Tag: child sexual abuse

Australian perpetrator still attending meetings

WINGS Note: This was marked Confidential, Not to be distributed, when it had the alleged perpetrator’s name included. It has since been redacted by The Brave Truth Australia and distributed publicly by them.

On Fri, 28 July 2023, 10:07 am
Support TBTA, <support@thebravetruthaustralia.com> wrote:
The Brave Truth Australia
PO Box 829
NORTH LAKES QLD 4509
Email: support@thebravetruthaustralia.com

Confidential letter for Graeme Dalton, David Saunders & Brendan Pring only.

Not to be distributed.

Dear Graeme, David & Brendan,

XXXXX XXXXX of XXXXXX is being investigated for criminal activity relating to the unlawful and indecent dealings of persons under 16 years of age.

His investigating officer is XXXXXXXXX at XXXXX Police Station. Email XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Your contact details as well as this letter have been given to the investigating officer, to assist them in the investigation.

Statement in recent Overseers letter dated 01 July 2023;
“There is no place for people who have harmed children, in our meetings and conventions; we ask any individual with a history of causing harm, or with allegations, or convictions, not to attend. This includes public gospel meetings.”

Therefore, in line with your written public commitment as Overseers of your church in Australia/NZ and consistent with your legal obligations, we strongly recommend that you ensure that XXXXX XXXXX does not attend meetings and gatherings of your church fellowship.

You may be legally obligated under NSW Law Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and you are also mandatory reporters under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998.

We acknowledge that it is possible XXXXX’s standing in the meetings could have changed already given the recent email from Overseers, however we would be grateful to have communication direct from you via return email confirming this recommendation until such time that the trial has reached its conclusion.

We would appreciate your confirmation within the next 72 hours that you have taken this action and appropriate Eiders have been notified to pre-empt any attempt to attend.

We want to work with you as much as possible to have alleged and convicted abusers removed from the fellowship in order to keep children and other victims of sexual violence safe. We hope by sharing this information with you it will help expedite this process.

Sincerely,
Jillian Hishon & Vianne Hills
(For and on behalf of many concerned Friends)

The Brave Truth Australia
PO Box 829
NORTH LAKES QLD 4509
support@thebravetruthaustralia.com

From: Graeme Dalton
Sent: Saturday, 29 July 2023 6:35 PM
To: Support TBTA
Subject: Re: Alleged Perpetrator

Hi,

Thanks for your email regarding XXXXX, and we can confirm he will not be in meetings where there are children.

Regards,

Graeme

ATTHIS TIME TBTA RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM SENIOR CONSTABLE XXXXXXXXX THAT THERE WAS NO OPEN INVESTIGATION ON XXXXX XXXXX (WE HAD OBVIOUSLY ACTED ON THE INFORMATION WE HAD BEEN GIVEN)

From: Support TBTA support@thebravetruthaustralia.com
Sent: Thursday, August 3, 2023 4:36 PM
To: Graeme Dalton <XXXXXXXXX@gmail.com>; David SAUNDERS <XXXXXX@gmail.com>; XXXXXXXXXXX@gmail.com
Subject: RE: Alleged Perpetrator

Dear Graeme, David & Brendan,

Thank you for your email, Graeme.

We have since spoken with Senior Constable XXXXXXXXXXX and we understand that he has also spoken with you. We understand from our conversation that there was an investigation which has been closed for now. In the last few days we have become aware of more victims in relation to this person and we are in the process of following these up.

Senior Constable XXXXXXXXXX has opened an Intelligence Record on the fellowship for any information we are able to share with them, given the serious nature of what we are dealing with. He was very interested to know that XXXXX XXXXX had spent many years overseas in XXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXX (XXXXXX/XXXXXXX) and potentially other countries. Based on past lists and information from some friends, we are compiling some details for him so we would be grateful for any information you may be able to provide on this front. We understand that he was a companion of another senior NSW male worker who XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX and had serious complaints of sexual abuse against him. This senior worker is now deceased.

We, along with the complainants, are disappointed, with XXXXX still being able to attend meetings even where children are not present. It will be viewed by the congregation as a “watering down” of the recent statement by the Overseers which strongly states that “There is no place for people who have harmed children, in our meetings and conventions; we ask any individual with a history of causing harm, or with allegations, or convictions, not to attend. This includes public gospel meetings.”

XXXXX XXXXX has serious allegations of sexual abuse, predation & grooming offences against children of which we have documentation. We understand David has been made aware of this on numerous occasions including text messages and emails. We also understand that David facilitated a meeting between XXXXX XXXXX and one of his victims of child sexual abuse, and friends in that area have also raised concerns of which senior workers are aware.

There are three problems with XXXXX attending fellowship meetings –

(a) it sends the wrong message to victims,

(b) if a family with children happen to attend the meeting, will the elder ask XXXXX not to attend or how will it be managed?

(c) it would be very difficult for a victim of sexual abuse (of which you may not be aware of) to have to sit across a meeting room from XXXXX every week, knowing that he is an alleged abuser and his attendance at the meeting has been sanctioned by senior workers.

