News

Open letter from an ex-worker

There is a time to speak, after others have spoken. For me, this time is now. I am writing this tonight in response to each new person who has had great courage in sharing the worst of the worst of the human experience that they have been forced to endure.

But…I say this to you…You should NOT have had to have this courage.

That you have spoken and shared and screamed your pain is nothing except honorable, and beautiful, and dignified…

NO MATTER WHAT WORDS YOU’VE USED OR TONE OF VOICE YOU HAVE HAD OR HOW YOU’VE BEEN RECEIVED. Period.

It is us who has failed YOU, as you have told us. Over and over and over and over. If we fail you again, because we willfully do not listen, and then willfully do not speak, and then willfully do not act, you STILL will be only beautiful and whole. It is us only who will be contemptible and worth nothing but to be trampled under the feet of passersby. Not you.

Before I shift to talking to those I feel impelled to address, I want to tell you who I am. I am a person who has been a worker. I am not now a worker. I have chosen not to tell my name. I do this in part because I am your neighbor, your friend, your relative. I am in your meeting. I am in your field. You know me. And when you read my words to you, I do not want you to hear ME or picture ME. I want you to see YOU. I want you to not be distracted by any other thing. But to really hear and begin to understand where we are today.

I am deeply ashamed. With every new letter from every additional overseer I am more and more ashamed. I am not ashamed that I have been a worker. I am not ashamed of my calling. I am not ashamed of Jesus. But I am deeply ashamed of you…men I have trusted.

At first, after this cascade began to unfold, I took hope because there was at least acknowledgment that something was horribly wrong. I thought I could see a hint in the first letters that there might be an earnest and forthright examining. But then, letters continued to come.

Some said only to share locally. Some said to feel free to distribute. But most were not close to the anguished crying out of the heart I was hearing on every side. Words like “double life,” “sexually immoral,” “sorry to have to tell you this,” “it has come to our attention,” began to be seen in letter after letter. And my hopes became disappointments, and then my heart began to hurt. More and more. With each new day.

We began to see news of others. People who had purposefully and intently and with foresight and great planning inflicted wounds. Wounds to the hearts and minds and bodies of children and of women and of men. Grievous wounds. Not once or twice. But repeatedly. Again and again against the same person. Then moved on to inflict horrible wounds again and again against another person. And then moved on to inflict more wounds…wounds reaching back decades and decades, but that fester and weep because cries and pleadings of the wounded were violently and fiercely silenced.

And we learned these were things that were news. But they also were NOT news. We knew of ourselves and the wounds WE had borne, but thought we were the only ones bearing these wounds. We had had ANOTHER tell us in the dark of night, as they wept bitterly, of wounds THEY bore, but we and they thought we had all borne these wounds alone, isolated…”unusual”…”unfortunate”…and even “guilty” of the wounds inflicted ON us.

But they were not alone and we were not alone. Little by little we began to understand…that these events, these stories, these secrets…they were news to many. But to those who have been given great responsibility…of love, and kindness, and gentleness, and protection…to those men? This was not news. These stories were not new to them. They had known. And they had known for months and years. In situation after situation, they had known. And they chose a course, knowing.

To those men, I speak to you now directly. Every single one of you who have been known to be overseers among us. Or who have been at the right and left hand of those we have called overseers. We have loved you. We have borne your foibles and eccentricities and uniquenesses, as you have ours. But today. Even as our hearts find hope in our Shepherd, we weep in anger and fear and the bitter taste of the cries of those you have grievously wounded.

When the children wept to you and told you the wolves were chewing them to pieces, you turned to the wolves with gentleness and intreated them to loosen their jaws and be kinder. As the wolves turned to you with blood on their teeth, you said to the children, “see? They have repented. What they have done to you is regrettable. But we need them and we believe they will be kind and gentle, because they have told us they will.”

When the wolves rent the sheep, and the sheep fled, crying back over their shoulder, “If we stay we will be consumed,” you called after them, “come back, come back, we have moved the wolf and the wolf has told us they are now a sheep.” But as they came back, afraid to trust, but with great trembling, wanting to trust just once more, they heard from the neighboring pasture the screaming bleats of the sheep and the growling glee of the wolf as they set to their life’s purpose all over again.

I say this to you. If you are reading this and you say, “this is not to me. I am not that overseer.” Then please be assured. I am speaking to you most of all.

