ranged from babies to teenagers. Many of the molesters who were in mid-life had apparently been molesting minors for 20 or more years before they were caught. Age of the assailant appears to be no factor in clergy abuse of children.]

Traditionally, social scientists categorize pedophiles as either "fixated" (those whose exclusive sexual preference is children), or "regressed" (those who have an "appetite" for both children and adults, and will take advantage of children when the situation avails itself, particularly when under stress). "Fixated pedophiles" are typically unmarried (or marry for convenience or camouflage), select boys, premeditate their abuse, deny wrongdoing, and seek children for their primary affectionate and companionate relationships. "Regressed pedophiles" are more apt to impulsively abuse girls, blame alcohol for their actions and feel ambivalence about their crime. Alcohol is often considered a "disinhibiting factor" to the point where professionals remind the public that children should not be left in the care of heavy drinkers.

"It is time to discover that men have many needs that they are too proud and too insecure to acknowledge, and that apparently normal men slip rather easily into exploiting whatever potential sexual object is most available and most easily subordinated," analyzed Dr. Summit.

In a majority of cases, pedophiles do not rely on physical violence, and are distinguished from child-rapists who engage in a one-time violent act with a child they do not know. Children will tend to report sudden, brutal violence even if perpetrated by a respected authority figure (this generality does not necessarily apply to incest, where a child may feel there is no one to turn to). Therefore pedophiles "court" and "woo" victims, testing how passive, obedient and naive a child is before establishing the abusive relationship. A majority of children are not physically injured during molestation. "Fondling"--the sexually abusive touch--is the most common type of childhood sexual abuse. The fact that the harm may not be visible can be used against a child victim, for our adult-protective society often "overlooks" the harm of a touch that does not leave a bruise. Any sexual abuse is a violence against the personhood and psyche of the victim. Abuse also may take the form of masturbation and making the child touch the adult, of exhibitionism, and pornography. Even when molestation is confined to nonviolent touch of intimate parts, the effect can be terrifying to the child. Just as many rape victims report that their greatest fear during an attack is of being killed, child victims may also be haunted by fears of being killed, or of being responsible for the deaths of loved ones who have been threatened by a molester. Disruption of normal childhood and school life may ensue, with general depression or suicidal feelings. Victims may worry about "turning gay," developing AIDS, being viewed and identified by their photos in the hands of other pedophiles, or growing up to become a pedophile.

When the abuse includes oral, anal or vaginal rape, this can be ravaging to an immature body. Consequences of sexual intercourse upon a child can include pregnancy, lacerations, prolapsed rectums or vaginas, genital infections and sexually transmitted diseases. Sexual abuse in this day of AIDS can mean a death sentence for any victim of rape.

The degree of damage which sexual abuse causes physically, psychologically and emotionally to a child will be shaped by factors such as the relationship of the offender to the victim, the type and severity of abuse, how long it continues, the reaction of the people the child tells, and the support available to the child to recover. Depending on these factors and especially when the abuse is discovered immediately and stopped, some children will experience few after-effects. Others have committed suicide as a result, including victims of clergy, as documented later. Sexual abuse is a betrayal that can cheat children not only of their childhood but of a sense of security and self-esteem, instead imposing pain, confusion, shame, guilt, fear and a loss of control. Children, the defenseless victims of a deviant sexual drive, should never have to carry the burden of such a "secret."

Sadly, pedophilia can be a learned behavior. Cyclic pedophilia is a devastating consequence of boyhood molestation. Some researchers believe that most child abusers (physical and sexual) were themselves victimized as children. A Berkeley study found childhood molestation in the backgrounds of more than half of the abusers. The NIMH statistics reveal that although a majority of this particular group of molesters they studied had not been sexually abused, a large minority were. Forty percent of the pedophiles who molested boys were themselves molested as children, while 24 percent who molested girls were themselves molested. For whatever reason, boys who are molested are prone to becoming offenders themselves, although such a life sentence is by no means inevitable, particularly with intervention, support and counseling.

"If you want to use words like 'molester' and 'victim,' then a molester is a victim who grew up," states Dr. Fred Berlin of Johns Hopkins University Medical School.

The medical treatment of pedophilia is still a nascent field. The San Jose Mercury News (12/30/87) summarized the somewhat bleak situation this way: "Success in controlling the disease has been obtained when highly motivated pedophiles agree to take the drug Depo-Provera, which reduces sex drive, coupled with intensive psychotherapy. Even then, however, experts emphasize that pedophiles still must be kept away from children. The only other known deterrents are castration and imprisonment."

Jim Carlson, a Boise, Idaho prosecutor of a pedophilic priest, told the Mercury News, "What's frustrating is that this sickness is so deep-seated that the experts say no one can ever be cured. You've just got to keep them away from potential victims. And they [Catholic officials] didn't do that."

Pedophilia is characterized by some as a disease, at minimum a compulsion that, once started, will not be halted by the abuser without constant, professional intervention. Certainly we know that religious sanctions, prayers and penance are ineffective, often counterproductive responses to this far-reaching criminal and medical problem.

CHAPTER 3: IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING
Blindspots about pedophilic clergy

What better way to conceal one's evil from oneself, as well as from others, than to be a deacon or some other highly visible form of Christian within our culture. . .
--Theologian Martin Buber

Why is clergy sexual abuse of children such a problem in our society? Based on an analysis of hundreds of such cases, there appear to be many blindspots which protect or promote child abuse by clergy, and risks which apply uniquely to clergy's victims:

Some pedophiles choose the ministry because it can bring them into contact with children, yet shield them from detection.
We teach people, especially children, to give "men of God" blind obedience.
Clergy have special access to children.
Clergy, whose role includes "pastoral counseling," are trusted and sought after for guidance.
Believers wish to deny evidence of clergy abuse.
Congregations may form a wagon circle, thereby protecting molesting ministers and priests, and ostracizing victims.
Churches may actively cover up, bribe, fail to act or knowingly pass on a child molester to another parish or congregation.
Pastoral counselors may use state/church separation as an excuse not to report evidence of child abuse.
Church teachings of "forgiveness" of sins can be promoted at the expense of victims.
The celibacy of the priesthood can be an exacerbating factor in child abuse.
Boys abused by men face a special stigma in the church.
Since ministers have a lot to lose with detection, there is a potential for escalation of violence.
Religious doctrine can establish and encourage power inequities leading to child abuse.

Why pedophiles may choose the ministry

In their book It's O.K. To Say No!, Robin Levett and Bob Crane write:

"Because the abuse of children is a sexual preference formed relatively early in life, some offenders consciously or unconsciously choose career paths that will bring them regularly in contact with children. Others may volunteer to supervise children's sports or club activities.

"Many," they point out, "are highly respected members of the community. Some are in positions of authority over children-teachers, doctors, police officers, clergymen, coaches."

Note Gene Abel, M.D. and Nora Harlow, "Many child molesters try to move themselves into positions or occupations within the community that will allow them to spend time alone with children without attracting much notice. Molesters often become youth ministers, daycare workers, Boy Scout leaders, teachers, Big Brothers and pediatricians."

Abel's findings include this fact about the typical child molester: "He is often an active Christian who is involved in his church. He never assaults children he does not know; he only chooses children with whom he can first build a trusting relationship."

Abel adds, "Never assume that anyone is beyond suspicion by virtue of his respected position, strong religious beliefs, years in the community or kindness to children."

A personal characteristic which many sexual offenders share is a "rigid and authoritarian background, such as military, religious, or a punitive family," note authors Caren Adams and Jennifer Fay in No More Secrets, a book based on their work with child victims.