We would appreciate confirmation that he will not be attending any fellowship meetings, gospel meetings or conventions. Obviously, workers or friends are free to meet with XXXXX privately on any basis they wish but to approve his attendance at a fellowship meeting sanctioned by workers where there may be victims or potentially children, in attendance, is not acceptable.

Your responsibility as mandated reporters as per the Child & Young Persons (Care & Protection) Act 1998, is extremely serious, and you must sanction a person’s attendance at one of your church meetings where there may be children attending.

We would be grateful for your confirmation that XXXXX XXXXX will no longer attend all church meetings (whether regular home-based church meetings, gospel meetings or conventions) as per your letter on 1st July 2023. Please confirm as soon as possible and by no later than next Wednesday 8th August 2023.

Sincerely,
Jillian Hishon and Vianne Hills

The Brave Truth Australia
PO Box 829
NORTH LAKES OLD 4509
support@thebravetruthaustralia.com

From: XXXXXdalton@gmail.com
Date: 8 August 2023 at 11:24:31 pm AEST
To: Support TBTA <support@thebravetruthaustralia.com>, David SAUNDERS <XXXXXX@gmail.com>, bXXXXXXp@gmail.com
Subject: RE: Alleged Perpetrator

Dear support,

Thank you for bringing this additional information to my attention. The safety and care of children in our fellowship is paramount. If you have reasonable grounds to believe a child or young person is at risk we ask that you report the issue to the relevant authorities in the appropriate jurisdiction as soon as possible.

Kind Regards,

Graeme

From: Support TBTA
Sent: Wednesday, 16 August 2023 2:10 PM
To:xxxxxx@gmail.com
Subject: RE: Alleged Perpetrator

Dear Graeme,

Thank you for your email of 8th August.

Please note that this issue is not just about the safety and care of children – it is also about the safety and care of victims.

For many decades, the safety and care of victims and children has unfortunately not been placed above offenders or alleged offenders In your fellowship.
We would suggest that allowing alleged perpetrators to attend sanctioned church meetings (as opposed to private catch-ups between people) will imply to many that the safety and care of children and victims is not paramount, a zero-tolerance approach is not being followed and that leadership is not taking this major problem seriously.

We would be very surprised if members of your Advisory Group (we understand there are 16 members) would tolerate an alleged offender attending a meeting where victims may be present.

Obviously, this is your matter to deal with, but our advice is that the current crisis is not going to be addressed unless exceptionally strong action is taken.

Please also be assured that The Brave Truth Australia will absolutely report to Police if ever we are advised anyone is at risk.

Sincerely,
Jillian Hishon

The Brave Truth Australia
PO Box 829
NORTH LAKES OLD 4509
support@thebravetruthaustralia.com

Arkansas notification

Dear Friends, 

Since our goal is to provide a safe place for all in our meetings we have a zero-tolerance policy for child sexual abuse/sexual abuse. To minimise the risk of abuse and any feeling of mistrust or discomfort, any person with substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse/sexual abuse will not be allowed to attend any meetings in person. If these persons travel, the restrictions also apply to meetings outside their home areas. Since allegations of abuse have recently been brought to light concerning Robert Sutton, we have asked him to not attend any meetings for the present. 

We want to encourage any victims of sexual assault to come forward no matter who the abuser was. Please report it to the proper legal authorities. It would be good also to let your local workers know, so they can make necessary adjustments for the local meetings.

The Missouri Abuse Hotline is …1-800-392-3738
The Arkansas Abuse Hotline is …1-800-392-3738
The Oklahoma Abuse Hotline is …1-800-522-3511
Another helpful source is to use the hot line …(503-386-4634)
This hotline will notify workers if necessary and provide therapy advice.

Another source the RAHN hotline (1-800-656-4673) and the suicide hotline (988) for anyone in crisis. 

Your brother, Craig

Overseer apology to Sacramento friends and elders

26 August 2023

Dear Sacramento friends and elders,

We have previously written to you about Gilbert Smith’s participation in meetings.  Today we feel moved to apologize for all of the pain we have caused through this whole process.  We realize now that we erred in even discussing Gilbert’s return to meetings when so many are still reeling from all that we have learned in the past five months. We understand that we put the elders in a difficult position by asking them to review all the information and come to a decision. We see how our actions appeared to care more about a perpetrator than for victims or survivors. Our mistakes are teaching us how much we have to learn about the far-reaching impacts of sexual abuse.

As we mentioned in the previous letter, only volunteers will meet with Gilbert and Sharon for fellowship, and he will not be attending any public meetings. We also want to let you know that we are putting an indefinite pause on any attempts to put perpetrators back into established fellowship or public meetings. We understand that there is still much to learn, and we want to proceed carefully. We recognize the need to increase our knowledge about sexual abuse and pledge to continue learning. Our future efforts in this arena will be centered on supporting victims, dealing with perpetrators transparently and doing our best as a staff to listen and respond from our hearts to the needs and questions of God’s people.