You have believed the wolf. You have eaten with the wolf. You have laughed with the wolf. You have encouraged the wolf. You have said to the wolf, “I believe you are a good sheep. You have been a good sheep to me. I do not believe you have done many of the things the little children, and the lambs, and the sheep have told me you did to them. Because you have told me you did not do those things. And I trust you, my brother. When the little children, and the lambs, and the sheep told me about you, they told me screaming, and weeping, and they were unkind about you. They did not have a merciful spirit toward you. But as for me, I see the blood on your jaws. I see the ear hanging from your teeth. But I forgive you. Do you promise you will not act as a wolf, but will now act as a sheep?” And when the wolf told you, “Yes. With all of my heart, yes. I have always been a sheep, but I slipped and have had a momentary lapse into the heart of a wolf. But no more. I am a sheep,” you believed the wolf. Though the wolf told you differently with every new act, with every new scream from a freshly wounded lamb, you still believed the wolf.

Can we take comfort when you share letter after letter with us and tell us that no wolf has access to the little children, and to the lambs, and to the sheep? When we hear the growling of the wolf in the neighboring field? When you just moved the wolf? And we hear them with our own ears? When a freshly wounded child is crying bitterly in our ear, “where were you and why did you not help me when the wolf attacked me yesterday?”

Do not any longer tell us about what you will do. Do not tell us, “we are starting fresh from here…all the past is the past and we can’t deal with all of that…let’s go onward and do better!” Do not tell us these things. It is an abomination. You have not believed the cries of the children. We do not yet believe your entreaties.

You see? You entreat the wolves on the one hand. And you spend much of each of these letters encouraging us to do the same. But all the screams, and cries, and whimpers, and wordless groans you have not just ignored, but gone about silencing by any means you could…we hear them. And we are not alone in hearing them. We have a Father who hears them. And we hear our Father. And our Father is saying to us in our hearts, “Do not believe the wolf. Believe me. Do not pass by on the other side. Stop and hear the cries of the wounded. Let the Pharisees and the Priests pass by, but you must not. You must stop. And you must hear. And you must do what I tell you to do so there are no more screams in the night.”

So to those of you who carry or have carried the title of “those who watch over”, please do not say to us, “but what about the wolf? If we are all sheep who slip, could that make us all wolves too?! Would we not need mercy if we were a wolf?” You have joined with the wolf in not having mercy on the lambs. You have partnered with the wolf and you have not had mercy on the sheep. And to the little children, you have sung a chorus with the wolves, with the refrain, “we have not believed you, because we have believed and loved the wolf.”

Love the lambs. Hear the cries of the sheep. Be tender to the little children. And turn away from the voice of the wolf. The wolf does not care for you…the wolf cares only for access to the ones who cry and are not heard. Do not any longer entreat us to believe the wolf…to trust the wolf…to embrace the wolf.

I do not want to end without also speaking to the wolves. If you do not want the heart and nature of the wolf, tell God alone. If there ever is a time, because of what he alone does in you, that you no longer have the heart of a wolf, do not tell us. Do not ask us to trust you. God himself will know and his work is not hidden. This is between you and God. But we have among us the little lambs who quake when they see you. And when they hear your voice, they shudder. So be content to leave the lambs and let us surround them. Let us hear them. We have heard you for a long, long time. THEY need to hear no more from the wolf. WE need to hear no more from the wolf. There is one, only one, who can hear you when you cry. And he will. But not before he hears his little ones and tends to the soul-rending wounds you have purposely and deliberately inflicted.

Finally, again, as I started, it must also be that I end. Children, women, and men…your anguish is on every side of us. We hear you when we sleep. We see you when we awake. We are not closing our eyes and we are not plugging our ears. And more than that, we are going to do what you need us to do. Please tell us. Please tell us what you find healing…tell of your story, or don’t…but please, keep telling us in some way if we aren’t doing what you need from us. We will listen. I don’t expect you to trust we are listening to YOU now, instead of the wolves who hurt you. But I do expect us to SHOW you we are listening to you and we are listening no longer to the wolf.

Not one more child. Not one more woman. Not one more man. Not one more person harmed.

Jackie Shinogle – CSA offender – attends meetings in Colorado

In 2003, Jackie Shinogle pleaded guilty to a felony charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and a misdemeanor charge of sexual assault. Charges of tampering with a victim and tampering with physical evidence were dropped as part of a plea agreement. These charges stemmed from a “relationship” he had maintained over the course of several months with a 15 year old girl, who he coached in softball. He was a Fort Collins softball coach and school teacher.