Many factors may be involved in a pedophile's attraction to the ministry. As theologian Martin Buber noted, "What better way to conceal one's evil from oneself, as well as from others, than to be a deacon or some other highly visible form of Christian within our culture. . . ."

Sexual repression common to many conservative religions, as well as the strict celibacy of the Catholic priesthood, are exacerbating factors. Organized sexual repression may either attract sexually deviant individuals, or, possibly, create them. The human sexual instinct rarely can be permanently repressed, but it can be perverted. Repressive sexual attitudes may predispose pedophiles toward sexual activities with children, according to research by David Finkelhor, Ph.D. Authoritarian religions which view children as property and place a premium on obedience may attract pedophiles, who like children because exploiting kids allows them to feel powerful.

A religious child's self-concept and attitude toward religious authority may give a clergyman with pedophilic leanings a special edge. Sherryll Kerns Kraizer of the Safe Child Book, who has pioneered the development of sexual abuse prevention, writes: "Many children tell me that their body belongs to God." A young child who assumes his or her body is "owned by God" will be vulnerable to abuse by an esteemed "instrument of God."

How the ministry shields abusers from detection

Molesting ministers exploit their special status and the deference paid to them, using their position to deflect suspicion. It is difficult for many pious people to question the behavior of clergy, whose profession is venerated, set-apart and inviolate. Child molesters in any walk of life attempt to camouflage their conduct and endear themselves to the community by their "good works" and reputation. Molesting clergypersons, simply by virtue of their exalted position, already have the reputation other child molesters must work hard to achieve.

Example: Rev. Jack Law, a Baptist minister in Nashville, was accused of molesting and raping three small sisters during church outings and visits, once raping a five year old girl under a church pew. He was also accused of molesting and raping the sisters at their family's home and during an outing arranged to help him distribute religious tracts. The girls had tried to tell their parents, but were not believed. "Being a preacher," the father said, "we thought he was a good man." Law killed himself in July 1987 when facing trial for abusing the three sisters. (Sources: Nashville Banner, 7/26/86; Tennesseean, 7/10/87)

Example: Brazenly abusive behavior reportedly went unchecked for more than a year when Pastor Charles Brown of London Baptist Church, in Evergreen, Alabama, latched on to a teenaged boy and initiated a sexually abusive relationship by telling the boy he had a mental problem Brown could cure. The pastor's prescription: to get "closer," ply the boy with drugs, and move him into his own home and his own bedroom (the pastor's wife was relegated to their daughter's bedroom). Brown was convicted of a reduced misdemeanor charge in 1987 and was given a suspended sentence, although he was fired from his position as a public school teacher. (Source: Evergreen Courant, 9/25/86; 1987)

Example: Father Lawrence Nawrocki, parish priest of the prospering 5,300-member St. Isidore's Catholic Church in Macomb Township, Michigan, was accused of molesting Catholic boys through his church position. The priest's materially successful lifestyle allowed him to entice victims by inviting parish boys to his cabin in northern Michigan, with promises they could ride fancy motorcycles. The priest had received favorable publicity in the Detroit Free Press in 1986 for holding a "blessing" of recreational vehicles in the church parking lot. "He would go out to a movie with them, show them movies at night on his VCR [and] he also was active in youth sports," said Macomb County prosecutor Carl Marlinga. Nawrocki was accused of molesting two 12 year olds and one 11 year old in the fall of 1987. The sexual abuse occurred in the church rectory and in the church before mass. One of the 12 year old victims had been promised a trip to Florida over Thanksgiving if he received good grades. The parish was reportedly "in a state of shock." (Source: Detroit Free Press, 11/11/87)

Example: Gary R. Martin, who had served as a minister and was a volunteer chaplain for the Indian River County Sheriffs office as well as the Vero Beach Police Department, was charged with molesting 13 boys. He had trusted positions in the community, including an appointment to the school district's sex education committee. His modus operandi was to tell victims he was researching children's growth for a doctoral thesis at Trinity Theological Seminary in Indiana. He pleaded no contest to sexually mishandling three of the 13 boys. In October 1987 he was sentenced to seven years in a state prison with an additional 13 years probation, and ordered to receive treatment for his pedophilia. (Source: Florida Today, 3/1/87; 10/31/87)

Example: Deacon James Nordgren, a Sunday School teacher at Sherwood Park Baptist Church in Irving, Texas, was indicted for aggravated sexual assault of three boys under age 14. He was charged with assaulting the boys at his home after showing them a book with a cover resembling a bible but which contained pictures of nude people. (Source: [Irving, Texas] Daily News; 5/21/87)

Example: Rev. David Lee Taylor, of Grace Epworth United Methodist Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to two counts of sodomy involving a 10 year old boy he was assigned to help through the Big Brother program. Taylor also received eight years' probation and was fined $3,600, as well as being ordered to pay $100 to the victim compensation program. Taylor was the victim's "Big Brother." (Source: Tulsa World, 7/3/87; 10/15/87)

Example: Rev. John S. Lower received three years unsupervised probation for molesting a girl, under age nine, during bible studies at her "home school." (Source: Tulsa World, 4/15/87)

Example: Rev. Paul Margand, a Catholic priest in Lincoln, Nebraska, pleaded no contest to charges of molesting two altar boys, including a 12 year old boy taking private religious instruction. Margand had ordered him to pray lying on his back, then mounted him while continuing to ask the boy questions about Moses. (Source: Lincoln Journal, 7/10/87; Lincoln Star, 11/19/87)

The danger of blind obedience

Teaching children never to question adult authority makes them vulnerable to abuse by any adults--teachers, police officers, babysitters, coaches and parents. "Be sure and do exactly whatever Rev. Smith tells you to do" can be a recipe for exploitation.

Ministers, rabbis and priests--"men of God"--are not merely authority figures, they are "divine authorities." The requirement that no religious teaching or assumption ever be questioned within a church-the fact that most religions are predicated on submission to authorityplaces ministers and priests on a unique pedestal of power. Children approached by ministers whom they have been taught to revere and address as "the reverend," men whom they know to be greatly esteemed by their parents, feel helpless to ward off a threatening or abusive contact initiated by such a person. Children, seeing that clergy have special status and naively believing ministers or priests can do no wrong, are at special risk around a clergy pedophile.

Child abuse prevention activist Kraizer notes, "We need to look at the ways in which we teach our children to be blindly obedient to adults and authority figures. Most children do not know they can say no to a police officer, a teacher, a principal, a counselor, a minister, a babysitter, or a parent when an inappropriate request is made."

The fact that parents tend to be very flattered if a priest or minister pays special attention to their child, or buys them gifts or takes them on outings, also works in favor of an abusive clergyperson.

Most child molesters exploit a carefully cultivated relationship with their child victims, then rely on bribes and threats to silence them, such as: "I'll kill your parents," or "I'll tell the police what you did and you'll to go jail," or even play on a child's misguided loyalty to the molester. Molesting ministers and priests enlist not just these but often more terrifying threats of "the wrath of God," "fear of the church," and "eternal damnation." "Hell" is a powerful tool in the hands of a minister who wants to silence a young victim.

