In 2016 Troy A. Thompson was sentenced to three years in prison and 10 years extended supervision on five counts of child pornography possession after authorities found thousands of images on computers they seized from his home. The content featured men engaged in various types of sexual intercourse with boys and girls ranging from infant to 8 years old, according to court records. Investigators also found evidence of Internet chats with another individual about possibly making plans to meet with a child, Assistant District Attorney Scott Ceman said during a June 22 court hearing.
Investigators found 55,000 images on the five computers they seized from Thompson’s residence. Of those images, about 90 percent constituted child pornography.
Troy Thompson was an elder. WINGS understands that he has been attending meetings in Wisconsin since his release. There never was a chaperone program for Thompson. There never was an email explaining his conviction, nor what was to happen when he was released from prison. The meeting was removed from Troy’s house and the people were sent to other meetings. There has been zero communication in the field or to the state of Wisconsin regarding Troy Thompson.
WINGS for Truth 
some quick context, Troy was molested along with others when he was a child by an elder. The elder who did this is known by the workers but is still attending meetings.
Not making excuses for Troy but he was badly damaged by an elder when he was a child.
And the ministry’s system has allowed these behaviors to be multi-generational. It takes on a life of it’s own when the devil is allowed to drive the car…
It has turned the fellowship into a sex cult.
Sickening!
This is true, and I’m not making excuses either, BUT I know he was molested many times as a very young child and i believe for several years by a sick man who still has mtg in his home. This man has molested many children in the past! It is disgusting! Rob Eberhart was our overseer at the time and did nothing! He looked the other way and should be removed from the work immediately along with all the other workers in WI who knew and did nothing. Maybe our current overseer also?
I realize this was probably too long ago with statutes of limitations, but why is this elder/child abuser still allowed at conventions? And why wasn’t a letter sent to all WI mtgs informing people of who this man is and what he has done?
I’m not saying what Troy did was ok, but he was a victim. All the victims letters on here say how messed up they are from the trauma and unfortunately this is where Troy’s trauma led him. It makes me want to cry!
Please wings for truth, get the story of Troy’s traumatic molestation and post it with this conviction so people know.
Thank you Kim~
It appears the Wisconsin ministry has a nurtured & protected pedophile ring, just like the West Coast???
Sex cult comes to mind…
Gah!! I wish we knew who the elder was! Why is he still allowed to have a meeting??
I need to amend my post because I was wrong on some things. Rob was never told a name in this situation so he is not accountable in this case. He actually had meetings with the friends to find a meeting with no children where everyone who attends knows the situation. No one in his mtg is in the dark about his conviction. Also, the abuser is no longer an elder. But he was for many years which is very sad. I hope he repents while he still has time.
Sorry for the miss info. All the rest of Troy’s story is true.
Thank you for the correction.
Kim, a big concern is the workers have never informed others outside the individual Sunday morning meetings about the threat these offenders are. Rob Eberhardt refused to put an email out to the state about all these offenders when pressed by numerous friends. There is zero transparency and that is why this mess has continued for so long.
This is true, and I’m not making excuses either, BUT I know he was molested many times as a very young child and i believe for several years by a sick man who still has mtg in his home. This man has molested many children in the past! It is disgusting! Rob Eberhart was our overseer at the time and did nothing! He looked the other way and should be removed from the work immediately along with all the other workers in WI who knew and did nothing. Maybe our current overseer also?
I realize this was probably too long ago with statutes of limitations, but why is this elder/child abuser still allowed at conventions? And why wasn’t a letter sent to all WI mtgs informing people of who this man is and what he has done?
I’m not saying what Troy did was ok, but he was a victim. All the victims letters on here say how messed up they are from the trauma and unfortunately this is where Troy’s trauma led him. It makes me want to cry!
Please wings for truth, get the story of Troy’s traumatic molestation and post it with this conviction so people know.
To those currently in leadership in Wisconsin: Why is that wolf still around the sheep??? If that is the case, it is an abomination!!!
It looks like someone in WI took the initiative to run the whole contact book for the state through the offender registry. Thanks to that person or group of people! Brilliant! Other states should do this too. I’m thinking maybe that method might uncover approximately 1/3 of the offenders among us? Time to start a blacklist so they don’t pop up again in new places.
Title says it’s a CSA conviction, but description just talks about possession of CSA content. Is content possession conviction considered a CSA conviction? For some reason, I feel like there should be a distinction between active abuse vs. supporting abuse through content consumption.
Does it really matter in the grand scheme? He possessed 55k images of child porn and was caught in a chat room attempting to arrange to meet a minor. This justified years in prison. He is a threat to children. He could have been an active abuser and was just never caught.
No, it really doesn’t.
@mferguson Why the need to distinguish,
hmmm? They are both criminally wrong! Those that consume, support those who are abusing! Supply and demand. I, for one, could care less about defining the distinction. I am not a lawyer. I am a victim-survivor and a highly protective aunt. Whether consumer of content or active abuser, they are BOTH guilty of abuse in my opinion. They are both sick and perverted criminals. Period. End of story! Let the lawyers work out the details.