He was sentenced to 45 days jail, four years probation, a program of intensive supervised treatment for sexual offenders and to register as a sex offender.

In 1993 Shinogle was charged with sexual assault on a 12 year old child, relating to actions in 1985 when Shinogle was the victim’s gym teacher. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment.

Jackie Shinogle has been attending meetings for many years without restrictions in the North Central field in Colorado. Families who met with him were not notified of his crimes. He is believed to be currently attending. His overseer is Titus Lehman.

Update May 24, 2023 re abuse in Atlantic Canada

UPDATE: May 24, 2023

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all that have been willing to speak up in support of Morgan and others who are unable to speak up because of their own personal trauma.

The men (overseers) that covered up and allowed these abhorrent abuses to continue, instead of stopping the perpetrators…have kept themselves in the place of authority. If these men had any conscience or feelings for these victims these ministers would have humbly stepped aside or left the ministry all together. The thought of these men working amongst our true workers and having authority over them makes me question their motivation. It makes me ill. That they can even show their faces and make decisions and claim they are taking appropriate action is scary and disturbing, They have fought against us for 3 years and refused to do anything appropriate concerning the mess here in Atlantic Canada; we have documented proof. The victims have been told multiple times to remain silent to not tell anyone. These are scary men with a lot of power among the friends who will absolutely listen to and believe whatever they say. If it had not been for the loud consistent cry of all of you that have been willing to stand up and have a voice there is no doubt in my mind that just moving the workers to a different province would have been the only action taken. Still, they refuse to send a letter clarifying the nature of the abuse, harassment and assault and apologize for mishandling it which further traumatized the victims. What we received was not a letter to unite people by acknowledging the truth, but to pacify ignorance.

  • Bob and Stacy Bainbridge

Scott Hamilton leaves the work

Scott Hamilton has left the work, after previously being in Maine and then returning to Wisconsin.

Glenn Gasser said it was not for immoral reasons in the email he sent to the Appleton field:

“Scott Hamilton returned to Appleton today. He will be helping at home and seeking employment in the area. This is not for any immoral reason. He valued his time in the work & we will try to stand by him in this transition.”

Troy A. Thompson attends meetings in WI after CSA convictions

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.

Howard E. Ferguson attends meetings in WI after CSA convictions

In 2004 Howard Ferguson was convicted of First-degree Sexual Assault of a Child; Child Enticement; and First-degree Sexual Assault of a Child. He was sentenced to a 15 year jail term for assault of a boy. Some action occurred on a church outing.

WINGS understands that Ferguson has been attending meetings in Wisconsin since his release. The workers started a chaperones program for Ferguson. Chaperones are supposed to take convicted CSA offenders to gospel meetings and sit by them. Numerous friends volunteered to be chaperones but they haven’t always followed the chaperone rules. A number of families with children were not comfortable meeting with the offenders and simply stopped coming to meetings.

Price G. Turner III attends meetings in WI after CSA convictions

Price Turner molested and raped his daughter over many years. He was convicted 10 October 2012 of the offence ‘Repeated Acts Of Sexual Assault Against Same Child’.

In 2014 he appealed his conviction for repeated assault of his daughter, claiming that incriminating statements he made to her, that were recorded on a wireless device, should not have been admitted as evidence. The appeal was dismissed. See Appeal No. 2013AP2101-CR Cir. Ct. No. 2011CF373 STATE OF WISCONSIN.

Turner was preached to in prison and accepted into gospel meetings once released. The workers started a chaperones program for Turner. Chaperones are supposed to take convicted CSA offenders to gospel meetings and sit by them. Numerous friends volunteered to be chaperones but they haven’t always followed the chaperone rules. A number of families with children were not comfortable meeting with the offenders and simply stopped coming to meetings.

Enos Bontrager attends meetings in WI after CSA convictions

In 2016 Bontrager faced trial charged with four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 years old, two counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child, and one count of sexual assault of a child under 16.

Other allegations of repeated rape of a child, more than 20 years prior, were not pursued because of the statute of limitations.

Hours before his trial was due to start, Bontrager entered into a plea agreement through which he pleaded no contest to reduced charges and was found guilty by the court, of1) Repeated sexual assault of a child, which is a felony and carries a 40-year prison sentence, 2) Exposing his genitals to a child, and 3) Sexual assault.