Example: "I thought it must be all right because a priest wouldn't do anything wrong," said a grown man recalling his abuse at the hands of Rev. Allen F. Bruening, a priest in Cleveland. (Source: Plain Dealer, 7/12/87)

Example: A priest in Rockledge, Florida used "fear of the church" and threatened the "wrath of God" to silence his victims. Rev. William Authenreith, of St. Mary's Catholic Church, was given immunity but admitted to years of molesting four altar boys in his bedroom above the church office, in the sacristy, library, and church cars, as well as engaging in sexual catechisms and behavior at the Catholic School. The Diocese of Orlando agreed to pay $490,000 to the family of one of the victims, and settled out of court with two others. (Sources: Orlando Sentinel, 8/5,6/86; Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/8/86; Tampa Tribune, 5/6/87)

CHAPTER 4: SCENE OF THE CRIME
Special access to children

Pay close attention to adults who spend considerable 'off duty' time with the same child or children. --Church Mutual Protection Insurance Company

Many parents assume their children could not be safer than when in the care of a clergyman or church institution. Confessionals, youth groups, Sunday School outings, Christian Scouting, Christian day camps and summer camps, church schools and athletics, church nurseries and day/home care all give clergy special access to children and young teenagers--often otherwise unchaperoned. Churches and religious groups often successfully bid for public tax dollars to set up their own religious agencies providing foster care, detention centers, halfway houses, or "homes for unwed mothers." Chaplains have special access to these as well as public facilities. Sexual abuse of children commonly occurs on church property: the sacristy, church offices, church-owned cars and residential dwellings, as well as in church homes or even the homes of trusting families of abused children. Molesting priests, for instance, have often invited a young boy for weekend trips, "sleepovers" at the rectory and similar outings which might otherwise be forbidden or would normally cause parental suspicion. Parents who are protective of daughters may not worry if the man alone with them is a minister. Parents may even heartily approve of an adult man spending a great deal of time alone with their son--if the grown-up is a "man of God" or a "good Christian."

"Pay close attention to adults who spend considerable 'off duty' time with the same child or children," advises the Church Mutual Protection Insurance Company. Dr. Gene Abel suggests that one difference between a nonabuser and a child molester is that the molester will manufacture many excuses to be alone with a child (or group of children). Abel also advises that if an adult is interested in spending more time with your children than you are, he may be a molester. If he seems too good to be true, he may be. Certainly "sleepovers" should be carefully scrutinized!

Example: Priest Richard Galdon pleaded guilty to molesting more than a dozen parochial schoolboys when serving as chaplain to three religious Boy Scout troops, where he participated in outings. Galdon sodomized one altar boy about three times per month over a period of a year after playing a strip card game. Yet another victim had been regularly molested over a two year period while watching television with the priest. He admitted to engaging in oral and anal sex with boys for 17 years. "I'm convinced, based on my investigation, that the Church knew about it," said District Attorney's investigator George McGrath, who spoke with 18 of his victims. "He'd molest a kid tomorrow if he could." Galdon was sentenced to 25 years in prison, although his defense attorney asked that Galdon be allowed to remain at the Foundation House in New Mexico, a Catholic center for the care of pedophilic priests. "He gave his life to the service of others. He has, except for this offense, lived a law-abiding life," argued attorney Peter Manahan. Prosecutor Edward Bilinkas said Galdon's vocation should be weighed as an aggravating factor in deciding his punishment. "This man was put in a particular position of trust. He violated that trust and because of this he should be held more accountable." Criminal Assignment Judge Sidney Reiss of Superior Court in Newark said the sentence would show "the safety of our children cannot be compromised even for our reverence for men of the cloth." Galdon was remanded to the custody of the state Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, a corrections facility for sex offenders. (Sources: Newark Star Ledger, 3/5/87; 10/29/87; San Jose Mercury News, 12/30/87)

Example: Mormon Sunday school teacher Thomas Eugene Dawkins was accused of "the worst case of sexual abuse I've ever seen during my 30 years in law enforcement," according to Richard County Sheriff Frank Powell of Elgin, South Carolina. "I'm not sure how a child can cope with something like this." Dawkins was accused of brutally torturing and raping a girl over a two-year period starting when she was 13, terrifying her into submission by cutting her, showing her body parts he kept in jars, and threatening to dissect her. Much of the abuse occurred during church outings, or during privately arranged meetings. Dawkins denied guilt, instead, according to reports, "praying and reading from the Book of Mormon." South Carolina Circuit County Judge John Hamilton Smith termed the abuse of a "sadistic and macabre nature." Dawkins was found guilty and sentenced to 60 years in prison in November 1986. (Source: [Columbia, South Carolina] The State, 4/25/86; 11/8/86)

Example: Rev. Gordon Taylor of Keizer, Oregon was indicted for sodomy, sexual abuse and furnishing obscene material to minors. His reported victims were teenagers at a home for "wayward kids" which he directed. Charges were dismissed but prosecutors said they would reopen the case pending the location of a teenaged boy considered a key witness. (Source: Oregonian, 5/3/86; 6/17/86)

Example: Monsignor Rudolph Galindo of San Diego settled out of court after establishing a pedophilic relationship with a young Vietnamese teenager whom he took on countless weekend stays--even a 14-day cruise, and lavished more than $10,000 in gifts and benefits. Red lights were flashing all over the place--yet who would suspect a monsignor? (Source: San Diego Union, 12/29/85)

Example: Retired priest and part-time chaplain Father Edmund John Boyle pleaded guilty and was sentenced for a felony charge of lewdness involving a terminally ill, mentally retarded and mute 12 year old boy at the Riverside Hospital for Skilled Care in Reno, where Boyle worked as chaplain. (Source: Los Angeles Times, 4/25/87; Reno Gazette, 10/10/87)

Example: Priest Carmelo "Mel" Baltazar continually used his clerical access to dominate and exploit boys under his care. He was kicked out of the U.S. Navy as a chaplain and was transferred from three dioceses for abusive behavior, before finally being prosecuted for luring two teenage boys to his church house in the Diocese of Boise, Idaho. He was charged with molesting them by plying them with liquor, drugs and pornography. At a church position at Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, California, he molested a boy on a dialysis machine. Despite this, the Catholic church in Boise hired him as chaplain at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. They took no action after an Episcopalian minister reported to Bishop Sylvester Treinen that Baltazar had fondled a boy in double-leg traction, Bishop Treinen compared Baltazar's behavior to that of a car that, "no matter how well you take care of [it]" occasionally has a flat. Baltazar was sentenced to seven years for sexual acts with a teenaged boy whom he met in the psychiatric ward. Judge Alan Schwartz said at the sentencing: "I think the Catholic Church has its atonement to make as well. They helped create you." (Sources: The Idaho Statesman, 11/20/84; San Jose Mercury News, 12/30/87)

Example: Catholic priest Rev. Donald Stavinoha pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a nine year old boy in a church van owned by Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Houston. Police officer Gerardo Gamez caught the priest in the act of abusing the boy, and reported ordering to him "keep your hands where I can see them. Pull the little boy's pants up and step out of the van." "Oh, my god," was the priest's reply. The victim's mother, informed of the incident, began crying and told police that for the past two years the priest had taken the boy on trips, supposedly to see movies, go to church or to play video games. Jurors sentenced Stavinoha to almost 10 years in prison. "At issue was the fact that he held a position of authority and trust, like a police officer, a teacher or a scoutmaster. I find it very offensive when a person uses that position to commit a crime," said jury forewoman Jacqualine Brown. "Hopefully the little boy will recover from this eventually--also the mother. They trusted this man, and he wasn't trustworthy," said juror Mildred Ridgeway. Prosecutor Jim Buchanan said, "Dressed up in sheep's clothing, he is a wolf that preys on our children." (Sources: Houston Chronicle, 1/6/88; Lufkin Daily News, 1/11/88)

