There has been concern and misinformation about the “timeline” in connection with reporting the Dean Bruer situation. First of all. my apologies tor not making this clearer in my first letter. I am in uncharted territory. We are all responsible to avoid spreading unverified, untrue or dramatic information that thereby makes it more traumatic, difficult or frightening for any still-unknown victims to come forward and get the help they need and deserve.
Dean passed away June 21 or 22 and unfortunately nothing was known about the dark side of his life, except by victims of course, until September. Just after his passing we were concerned about finding information pertaining to our planning, etc on his computer but I wasn’t searching suspiciously, and was very busy. I never thought to search for evidence of Dean’s horrific actions until after the first victim, an adult, came to me nearly three months after his passing. Just before the first victim came forward. I was very disappointed to notice that he had viewed (legal) pornography on his computer and phone, apparently the last night of his life Contrary to internet speculation, nothing criminal was discovered on his devices— nothing like pornography depicting minors and no lewd or incriminating photos were ever found on his devices. The only incriminating evidence we ever discovered was email between him and one adult victim. Dean s computer is now in the hands of the police, and forensics would be able to detect if and when any alterations were made (we did not alter anything). In late September the second adult victim surfaced and no other victims were confirmed until just before our disclosure letter went out last week (March 23).
Since the perpetrator is deceased, we were advised by a professional trauma counsellor to be careful first of all for the needs of the victims. Obviously, no one else is more important in all of this than the victims. Mandatory reporters are required to immediately report sexual abuse that involves minors but must respect the wishes of abuse victims who are now adults with regards to when and if their abuse is reported. We have no known victims that are presently minors. Sadly, it has come to light just this month that 3 known victims were minors when he abused them in years past.
Our disclosure timing was thus victim-sensitive and victim-led, respecting the fact our known victims were in a “process to uncover.” It was very clear, to counsellors and to us, the victims would have been very traumatized by an earlier disclosure. Just prior to sending out our letter last week, the victims did agree Io disclosure, but with considerable trepidation. It was a help knowing that the perpetrator was deceased and thankfully not in a position to hurt anyone ever again.
Contrary to internet speculation the disclosure was not forced by legal authorities nor anyone else. We didn’t have any conversation of this kind with a legal authority or anyone else. The disclosure was 100% voluntary- a serious attempt to be transparent about what happened for the sake of all victims. We understand under such egregious circumstances, the reality is that there could be more victims. We would never consider covering up something like this at the expense of leaving known and unknown victims lost in their very difficult circumstance, desperately needing help. It would be cruel to do so. Honesty is always worth whatever it costs. Our sincere hope is that all victims will reach out. We will not in any way be inclined to blame them. We are anxious to help in every way. We have a growing list of therapist recommendations, and many offers to help in any way possible.
We are going ahead with very definite plans for further Mandatory Reporting and MinistrySafe type training for all our staff. We are anxious to do everything possible to help prevent, detect and properly handle any future incidents.
I hope this helps clarify. Thank you for your patience and prayers — we know our Father in heaven sees all things and we can trust Him to help us keep steady in our place and lead us through this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Doyle S.
WINGS for Truth 
Doyle Smith states, “ We assure you, there is no possibility anyone will lay blame. except at the feet of the ONE very wrong man who has caused your pain.” Doyle then continued, “None of us had any idea that such terrible things were happening until several weeks after his death”. Doyle wrote his letter NINE MONTHS after HE found out about his co-worker. Not “several weeks after his death “. If Doyle wants to lay everything at his co-workers feet, why did Doyle stay silent for nine months, trying to figure out how to not have all this affect him personally? Doyle knows much more than he is saying. He is just trying to not have the stink on himself. Doyle then said, “There is no possible way that this would not have been immediately reported had we known”. But, Doyle did know and didn’t report the sex molesters death until nine months later! Doyle wants pity, writing, “Some of us very much regret that we didn’t somehow discover his actions and prevent more pain”. Doyle is a sorry excuse for a man, let alone a leader in a religious organization. Doyle did not respond until he had his hand forced. And then Doyle showed us all he is an empty suit just like the sexual predator that he wrote his apology letter for. Doyle is a day late and a dollar short and shows he cares for nobody but himself. Not surprising.
As someone who grew up in this and now had left very recently, without a doubt i believe a large majority of the workers knew of these things going on that were close and they kept them hidden. I think it’s weird how they didn’t report these things till someone spoke up, seems to me these things would have been swept under the rug, like lots of other things. People that go to meeting have a mindset that sets these people on a higher level which should never be the case . I don’t know the solution to this but something needs to change