The judge initially expressed that the plea deal (deferred prosecution agreement) that was proposed for the felony charges of repeated sexual assault of a child was outrageous and that he couldn’t agree to let Enos get away with only probation and no jail time for a charge that carries a 40-year prison sentence.

Bontrager was sentenced to nine months jail, fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $6,800 restitution. He was released after seven months.

There never was a chaperone program for Bontrager. There never was an email explaining his conviction, nor what was to happen when he was released from prison. There has been zero communication in the field or to the state of Wisconsin regarding Enos Bontrager.

More detail: https://wiscnews.com/community/baraboonewsrepublic/news/local/woman-criticizes-columbia-county-law-officials-speaks-out-after-childhood-abuser-released-from-jail/article_79fe536e-af42-569f-99c5-b3ae92e24516.html subscription required

In April of 2023, a victim sent a message to her overseer, Jeff Thayer (of MN and IA), saying “I deserve to feel safe and if there are policies being put into place regarding sexual predators I would appreciate knowing”.

The victim notes:

Two days later Ray Hoffmann sent me an e-mail asking me to call him.

Ray Hoffmann asked that she not share my experiences with sexual assault given the recent events surrounding Dean Bruer.

When I asked Ray what the policy will be when someone comes forward about abuse, he said: “Well, it’s tricky because a lot of times victims who come forward are mentally unstable and while we feel for them, it’s hard to know what to do.” 

Ray talked about mercy to perpetrators because we want them to go to heaven. He asked me if I wanted the perpetrators to go to heaven.

When I asked Ray why Leslie White (an abuser) was allowed to participate in gospel meetings a couple of years ago, the answer was, “Well, he’s losing his mind now, so I doubt we really have to worry about him at this point.” I asked Ray if an abuser is old and losing their mind, is there no restriction or consequence in our “church group”? Ray stammered with no answer. What I heard during the conversation was that I was wrong, that I had a victim mindset, and that I was living in a victim world and therefore, he couldn’t reasonably talk to me. I could no longer take Ray’s victim shaming, so I hung up on him.

I wish I had known before calling that Ray isn’t a “safe” person. I feel it would be unfair to others if I didn’t share my experience. Please still call them, document the call and PLEASE have a witness for support. Every victim deserves support.

3 years ago when many were gathered (workers and friends) at the courthouse to hear me talk about the years long sexual abuse that Enos Bontrager committed on me no one set up a policy then or warned the state of how dangerous he was/is. Now that his stupid minimal sentence is served he’s allowed in meeting free to continue to destroy lives.

A parent’s perspective on CSA issues and contact with perpetrators

I have been professing since 1999, but I was raised in the Jehovah’s Witness religion. 

I was molested by my father for as far back in my childhood as I can remember.  My father used obscure verses from the books of the prophets to justify the father’s right to “know” his children and the right of a Father to “humble” his children to teach them submission. When I was 16, I revealed my abuse to a friend.  She told her mom who then told my mom. My mom immediately went to the police and my dad was removed from the house within 24 hours.  The police were quick to respond, but the continuing emotional abuse was from the response of church and family. My dad was sentenced to 5 years in jail, but served only 6 months, getting out early due to his “good behavior” while he was in jail. 

My grandmother, his mother, was angry at my mother stating that “those are family secrets that are not to be talked about.” I found out then that my family has 4 known generations of CSA. My extended family was not willing to be in contact with me for many years and was not supportive of me in my healing from the abuse.  My dad remarried, a woman with three daughters, 2 of whom my dad ended up molesting as well.  

My mom was excommunicated from the JW church for divorcing my dad, apparently CSA is not considered adultery or fornication.  My dad has remained in good standing in the church the whole time.  He was never excommunicated and is still to this day a member in good standing.  He knocks on doors seeking converts, goes to meetings (The JW’s call their gatherings meetings as well) and circuit assemblies, and visits the widows. 

My experience with the church, from the perspective of a young girl was very damaging emotionally.  The acceptance of my dad’s behavior and the punishment that my mom received for leaving a man like him was very confusing. I ended up going back to the JW church only a year after my dad’s arrrest, feeling a tremendous amount of guilt that I wasn’t right with God if I didn’t go to meetings.  I sincerely wanted to be right with God, believed firmly that there was a God and believed that somewhere there was an absolute “truth” about how the world was made, and that God had a plan for His people. 