Example: Ron J. Steckbauer, an Ocean Beach, California video arcade owner who ran a bible study group for boys and chaperoned them on weekend trips to Arizona, was arrested on molestation charges. Police believe there may have been more than a hundred individual molestations committed against 15 boys between the ages of 10 and 14 years. Steckbauer was also charged with failure to register with local police as a convicted sex offender. The bible study was reported to be his modus operandi and cover for finding victims. (Source: Los Angeles Times, 12/10/87)

Example: Rev. Bill Peckham, of Springfield, Illinois, known nationally for his work with the poor and homeless through Contact Ministries, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and a reduced misdemeanor charge of sexually abusing a 14 year old boy. The victim, a ward of the state, reported the abuse on January 1, 1986. He was then "wired" to secretly tape-record conversations with the minister, which led to Peckham's arrest on January 5. Peckham also founded the Holy Fools Clown Ministry, which has chapters all over the nation. Although Peckham could have received three to seven years imprisonment for the felony charges, he was given only four years' probation, and was sentenced to a year in jail for the misdemeanor charge. (Sources: [Alton, Illinois] Telegraph, 12/3/87; Peoria Journal Star, 1/7/88)

Example: Religiously authoritarian men are considered high-risk candidates as foster fathers, yet who would question a minister's motives in taking in foster children? Rev. John Janney Sr. pleaded guilty to molesting three male foster children, following a wild attempt to elude authorities by fleeing to another state, during which time he tried to murder his wife and commit suicide. Ironically, as a pastor of the Calvary Bible Baptist Church, Bridgeton, New Jersey, he had been an outspoken opponent of humanist literature which he said would "corrupt the morals of youths." (Source: Bridgeton Evening News, 12/26/85)

Example: Church deacon Harley Francis of Powers Drive Baptist Church in Orlando was convicted of molesting six girls, ages six to 13, whom he met through his Sunday School class. The elderly deacon bribed them with gifts and told the court he couldn't understand how people could misconstrue his "kindness toward children." (Source: Florida Today, 4/26/86)

Example: Rev. William Henwood, pastor of the Jericho Independent Church in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, pleaded no contest to charges of sexual contact with a 10 year old girl. He had molested her in his own home, as well as on the school bus he drove for the church. The little girl explained to investigators, "He'd drive with one hand." (Source: Scranton Times, 10/9/87)

Example: Rev. William Bosley of Kenosha, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 55 years in prison for sexually abusing a six year old girl in his church while her blind mother was cleaning the building. Bosley founded the Sunrise Church of God in Christ, Waukegan, Illinois, in 1969. He also pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the child's 12 year old sister in the home of their grandmother. The sentencing took into account Bosley's recent conviction for firing a gun into a car. He had served a 28-month sentence for sexual abuse of an 11 year old girl in Washington state 20 years before. Sentencing Judge Walter Block stated: "He took his position, duty and responsibility and used it to facilitate his criminal behavior." Assistant state attorney Victoria Rossetti, of Lake County, stated: "These people trusted him. He helped them, but he continuously violated these young girls." (Source: Chicago Tribune, 10/22/87)

Example: Rev. Francis Guy Haight, principal of the Baptist Christian Academy in Monroe, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to a reduced number of charges of sexually assaulting four young girls at his church school. He had had sexual contact with up to 11 girls at his school on an almost daily basis. Haight admitted the abuse was "happening pretty near everyday" and that he could not "even begin to estimate how many times this occurred." Most of the abuse took place in his office. A five year old girl said she was molested in her preschool program at the church. An 11 year old was abused when Mrs. Haight sent her to the office, telling police that it "kind of hurt." She didn't tell, she said, because she was scared. A 12 year old said the contact began when she attended summer bible school, where the minister molested her once or twice per day. One former student said she left the school after the eighth grade to avoid the constant abuse. Two victims said the minister would molest them by touching them under their dresses. As principal, he required that all girls wear dresses as part of the school dress code. Haight had been asked to leave a previous job under mysterious circumstances. Apparently the school had not made inquiries. Haight's attorney William Lansing said Haight plea-bargained in order to spare the children from testifying in court. "He's a very religious man," Lansing said. Haight's views on religion and compassion toward children obviously did not preclude constant sexual exploitation of them. (Sources: Wisconsin State Journal, 11/12/87; 1/9/88)

Example: David B. Harrington, a respected educator and principal of the Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for molesting six boys through the Big Brothers program. Harrington was honored by President Reagan at a White House reception in 1986, and had been named Montgomery County's Big Brother of the Year. Upon arrest in February 1987, he fled the country, disappearing with money entrusted to him by a student travel agency, but surrendered to authorities five weeks later. His past included faking his own death in 1970 when Vermont officials were investigating charges that he had molested children. Previously he had served 30 days in a Connecticut jail for child sexual abuse. Harrington pleaded guilty in the D.C. case to molesting six boys, ages 10 to 17, by plying them with beer and wine and allowing them to watch pornography. A prosecutor said Harrington videotaped sex acts with the boys. Judge James S. McAuliffe called him a "classic fixated pedophile." Harrington said he was himself a victim of child sexual abuse. (Source: Washington Post, 12/1/87)

Example: Rev. Billy Walker of Sheepfold Ministries shelter home for transient and displaced workers in Lamar, Colorado abused his position of trust in order to molest a seven year old girl. He received eight years in prison. He had fled the state upon discovery, but was arrested later in Lake City, Florida. The judge recommended that Walker receive counseling and treatment in prison for pedophilia. Walker had three prior felony convictions for child sexual abuse. (Source: Rocky Mountain News, 10/25/87)

Example: Rev. Gary Willard Hambright, a Southern Baptist, was charged as a daycare worker with sexually abusing 10 little boys and girls at the U.S. Army preschool at its Presidio base. Four of the tots had contracted the sexually transmitted disease of chlamydia. A grand jury spent 10 months investigating charges. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 11/5/87; Wall Street Journal, 11/16/87)

Example: Rev. Robert Henry, of San Luis Obispo, California, a married man with two grown children, was accused of seven felony counts of child molestation, resigning from his position as Ventura church rector and dean of a school. Described as a "well-known and respected community figure," he was charged with molesting two boys in 1984 and 1985 during private counseling sessions at the school and church office. (Source: Los Angeles Times, 10/23/87)

CHAPTER 5: CLERGY MALPRACTICE
When counseling turns criminal

Members of the clergy are sought out for both psychological and spiritual counseling, affording them the opportunity for great power and influence with their counselees.
--1985 Legislative Report Minneapolis Task Force on Sexual Exploitation by Counselors and Therapists

Priests, ministers and other pastoral counselors are in an ideal position to exploit trust. All counselors are in a position to potentially abuse the trust of those who turn to them for help, an issue which has drawn discussion and action by professionals in the secular field. Studies show that 10 percent of counselors admit to sexual abuse of clients, while half of the counselors report they have seen clients who were sexually abused by others in their profession. There has been some discussion in some churches about the exploitation of women in pastoral counseling, but no public discussion about clergy who use their counseling status to prey on children.

Clergy are often in contact with depressed, vulnerable parishioners. Believers are taught that ministers and priests have a special calling to help people. Believers are expected to confess and confide deeply personal feelings or problems. The Catholic Church sets up a ritual confession in which children are encouraged to reveal possible "sins," setting up the opportunity for children to be inappropriately questioned by priests on intimate or embarrassing subjects. One woman wrote a poem recalling a painful episode at the time she was 12, when a priest asked her prurient, leading questions from the confessional, such as "Do you touch yourself there?"