I don’t have a “need” to distinguish. I was just curious if a distinction existed, since three of the four WI cases caused direct trauma with lifelong consequences, which seemed a little worse to me. Sort of like the accessory to crime vs the committer of the crime.
If it feels like I’m trying to minimize this crime, please understand that’s not my intent. They are all criminal and wrong and sick, just as you said.
I agree with you. His abuse led him to this place and he never actually touched a child. I know him and can’t imagine he would have. However, he served time. More time than others who have done much worse to children. I really want people to understand that in this case, it was the result of a young boy being molested by a man. Every victim’s story states how messed up they are from the abuse. In this case it led Troy down a road I know he regrets, but I wonder that it was God’s way of bringing him some healing because he was able to get help.
Kim, if you know Troy’s abuser and he still goes to meeting, you really need to inform others and reach out to Glenn. People should know this info, it seems that many others know and just keep tight lipped. If people had reported this in the past, we maybe wouldn’t be in this predicament today.
I’m so sorry that Troy suffered CSA but I doubt wether we should say that God hand is at work in any of this. Troy is an adult and is aware of his situation and aware of the choices he makes. A number of friends have been abused and have not chosen the dark road of perpetuating that evil. We cannot make excuses for evil in others even if they do not seem capable of it. We can really only offer them help and pray for them.
My stance is:
– Those who are committing CSA need to be turned over to the authorities else this cancer will only continue to spread.
– The overseers/worker/elders that refuse to abide by the law and cover it up by not informing all the friends in the field, seeking out alternative meeting arrangements etc. should step away from fellowship and be turned in to authorities for aid in the continuation of this abuse.
Absolutely disgusting and he should not be allowed in meetings, conversations, special meetings or around any children.
He should have gotten the full 10 years.
I could say so much more. I hate the people that make the pornography and hurt those children and I hate the ones who participate in any way.
I know I’m not supposed to hate and I’m supposed to have a Godly spirit but I can’t. It enrages me to think of anyone taking away a child’s innocence and doing a lifetime of damage.
He isn’t allowed around children, his mtg has none and they all know. I pray God heals your bitterness and hatred.
Concerned parent:
I agree with you and I wish i could shout it from the rooftops, but I am in touch with the family and they choose to not say. I have to honor their wishes and they have their reasons. I DO believe that the abuser’s health is such that he is no longer a threat.
Kim,
I respect your honesty. I’m sure their reasons are they would be ostracized by many. Too many don’t want to see the church they have grown up in become transparent because there are so many skeletons in the closet and it’s easier to go on being ignorant. This is what makes me most sad. We can’t have honestly with the people we spend time worshipping God with.
When I was a kid, I was told that if I ever doubted this way or doubted that this is the true way that I should simply “look at the ministry”.
I’m well into my 30’s now and as I simply, “look at the ministry”, I still have my doubts verified.
Not an easy way to say this, but if the workers in laboring countries aren’t attracting new “sheep” every year, then why are WE continuing to send them there?
If the gospel is their passion and their life it should reflect in the work they are doing and sheep they are herding. Otherwise, these laboring fields sound more like vacations with unchecked power and spending.
Seems to me like people are just out for blood at this point, and it’s not a good look. As a mother of small children and someone who was molested herself at a young age, I’d be the first to say that I find what Troy did absolutely deplorable. However, he did serve a sentence for it, whatever the court found appropriate (whether that was enough is a different conversation). He also, as far as I’m aware, hasn’t been attending any meetings where children are present, and everyone that currently meets with him is aware of his past. If he has violated any of his parole restrictions, then that would definitely be a problem, but I don’t see that accusation on here. For the most part I see people who want to see “child sex abuser” branded on someone’s forehead. I’m all for transparency in the church, especially when it comes to workers, since they move around so much. But when it comes to someone like him, I don’t see the point of being outraged over not knowing, since he has been convicted, sentenced, done his time, and is not meeting with children on Sundays or attending special meetings and conventions. If I am missing something, please let me know.
Amen. I agree totally.
Thank you so much Ellie for your level headed comments. If we are going to abide by the laws of the land, that also means that when he is free to attend fellowship, then he is free, as long as he is attending in a way that is according to the law based on his past offenses. I’m sorry for those who ended up with such a bitter taste regarding things and I’m angry against those that gave you that experience. And you are allowed to unload whatever you wish here to the extent that the moderator allows. But please remember that if you truly want to be taken seriously, you have to do so in a way that others can “hear”. I really admire the ladies who are maintaining this website, because I think they really have some very very unfortunate experiences driving their desire to get things in the light. I believe all three used to be in the meetings and yet they are using their own situations to help all of us no matter where we are in our own situations.
I think you may be confusing WINGS with Advocates for the Truth. The WINGS core group is made up with an equal gender split, all but one actively involved in the meetings.
I think you are right, BGM. Thank you for clearing up my mixup.