The church told me that if I wanted to “be right” with God then I would need to move out of my mother’s home as she was excommunicated. This alienated me from my only remaining source of support and unconditional love.  Fortunately for me, I left the JW church and began desperately seeking God in prayer.  I hadn’t read the verse about praying in the closet, but this was my safe place, and I went in the closet, hidden behind the hanging clothes and begged the God of heaven to hear my cry.

I battle with depression and anxiety, I have twice attempted to commit suicide, and easily feel guilty and ashamed for sins that I didn’t commit.  I am not proud of these things that I struggle with, but it is somehow comforting to me to realize that many CSA victims struggle with the same things.  I have come to see suicide as the devil offering me an easy way out and I have decided that I chose life regardless of how difficult it is at times.

My plea right now is that we can have mercy and compassion on those that have endured the same treatment from a “faith” that is doing ungodly acts and claiming to be godly. Even having compassion on those that chose to leave after enduring this kind of treatment. 

I spent 7 years looking for the “church that only taught the bible” I had given up by the time we met a dear older brother in Kake, Alaska.  I thought God didn’t have a church anymore and I wasn’t sure how to obey the scripture about not forsaking fellowship.  My husband and I had tried most of the denominations and come up empty in our souls. 

When we first met the sister workers, I remember thinking that it was like they actually knew Jesus, like he was their brother.  A different spirit is what I saw and experienced even though I did not have the words to express it.  I know for a certainty that what I found and what I experienced caused me to feel like God was near to me instead of far away.  I saw something different in the people and the desire to follow the bible in a very literal sense. 

I personally found life for my soul, not an easy way, but a way of life and hope and vision that I hadn’t seen before.  I personally believe that God can work in other ways, we hear stories of people like the apostle Paul that had amazing conversion experiences, but most often the work of God begins with a quiet simple message that reveals Jesus to a human heart.

Just because God opened up a way in sending Jesus to the earth, doesn’t mean everything in God’s way is of God.  The devil has always been messing with God’s goodness. Jesus said to beware of false prophets and to watch for those coming claiming to be Christ.  If someone claims to be a prophet of God, a worker, and they are abusing children then they are not of God.  The Spirit of God does not hurt children.  Those that do such things are not of the Spirit of God. 

You don’t have the nature of a predator one day and the next day you don’t. Child abuse is a pattern of sin where your conscience is so seared that you are not able or willing to stop yourself from victimizing the dearest of Gods people, the ones we were told to be like.  The root of most abuse against others is a desire to control and dominant. 

A narcissistic personality is often the root cause of abusive behavior.  The thinking that one is above the rules of society and can somehow justify abusing another to satisfy their own need for power and control, is often the mentality that drives abusers.  The predator mentality seeks to satisfy itself at the expense of another, feeding on the pain and suffering of others. It is sick and there is no “cure” for pedophiles, it is the evidence of a seared conscience. 

The approach of encouraging the victim to go to the “brother” in the spirit of Matthew 18 is damaging and results in further abuse.  An abuser will have the upper hand in a conversation with the victim and the result is often that the abuser becomes even more manipulative in order to establish control over the victim.  When the abuser becomes angry, defensive, blames the victim or goes into denial these are red flags that the abuser knows what they are doing and is seeking to reestablish control. 

I was 45 years old when I finally was able to stand up to my father and not feel fear.  He tried to tell me that he wasn’t a pedophile, 30 years after he plead guilty, he was still trying to manipulate me.  I told him that he could tell anyone else those lies, but I was there, and he wasn’t going to change what I know to be true. 

After that conversation with my father, for the first time in my life, I left without feeling fear. Those of you that never knew paralyzing fear as a small child, I longed for your life. Those of you that have loving, kind fathers who know what appropriate touch is, I longed for that in my life.  Those of you that have fathers that know what healthy boundaries look like, be thankful.  These are not things that I was given from my childhood.  I had to learn them as an adult and experience the triggers and anxiety from not being given healthy foundations. I experienced anxiety and fear in having a relationship with God because of the association with him being a Father.  A hope of mine is that, with all that is being revealed regarding the abuse that has been so prevalent, there will be an increase in compassion, an increase in understanding and an increase in awareness of what the cries for help look like.

My biggest concern with what I am seeing right now is a lack of sensitivity to parents concerns when they notice warning signs before actual abuse has happened. I have a situation where a known pedophile has been following my children and I am in the middle of a legal battle to try to get a protective order against him.  Because the workers allowed him to be in the meeting, the court is using that as my giving consent to have him there, even though I did not give consent to him contacting my children. 