Syndicated advice columnists routinely recommend that people seek ministerial help, yet there is no guarantee a pastor who counsels has had any professional training. To be a legal minister, someone simply has to be ordained by a local church that is recognized by the state. The church can have any requirements, or no requirements. Some people who call themselves ministers are merely self-appointed or self-ordained, claiming "ordination from God." While some ministers actually have professional counseling licenses or academic credits, others have none. Just because a pastoral counselor has a higher education or a license does not guarantee he is a nonabuser. Whatever can be imagined happens--both the best counseling situations, and the worst. . .

Example: Christian psychologist Charles Markham Berry, a married man with children, esteemed in his community as a war veteran and upstanding Christian, was convicted of child molestation and child pornography in Atlanta. He had founded his own Christian-oriented counseling clinic, where he preyed on troubled boys and orphans from the Christian City Home. He assured them that their parents or guardians were aware of his "treatment" methods. He took boys to a warehouse where he kept a camera, tripod and a mattress on the floor. When "treating" a convicted molester, Markham forced him to use his own name to order child pornography from Europe for Markham's use. He kept detailed accounts of his molestations on a computer. As US Attorney Stephen Cowen said: "He wrapped himself in religious piety, used his position in the church and the community to shield himself . . . to find children . . . to seduce them." (Source: Atlanta Constitution & Journal, 7/18/86)

Example: A civil lawsuit charges that a priest, Rev. John Surprenant, chaplain at the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minnesota, forced a female teenager to have sex with him for three years, and exploited other students. Leah C. Wurthmann said she sought counseling for a personal problem in September 1982 and was referred to the priest. He was "held out to the students . . . as someone to whom students could go for personal as well as school-related counseling." She said she became "emotionally dependent" and "unable to withhold consent to sexual contact" during psychotherapy. The suit charges that he "repeatedly and wrongly sexually exploited other students and has engaged in unpermitted sexual contact with other students who sought counseling with him." It was the second case in 1987 charging the Winona Diocese for negligently failing to prevent a priest from committing sexual abuse. (Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 10/30/87)

Example: Army chaplain Lt. Col. Anthony Longval was convicted of sexually abusing young women whom he hypnotized before abusing. "He's a hypocrite who prayed on Sunday, and preyed on young women during the week," said the Army prosecutor. (Source: Yakima [Washington] Herald Republic, 6/8/86)

Example: When Rev. Ronald Lane Fontenot, a priest, was suspended from the diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana after complaints of child molestation, he moved to Seattle. Fontenot got a job counseling teenagers addicted to drugs and alcohol at the Deaconness Medical Center's Nancy Reagan Care-Unit, where he victimized boy patients. He was charged with, and pleaded guilty to statutory rape and immoral communication with minors. "Something like this can destroy a person," said the parent of one victim. Fontenot was sentenced to one year in jail and two years in a treatment program. (Source: Spokane Chronicle, 2/9/86; Seattle Intelligencer 2/13/86; Port Angeles Daily News 6/19/86)

Example: A minister in Santa Barbara, California was accused of sexually preying upon women molested as children, by offering them "special services" ostensibly to overcome painful childhood memories. (Source: Santa Barbara News-Press, 8/1/87)

CHAPTER 6: SEE NO EVIL
Denying evidence and circling the wagons

. . . the problem of child molestation is so terribly upsetting, adults have a powerful desire to deny that it exists.
--Gene G. Abel, M.D. and Nora Harlow

Parishioners may deny symptoms or evidence of abuse by clergy. The pressure to deny is enormous when a liked and respected clergyman is involved. Many people, raised to hold what is often such a disproportionate respect for the clergy, cannot even begin to grasp the possibility of such crimes. It simply does not "compute." They may have too much emotional investment in their religion to cope with the shocking reality, sometimes even if they witness the abuse, and even at the expense of their children's well-being.

Example: A mother in Tampa, Florida walked in on Rev. Fonville Gandy when he was placing his hands on her son's genitals. She accepted his (unacceptable) explanation that he was "discussing anatomy" with the youth. This mother realized the truth when Rev. Gandy was later arrested for other molestations, and she testified against him at his trial. Gandy was sentenced to five years in prison for molesting another 11 year old at the Ecumenical Counseling Center. (Source: Tampa Tribune, 6/26/86)

Example: A mother learned her young boy had played strip poker under the direction of Rev. Allen F. Bruening, a Cleveland priest involved in a 20-year scandal and cover-up. The priest told her "strip poker was a good way for the kids to relax and get acquainted." The diocese never disputed the allegation, but their only response was to pay for a few hours of counseling for the family, who were successfully intimidated from further action, especially after being falsely assured the priest would be kept away from children. "I wish I would have gone to the police . . . today I'd do it differently," said the father. The same priest had boys involved in many other inappropriate activities. Following exposure, many victims came forward to recount such abuse as skinny-dipping trips to a bathhouse where the priest sexually touched them. Had more families questioned their boys about the excessive amount of time spent in the company of the priest, had more families complained, and had the one family that complained pursued its complaint past the level of the Diocese, Bruening's abusive behavior might have been stopped in the first year, instead of after the second decade. One victim, who recalled his humiliation at being one of four boys forced to strip in gym class to allow the priest to "demonstrate how to use a jock strap," commented how "really devastating" the episode was. Another victim said, "I'm sure there were more parents who knew but were afraid to do anything about it because he was a priest. He may have been a sick man, but I'm sure he knew right from wrong." Rev. Daniel Nealon, a priest in Elyria, said Bruening's deviant sexual behavior was widely known. (Source: Plain Dealer, 7/12,19/87)

Example: Rev. David Ray Miller was indicted for sexually molesting a little girl from his congregation for two years. "We can't weigh the damage," said Police Chief Larry Barmore. Yet her parents were so intimidated by the prestige of their daughter's assailant that they had to be talked into pressing charges. The exposure came none too soon. Miller had been in the process of opening a church elementary school. (Source: [Smithville, Texas] County Times, 9/24/87)

Example: When a 17 year old boy was challenged to a "test of manhood" by his priest, Rev. John Joseph Mike Jr., of St. Louis Catholic Church in Maryland, he was hung upside down from a basketball backboard and whipped. His parents, who called the police, initially backed away from pressing charges because the priest was such a well-known figure. He eventually pleaded guilty. (Source: Washington Post, 9/25/87)

Example: Episcopal priest and military chaplain Rev. Thomas Evans Dobson was convicted of pushing methamphetamines in exchange for sexual acts with young boys in Seattle's street culture. His attorney defended him on the basis of his religious career, and because he is a "family man who has children." Charges of pedophilia stuck in Dobson's case--but the abuse continued undetected for so long precisely because of the perceived incongruity of someone of his status victimizing homeless boys. (Source: Seattle Times, 6/4/87)

Onward, Christian soldiers

Since clergy have traditionally been immune from criticism by outsiders, their congregations and fellow clergy may attack families who expose a pedophilic priest or minister. Ignorance also plays a role in such self-protective behaviors: uninformed people may believe it is a tragic, isolated occurrence. Believers are programmed to respond in the defense of their religious leaders: "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1). This same bias may extend to some religionists in the criminal justice system, who may be more lenient toward a convicted child molester who is a respected religious leader pleading fervent religious beliefs. Church-run rehabilitation centers where the Catholic Church urges that molesting priests be sent instead of to prison, are also a way of "circling the wagons."

Example: The Martin family of Savannah, Georgia was hounded when they charged their youth minister, Rev. Jerry Sidell, First Christian Church of Jonesboro, with molesting nine children, including their two sons. "They just wanted us to keep it quiet, to let the church elders deal with it in their own way. It made me sick to think that if they hadn't gone to the police, that Jerry could go somewhere else and start raping more kids," said Mrs. Martin. A "friend" visited them to suggest they consider "sacrificing a few [their sons] for the good of all [the church]." She told the press, "I don't think it would be right for me to sacrifice my boys by clamming up, keeping quiet, moving out of the city, not doing anything in order to save the reputation of the church. I couldn't sacrifice my two boys for the sake of that church or anybody else." Sidell had molested their sons for two years. He pleaded guilty to four counts of child molestation and one count of enticing a minor for indecent purposes and was sentenced in September 1984 to 10 years. The Martins and another family sued the church and Sidell for $3 million to pay for psychiatric rehabilitation plus damages but settled with the church for less than $5,000, agreeing to seek no further legal action. On April 25, 1984 Sidell pleaded guilty to another count of abuse, stemming from an incident in which he had taken the older Martin boy to Stone Mountain Park and molested him in 1981. He received another 10 year sentence to run concurrently. Following the convictions, the Martins received abusive and threatening phone calls from church members. The family has since become active in the California-based Society's League Against Molestation. (Source: Atlanta Constitution, 4/26/84)

Example: The Rev. Clyde L. Johnson, pastor of the largest Baptist church in Petersburg, Virginia and a popular city council member for 14 years, was convicted of the rape and sexual battery of four girls, aged nine to 16, in his congregation. Despite the conviction, and Johnson's cruel and slanderous statements about the young girls made in an effort to protect himself, he received continuous religious support, including prayers, rallies, money and special services. "The bottom line is that all of us . . . has [sic] some skeletons in his closets. That's not our job to judge. It's the Lord's job," said clergy supporter Rev. Kenneth Arrington of the Union Fellowship. One church member, Melvin Harwell, who was angered by this widespread support of a child rapist, commented: "Some people worship preachers." (Source: Washington Post, 4/24/87)

Example: A 16 year old Nashville boy filed a civil lawsuit charging that he was not only sexually assaulted at a children's camp but that others conspired to silence him. The boy had been recruited to work at the camp by Rev. Ron Teed, Family of Faith Lutheran Church. Following an assault by the minister, the complainant said he sought safety and protection from another counselor, who detained him on behalf of the minister. The boy reported that he was then subjected to an all-night meeting alone with his assailant. (Source: Tennesseean, 6/4/87)

Example: When her son "Jake" was molested by a Cub Scout leader, "Madeline Smith" noted: "I taught Sunday School, and yet my neighbors acted as though I had the plague. I received absolutely no support from the people at our church either. "Michael Jones," Jake's molester, was very well liked there. ". . .[After his arrest] our minister immediately went to his house to comfort his wife. But the minister never came to our house or offered support to any of the 10 families whose children were Jones' victims. Eight of those families eventually left the church." (Source: Redbook Magazine, 8/87)

Example: Priest and parochial school teacher Rev. John Anthony Salazar was left in his position by the church even after a mother reported molestation of her son in 1985. In 1986, when he was reported to police for sodomizing a 13 year old boy, it was learned that officials at the Los Angeles diocese had been told of a similar allegation three months before, yet had done nothing. "There was at least one more victim because the church didn't do anything," said prosecuting attorney Kenneth Wullschleger. Salazar was sentenced for molesting two altar boys at St. Lucy's Catholic Church in East Los Angeles. Before the sentencing a letter-writing campaign was conducted by 100 faithfuls, including mothers of some of his other victims, asking that Salazar not be imprisoned. The judge sentenced the priest to six years in prison, taking into account the extent of his abuse of boys. In this case, the priest had the sad background of having been molested by his mother as a child, but showed little understanding of his role in recycling that abuse, claiming in classic pedophilic behavior that he was "in love" with the boys. An $11 million civil suit was brought by one family. (Source: Los Angeles Herald, 7/31/87; San Jose Mercury News, 12/30/87)

Example: Over the objection of prosecutors, Circuit Judge Robert H. Mason reduced a 25 year prison sentence he had imposed on a pedophilic priest in 1986 to only five years' probation. He also ordered Rev. Peter M. McCutcheon, found guilty of sexually abusing three youths from 1981 to 1985, to spend at least a year in a Catholic-run treatment center and halfway house, called the Foundation House, in Albuquerque. He had spent 13 months in the Maryland Diagnostic Center in Baltimore, part of the state prison system, after pleading guilty in December 1986 to five counts of sexual abuse. Mason, a judge in Prince George's County, Maryland, also ordered that the priest take Depo-Provera--a drug diminishing sexual desire, not work in a situation putting him in contact with children, and make restitution to the families. However, Assistant State's Attorney Robert Harvey objected to the sentence reduction as special treatment. "He is still a pedophile, still a potential danger to the community. This program won't guarantee he'll be out of the community." When Mason originally sentenced the priest to 25 years in prison, he had told him, "It's very important for [the victims and their families] to see you walk out of here in handcuffs on the way to jail." The 1986 sentencing had followed five hours of emotional testimony. The parents of victims said the priest had manipulated and confused their sons, and doctors and counselors had stressed that McCutcheon, who had been assigned to parishes in Waldorf and Chillum, was a pedophile, alcoholic and drug abuser in need of therapy. Mason defended the sentence reduction by saying that if McCutcheon had not been a priest, he would probably have been freed without treatment for his illness. (Source: Washington Post, 1/14/88)

Example: Rev. Donald VanLiew, pastor of the First Christian Church, Kentland, Indiana, was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and five years informal probation for one count of child molestation. He was given such a light sentence because he had no prior record. Originally, his sentence was proposed as a $1 fine and court costs! That his friends and family did not regard the offense as a serious reflection on the minister was indicated by his mother's comment to the press: "This isn't easy for us to take. We have a reputation to maintain, and it's not true anyway." (Source: Journal and Courier, Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana, 12/23/87)

Example: Church youth minister Timothy J. Ganzel was spared a flve-year prison sentence (receiving one year in jail and probation instead), because the judge said he took into account a courtroom full of relatives, friends and church members. Ganzel molested a teenage boy in Wisconsin Grace Baptist Church, Racine, Wisconsin. (Source: Capital Times, 4/21/87)

Example: Fred Beihl, an employee of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, raped and sexually assaulted four little girls between the ages of eight and nine, and received a 240-year sentence--despite the testimony in his favor of several religious leaders including Episcopal Bishop Gerald N. McAllister. The judge said, "We're not going to have a fifth little girl that he rapes and sodomizes." (Source: Tulsa Tribune, 8/29/86)

CHAPTER 7: COVER-UP IN THE CHURCH
"Hey, Father, we've got a little problem. . ."