Because of how we meet together in different homes and a privately owned convention ground and public gospel meetings, it limits the legal action we can take to enforce the decision to not “allow convicted child molesters” into the meetings.  Each individual elder would have to be willing to refuse to let him in their home, each homeowner on convention grounds would need to be willing to trespass the convicted child molester and we really don’t have much legal grounds to force someone to leave when we are having gospel meetings in a public facility. 

It seems like many of the workers feel that the abuser will abide by the decision and not come to meeting. That has not proved true in our situation.  The abuser showed up only a week after being told to not come to meeting any more. The pattern of child molesters showing up at convention uninvited and unwelcome is not a new pattern. 

What legal recourse are workers / elders / parents willing and able to take to prevent someone from contacting our children.  How can we communicate with the workers, elders, and homeowners when we don’t want someone (for any reason) to not touch or communicate with our children?  How can we know that we will be supported when we try to set boundaries for our children and encourage them to set boundaries?  What ways is the ministry prepared to encourage and enforce individual boundaries?

I hear lots of information about how to report CSA & how to support victims, but I would like to see more interaction with parents and workers as far as how to work together to prevent encounters from even happening.  I have multiple times brought concerns to the workers about inappropriate sexual behavior only to have them minimized and my concern brushed off.  I was told that the behavior was “normal”, if I am uncomfortable with someone else’s sexual behavior, it doesn’t matter if it is “normal”, I have a right to not be exposed to it.

A safe fellowship would openly and honestly address all concerns about inappropriate behavior and would give parents freedom to decide what they are comfortable with knowing that they will not be pressured or shamed or accused of not forgiving. Forgiveness is not the same as trust, we should not be expected to trust anyone with our children. Trust is earned by a period of consistent safe behavior and the parents have the right to decide who to trust and what constitutes safe behavior.

The current advice for parents to go to authorities if there are CSA incidents still leaves a breach in the relationship with the parent and the supporting role of the ministry.  We as part of the fellowship are invited to gospel meetings, invited to convention, and invited into the homes of the elders to partake in these meetings.  We are not facilitating meetings on our own or organizing our own “church” functions, those are largely planned by the workers with the saints assisting.  The parents are being encouraged to go to the authorities if an incident occurs, but the blame and responsibility is still being put on the parent. The current status in our state is that the parents are still being held responsible for “keeping the children safe”.  The ones facilitating the gatherings have the responsibility and burden of making family events safe for children.

Our state organizes a state fair and at events where alcohol is present, the fair has the responsibility of making sure the alcohol is kept where the children are not present.  The fair is held accountable if they do not make these events safe and do not follow the guidelines for keeping the kids safe. This is so much more important when it comes to keeping our children safe from pedophiles. The workers, the ones organizing church functions, are the one who should be bearing the primary responsibility for making all church functions safe for children. 

I love my God, I love His Son, I love my children, I love my family and I love souls.  I have not learned to hate as a result of my experiences, I have learned that love is something worth fighting for, something worth defending and something worth dying for.  I love all the dear souls that are hurting right now, inside the fellowship or outside.  I pray often that God will draw very near whether you are in meetings or have left meetings. God sees every cry and sees the hurting, broken hearts. May we all choose to keep loving and not give in to the power of hate.

In love,

Jennifer F.

Eric Nelson – South Dakota, removed from meetings

WINGS Note: Eric Nelson is an elder in South Dakota who was recently removed from meetings due to allegations.

The notification from workers is posted below, followed by a letter from one of the victims.

Dear friends in SD,

It is our understanding Eric Nelson of Edgemont, SD has allegations of CSA (child sexual abuse) against him. We are also aware of an allegation of texting and requesting lewd material with an adult female.

We have asked Eric to not attend any meetings through the remainder of 2023. We will revisit the situation then.

We encourage any victims to reach out to the following resources or to speak to someone you can trust. RAiNN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is an anti-sexual violence organization.

They can be visited at https://www.rainn.org . RAINN also operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE for adult victims of sexual abuse.

The number to report CSA in SD is 1-877-244-0064.

We are sorry to share this sad news. This is a public matter.

Respectfully,
Perry Pearson
Paul Haakenson

Victim’s story

I am a victim. Not just a victim of sexual abuse, but a victim of a system that protects, defends, and provides the perfect breeding ground for CSA. This system repeatedly failed me as a preteen and caused lasting damage. I wanted to share my story.