At a time of heightened national awareness of the problems of child abuse, the Catholic Church in the United States continues to ignore and cover up cases of priests who sexually molest children, according to court records, internal church documents, civil authorities and the victims themselves.
--Reporter Carl M. Cannon
San Jose Mercury News

A church may actively cover up, bribe, fail to act or knowingly pass on a child molester to another parish or congregation. Cover-ups in the Roman Catholic Church have been disclosed in Dallas; San Antonio; Portland; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Allentown and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Springfield, Illinois; several dioceses in Louisiana; Washington, D.C.; Orlando and Pensacola, Florida; Los Angeles; San Diego; Anaheim and Ventura County, California; Quebec; St. Paul-Minneapolis; Cleveland, Ohio; Jackson, Mississippi and other areas. It is only recently--following extensive and embarrassing civil lawsuits--that some elements in the church have even called on members to report suspected cases of child abuse by priests. Priest and Catholic attorney Thomas Doyle characterized the church's typical reaction as: "A guy [priest] would be called in by his bishop who'd say, 'Hey, Father, we've got a little problem,' and they'd send him for treatment somewhere or ship him off to another parish." The church's new defense has been that priests who molest are really "independent contractors," thereby, so the argument goes, relieving the church of legal responsibility. The fallout is ugly when a faithful, devout family is hit with the appalling news that their child has been sexually exploited by a trusted parish priest or other church official. Understandably expecting the same feelings of outrage to be shared by church administrators, parents in case after case have been figuratively slapped in the face when they turned to the church to stop the abuse, and ensure that it would not happen again. San Jose Mercury News reporter Carl M. Cannon, who conducted a three-month investigation into 25 dioceses, wrote a two-part series (December 30-31, 1987) called "Priests Who Molest" in which he noted:

"Confronted with complaints that priests have molested children, some Catholic dioceses have responded by attempting to discredit those who made the allegations. Catholic officials have sought to seal court records, attacked newspapers and impugned the motives and even the sanity of those who have brought complaints against priests . . .

"Keeping details of the cases secret has been a consistent church priority, according to court records, families of victims, law enforcement officials and attorneys who have sued the church. And those who bring it out in the open risk retribution."

Cannon concluded that "in more than 25 dioceses across the country, church officials have failed to notify authorities, transferred molesting priests to other parishes, ignored parental complaints and disregarded the potential damage to child victims.

"To the devastated families, to the lawyers who are suing the church and to Catholics who are pushing for a national church policy, the churches' reluctance to address the problem is a time bomb waiting to detonate within American Catholicism."

The Mercury News quoted Ken Wooden, a child-abuse expert from Vermont, calling it "the liability trail." Wooden explained, "You get a doberman pinscher attorney, he sniffs the trail. Who does it lead to? It leads to the bishop who reassigned the priest. Then they pay."

Huge settlements and pay-offs have, in some cases, been made to ward off further investigation. For example, the diocese of Orlando paid $3 million to families of four victims, according to estimates by attorneys Sheldon Stevens of Merritt Island and Charles E. Davis of Orlando, not only because of diocese inaction but because of evidence that at least five other priests had been exposed by child victims since 1974. "We established that there was a record in that diocese going back 15 years of homosexual molestation of children and that the diocese had chosen to handle it by looking the other way," Stevens told the Mercury News.

To cover up is criminal conspiracy. To hide and harbor a criminal and actually watch abuse continue without lifting a hand to stop it, to let loose an abuser on an unsuspecting public, is being an accessory to terrorism. It is supremely immoral.

Example: The Plain Dealer newspaper, following its exposŽ of a Catholic cover-up of three pedophilic priests, called the Cleveland Diocese's actions similar to "playing musical chairs." Case 1: The Church offered one family $50,000 to silence them after their 14 year old son was sexually assaulted in 1981 by Rev. F. James Mulica of Kirtland, Ohio. In spite of assurances to the family that the priest would not be allowed near children, he was reassigned to family parishes, and only briefly sent for alcoholic rehabilitation. Case 2: The mother of a youth molested by Rev. Joseph Romansky was offered a condominium, a van and a job--all of which were withdrawn when she filed a $6 million suit against the church. The priest had typically invited boys to the rectory for a sleepover, then out to McDonalds for breakfast, and bribed them with money gifts. Case 3: Priest Allen F. Bruening [see Chapter 6] was accused of separately molesting two brothers as children who were 20 years apart in age. The priest also invited a friend who was a coach to participate in the abuse. The Cleveland church officials brought out the "self-employment" defense to plead they were at no fault in this case of a criminal "independent contractor." (Source: Plain Dealer, 7/12,13/87; San Jose Mercury News, 12/31/87)

Example: A Catholic couple in Newark, New Jersey charged in a lawsuit that when they told the diocese that their two sons had been molested-one subsequently committed suicide-" members of the Newark archdiocese advised the plaintiffs that they would be provided with financial assistance to help with their medical bills ... provided that this matter was not made public." When the father confronted the assailant, a Franciscan Brother of the Poor, the man "first denied what had occurred, and then claimed that he had been seduced." [See Chapter 11] (Source: San Jose Mercury News, 12/31/87)

Example: "Charles R.," the father of a 12 year old girl molested by a Florida priest in 1983, was outraged when he learned the same priest had been accused of molesting two other girls six years earlier. He said, "If he's not causing a problem--they do nothing. If he's causing a problem, they move him to another state." (Source: San Jose Mercury News, 12/30/87)

Example: Charles E. Davis, a Catholic attorney practicing in Orlando, sued his own diocese in a case involving two molested boys. At first, he said, "I'd give the church--my church--the benefit of the doubt. Finally, I realized this was a cover-up that went all the way to the bishop. It's one thing to have a bad priest. It's another thing to have the whole hierarchy corrupt. And I told my wife: We will no longer go to a Catholic Church." (Source: San Jose Mercury News, 12/30/87)

Example: A grandmother of a 13 year old altar boy molested by a priest in Florida initially reported the abuse to Catholic Social Services in Pensacola, and was assured by them that they would report the abuse to the state--as mandated by law. They never did. (Source: Miami Herald, 8/2/86)

Example: Father Andrew Christian Andersen, Diocese of Orange, California, continued regular contact with altar boys for three years after a mother reported to church officials that her son had been abused by him. The church never reported anything. He was sent for some counseling, but quickly resumed molesting, and was not removed from positions involving the supervision of boys. Andersen was reported to authorities by a psychiatrist counseling a 13 year old altar boy. Following his conviction, the priest was hugged by a church pastor and dozens of parishioners. Many in the congregation wrote letters asking the judge to pardon the priest; none wrote letters expressing any sympathy for the victims, including one whose family was forced to leave the church. Andersen was found guilty of 26 counts of child molestation and received five years' probation on the condition that he go to a church-owned treatment facility in New Mexico. (Source: Los Angeles Times, 11/25/86)

Example: A U.S. Attorney's report about Timothy Slevin, of Washington, D.C., a convicted child molester, former priest and church employee, said: "[We are] unable to comprehend how the church could . . . still interpose him [a known pedophile] with young boys in a church-ordained activity." Slevin was sentenced to three to 12 years after pleading guilty to four counts of sodomizing a boy at Sacred Heart Catholic School. A suit against the church for $200 million was settled out of court. (Source: Washington Post, 4/13/86)

Example: Rev. Robert Foley, an Irish priest posted in Anaheim, California, was accused by a mother of molesting her son during a camping trip. Foley warned his victim that "the devil would get him" if he told. The priest was merely transferred to a different parish, although ongoing civil suits continue. (Source: Grange County Register, 8/11/87)

Example: Priest Alvin L. Campbell from the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, admitted to molesting boys for more than 20 years, forcing himself on victims, then giving them lavish gifts to keep them quiet. "They handled it the way they handle every other problem," said Ray McGrew of the Illinois Division of Criminal Investigation. "They remove the problem to someplace else and forget it." Campbell was sentenced to 14 years' prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing seven boys when pastor of St. Maurice Parish in Morrisonville. Reportedly, the same diocese paid $2.5 million to three families victimized by Father Walter Weerts, sentenced in 1986 to six years in prison for performing oral sex on three teenage boys. The same pattern of transferring the priest from parish to parish had occurred. (Source: San Jose Mercury News, 12/30/87)