When l was 12 years old a young couple moved to my hometown and started going to meeting with my family. The man was charming, funny and endearing. Little did I know that he was purposefully and methodically laying the groundwork to abuse and beginning the grooming process. He quickly became good friends with my dad and brothers. Joining them on hunting, fishing trips etc. Him and his wife also would have us over often for “young kids get together” and even staying overnight with us kids so my parents could have a night out. Which is when the abuse began.

A few years went by, and during that time they continued to be close with my family as well as other young families and couples in the area. They also took the steps to become foster parents, and eventually he became the president of the Foster Parent Association in our town. He was well liked and respected.

All the while he had me in his sights, he had gained the trust of church members, my family and friends, and now he had access to me whenever and however he wanted. He got to be so brazen in what he was doing that eventually everyone knew what was going on. At one get together someone was wondering where he was and his own wife told them to go find me and that’s where he would be as well. He also admitted his crimes to another adult professing man, who in turn treated it like a fun piece of gossip and not the gross sexual abuse it was. Every single adult turned a blind eye and refused to protect me.

One of the hardest things for sexually abuse survivors to grapple with is blaming themselves. I was an insecure preteen and what I can clearly see now was abuse, at the time felt like love and attention. One of the greatest weapons abusers use is the ability to make it feel like it is your fault and therefore you keep silent.

It was a couple years of this abuse, when finally his wife eventually discovered evidence on his computer of his abuse towards me and as well as other girls. I called her up and tearfully apologized. All she said was he was an adult and should’ve known better and it was never spoken about again.

I was forever changed. It affected every aspect of my life. I lived with constant guilt that I was a homewrecker. I was 14 when it ended. 14 years old with the entire blame on my shoulders. And I carried that burden with me for years.

But that’s only half of the story. The second half begins when in adulthood I began to heal, I went to therapy where I finally grasped the gravity of the situation. The heaviness. How absolutely not ok it was. How it was NOT my fault. How not a single adult at the time who knew with the utmost certainty that this was happening was not willing to protect a child. How the church had created a culture where you turned the other way and “let God deal with it”. I learned of more friends and workers who knew what was happening but chose not to believe it. My therapist was required by law to report the abuse to the authorities but of course the statutes of limitations had run out and there was nothing that could be done legally. That lit a fire under me to not ever let this man hurt another girl. But I had an uphill battle.

In the town where this man and his family now lived there were lots of young girls. He had also been made the elder of a Sunday morning meeting. I made it my mission to make sure they were aware of what this man was capable of. But it was met with lots of backlash and no one wanting to be the one to rock the boat. I eventually met with the overseer of my state and told him and another brother worker my story. The overseer then consulted with the overseer in my home state and together they decided because he was a foster parent he would’ve taken classes on Child Sexual Abuse and surely learned from that. I was absolutely flabbergasted. He had abused me AFTER he had taken these classes and If you need a class to teach you sexually abusing children Is wrong you are a danger and every parent in the church deserved to know what he was capable of. But there was still great hesitation, I was even told that the girls living in the area were “good girls” and they wouldn’t “let” him do anything to them. Finally they agreed to talk to him and take the meeting out of his home, as well as make other families in the area aware.

Two brother workers went to meet with him and his wife There were sister workers in the field at the time, they did not tell the sisters why they were meeting with him. Apparently that wasn’t important information for two women who were going to be staying in this man’s home to know. Not to mention, this piece of information was never passed on to incoming workers to the field and a meeting was eventually placed in his home again, as the new workers had no knowledge of these events.

One of the brothers met with me after their visit and spoke so highly of this man. He had admitted to all the allegations and admitted to having a problem with young girls. These brothers then spent a wonderful weekend in his home and were so encouraged by his progress. I felt their feedback spoke volumes to the level of deceit and manipulation predators are capable of, which is what makes them so dangerous. He knew exactly what these brothers wanted to hear.

These days this pedophile has children that are teenagers. I know of parents of teenage girls who are unknowingly sending their daughters on road trips to this mans home for “young kid get togethers” with his kids and my heart just sinks. I don’t want ANYONE to go through what I went through and I feel like it is impossible to protect children in the current church climate. I wanted to add my story to the chorus of many others. Unfortunately, my story is not unique and my heart breaks for every single person who has been violated at hands of someone who portrayed themselves as a Godly professing person and then felt hopeless, helpless and defeated by everyone who stood by and did nothing. You are believed and you deserved better.