Example: When the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote about efforts by the western Pennsylvania dioceses to seal court records on molestation cases, Catholic officials accused the Post-Gazette of waging "a subtle campaign of Catholic-bashing." Said attorney Ken Kilbert, of Pittsburgh, "What the church has effectively done in these cases is seal up what happened. This wasn't an isolated case. It's happened all over. You never do find out anything about these cases. It's an effort to keep them shrouded in secrecy." (Source: San Jose Mercury News, 12/31/87)

Example: Rev. William Authenreith (mentioned previously) was transferred from parish to parish after parental complaints about him were stifled. No action was taken despite a four-month church investigation in 1983 revealing that he used "uncouth, vulgar language" at school, often questioning children about sex and pornography before their confirmation. The grammar-school children at All Souls church school in Sanford, Florida had a standing joke that if altar boys turned their backs on him, they would be pinched or patted. Teachers demanded an audience with the vicar general, Father King, to complain about Authenreith's lewd behavior. Lorraine Mandeville, an office aide and cafeteria worker for five years at All Souls, wrote to school officials on March 30, 1984 reporting that the priest was telling dirty jokes and having improper physical contact with her son and other teenagers. She received no answer, except a notice four months later that she was being let go. The excuse was that the hot lunch program was being discontinued, although it never was. When the father of three boys molested by Authenreith reported the crimes to his parish priest at St. Mary's, he said the priest recommended prayer and told him, "It's not for you to judge. That's for God to do." Authenreith, whose history of molesting boys began when he was in the sixth grade, had told at least four other priests, one a monsignor, about his behavior--but nothing was ever done. He also mentioned his sexual activities in confession. In May, 1983, an anonymous letter about Authenreith's behavior to St. Mary's pastor Terrence J. Farrelly went ignored. When a lawsuit was filed in 1985, Authenreith was sent to a House of Affirmation in Massachusetts and was suspended as a priest. However, the state inexplicably had given him immunity from prosecution, so he was never convicted of any criminal offenses. (Source: Orlando Sentinel, 8/5,6/86; San Jose Mercury News, 12/31/87)

Example: Rev. Donald Roemer, a Ventura County, California priest, had "confessed his sexual attraction to young boys" to church officials well before being arrested for child molestation. Civil suits by parents of victims alleged that one child was molested in a confessional and another during a camping trip when he asked Roemer's help in saying his prayers. Roemer pleaded no contest in 1981 to three counts of child molestation involving boys in the church, and admitted to several other molestations. He was committed to Atascadero State Hospital, then released in 1983 and placed on 10 years probation and ordered to pay the boys' counseling fees. (Sources: The Recorder, 2/27/87; Orange County Register, 1986)

Example: A lawsuit charged the archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis and Winona with a cover-up conspiracy to ignore 25 years of known pedophilic action by priest Rev. Thomas Adamson. The suit charged that church officials were told by a psychiatrist that Adamson's condition was "incurable" as early as 1967. He started molesting Catholic altar boys in 1962. As early as 1963, the suit charged, the bishop of Winona Diocese was informed of this, yet named the priest an associate principal the following year. He was given some therapy and transferred again, yet he continued sexually abusing boys, which was reported to his superior. In 1976 he was reassigned to work with altar boys. As late as 1986 officials publicly denied knowledge of Adamson's sexual contact with boys. (Source: Minneapolis Star/Tribune, 2/5/87)

Example: A woman told authorities in 1983 that she saw her 12 year old daughter being sexually touched by Father Eamond O'Dowd, of the Orlando, Florida diocese. During a sermon from the pulpit in church a few days after O'Dowd's arrest, Father Richard Steinkamp, in the presence of the victim, said that the allegation was a "terrible accusation," that he could vouch for O'Dowd's character, and that the priest would be "vindicated." Yet Steinkamp later admitted in a deposition that six years before, two sets of parents reported that O'Dowd had improperly touched the breasts of one girl and touched another in a way that had alarmed her. The family of the 12 year old sued the diocese. Their response was to offer to settle, with a threat to sue both the lawyer and the girl's father if the offer was not accepted. (Source: San Jose Mercury News, 12/31/87)

Example: Rev. Tom Bender was charged in civil and criminal court with sexually abusing a boy in Reading, Pennsylvania when the victim was between the ages of 10 and 15. The child's mother told media, "I was very, very involved with the church, close to all the priests." When Father Tom took an interest in her son's singing and acting, taking him to New York on trips to see plays, she "thought it was great." Yet the boy became depressed, did poorly in school, got hooked on drugs and had to be treated in three different centers. While the mother didn't understand, the diocese knew why. An aide to Bishop Thomas Welsh of Allentown, in threats paralleling the kind of pressure put on victims of incest, warned the boy of the frightening consequences should his parents find out, that his mother "would have a nervous breakdown" and his stepfather "might kill somebody." Bender was transferred to another parish, where he was given direct authority over children. He was able to continue to take the boy on trips for the purpose of abusing him since the parents were still unsuspecting. Finally, the boy told his parents, who confronted the church. Diocese reaction was to send the boy to the same psychiatrist who was treating the priest! The parents demanded that Bishop Welsh defrock the priest and turn him over to the police. According to the suit, Welsh replied: "He's a good man. If he did this, he will have to answer to God when he dies." (Source: Mike McManus/Montgomery Advertiser & Alabama Journal, 12/19/87)

While the Catholic Church has been able to rely on the device of transferring molesters, Protestant churches also have been accused of culpability for knowing but not reporting abuse, or for failing to do proper reference checks when hiring, and similar negligence.

Example: Priest Rev. Francis Papworth, rector of the Santa Rosa Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, was sentenced to seven years for molesting several teenagers at his Windsor home. A $120 million lawsuit was filed against the Northern California Diocese of the Episcopal Church, claiming church leaders knew of Papworth's problems but failed to take action. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 9/12/87)

Example: The Church Mutual Insurance Company documents that one of its client churches was forced to pay damages for hiring a married male teacher who abused several young boys in class, and had been convicted for that. "This teacher," the company stated, "had been fired from three other church schools for similar offenses. Reference checks would have revealed this." (Source: Safety Tips on a Sensitive Subject: Child Sexual Abuse--The Church Mutual Protection Series)

CHAPTER 8: FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES
Absolution is no solution

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
--The Lord's Prayer

People who are ignorant about child sexual abuse may not only deny that a respected member of the community could be an offender, but may blame the child or the child's family. Molesters typically have excellent relations with adults to guarantee that very reaction. While the accused is innocent until proven guilty (or pleading guilty), it is the job of the suspected molester's defense attorney to defend him. The first priority of everyone else should be the safety and well-being of a child who reports being abused. Certainly, at minimum, church members and officials should withhold comments which by implication convict the child.

Sometimes a congregation will not contest the fact that abuse occurred but will evade the issue by calling only for "forgiveness." Believers may insist upon "forgiveness" if one of their flock is accused of sexual crimes. After all, the Lord's Prayer says, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." The Sermon on the Mount insists: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14,15) "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." (Luke 6:37) A child victim of abuse should not be expected to carry the onerous theological burden of "forgiving" an adult offender. Certainly nobody can forgive a molester on behalf of a victim. Reli