This season is difficult, and we realize we have not always understood the impact of our efforts  and the extent to which people are hurting. Thank you for your patience with us, and please hear our heartfelt apologies. We love you and appreciate your help as we all seek to ensure that meetings are safe and peaceful places for fellowship and worship with God. 

With deep care,

Rob, Harold and Richard

WINGS Note: See previous reports at

Concerning Decision Despite Opposition

Sacramento Decision Change

AFTT 5 Month Update

WINGS Note: Advocates For The Truth is a small group that has been working extremely hard to support victim-survivors and prevent further abuse, working with law enforcement, friends, workers, former members, and nonmembers to address this massive crisis. WINGS applauds the work they have done, and has pasted below a recent news update from their website.

As today marks the five month mark of when the investigation was started by Cynthia Liles, we thought we would give you the highlights of what we’ve been working on.

August 23, 2023, is five months to the day since Lauren, Cynthia, and I met with Doyle Smith for over three hours discussing Dean Bruer and the issues of child sex abuse and sex assault within The Truth. We knew it had been a poorly handled issue in the past. Little did we know the enormity and depth of destruction we were about to expose.

The following day, we activated our hotline (503-386-4634) which opened the floodgates of victim/survivors coming forward. Our intake has not stopped, and it appears it will not stop anytime in the foreseeable future.

We have been working relentlessly, boldly in the public eye, as well as behind the scenes. As a result, we have not had the time or bandwidth to provide the updates to the general public as we would have liked. Throughout the next couple of weeks we will be providing several updates.

For now, here are some of the things we have accomplished as a direct result of our mission statement:

  • We are currently conducting a comprehensive investigation run by Cynthia Liles, a licensed private investigator who specializes in investigations of child sex abuse within institutions of trust.
  • 550+ perpetrators with allegations of child sex abuse and sex assault have been reported to the hotline.
  • We launched the AFTT website.
  • We have had 70,000 visitors to our website at http://www.advocatesforthetruth.com.
  • We have had approximately 110,000 public Facebook visits per month.
  • We registered as a C-Corp.
  • We registered with the IRS and became a legally registered non-profit 501c3.
  • Countless workers have been removed with allegations.
  • We partnered with two nonprofit organizations offering therapy resources to survivors.
  • We created and financed an all-men’s equine therapy retreat which will take place in September 2023.
  • We created and financed an all-women’s equine therapy retreat which will take place in October 2023.
  • We are offering therapy resources both in the US and internationally.
  • First major fundraiser resulted in $28,007 donated to AFTT.
  • Total donations YTD of $201,720.
  • Through exposure of perpetrators, we have protected countless lives.
  • We have given voice to thousands of victim/survivors.

In the works:

  • Volunteer Team of Victim Advocates.
  • Matching Donation Drive.
  • John Hopkins funded research study for survivors.

We will have many more updates to follow!

Sheri + The Advocates Team

Eagle Bend MN, Convention Letter

8/21/2023

Dear Friends,

This is Bob and Viv Hansen, owners of the Eagle Bend, Minnesota convention grounds. We feel it is imperative for us to convey some messages prior to our conventions coming up in October of this year. This will be a longer convention letter than you’ve been seeing because we want to clarify some points and help you understand our thoughts and motives. We have not wavered from our intentions of having a convention this year because we believe we have been moved by the Lord to do so. We have loved hosting conventions here in the past and we are looking forward to seeing you all coming to enjoy some restful and peaceful days.

That brings up the issues that we are facing in our fellowship. The victims and the survivors of child sex abuse or sexual abuse are our number one concern. Some have inferred that by having convention that we are insensitive and uncaring towards the victims of child sex abuse, and/or sexual abuse. That is totally untrue! We are so, so sorry for what these precious souls have had to endure through physical and mental anguish and it tears our hearts apart just to think of all they’ve had to suffer because of these wicked deeds done to them. We hope and pray that these victims will get comfort for their soul and hearts, the healing that is needed, and the love and care and respect they deserve. We will always listen to and believe the victims! We will never side with the predator and since we bought this place in 2000, our mission has been to provide a safe place for people to come and worship freely and have sweet fellowship. Over these 23 years, this has involved prohibiting certain individuals and removing certain individuals from this convention place, and we have never failed to do that IF we knew about a predator. As we have all learned, predators can be unknown to many, many people because of their deceptive grooming abilities and behaviors. While we believe that the fellowship and the ministry are made up of almost all or nearly all people with good hearts and righteous motives, we understand that there could be someone who could be amongst us who is a predator. Therefore, as we will explain a little bit later, we have put into place some safety protocols that we believe will help us to provide a safer place for people.

Another subject that we want to cover is the short staff that we have of workers. We feel very sorry for those workers and understand that they have had to endure great mental and physical stress through these times. So we know that we will need many good volunteers to step up to help us all, to make this a doable and spiritually profitable convention for everyone. Our health has failed some and we are not as able as we once were but we will do what we can.

Now for the safety protocols. We have decided that there can be NO walking path as provided in the past, north of the grounds. There is just too much area out there that is not supervised or cannot be observed by anyone and we decided we will take away that risk for our friends. You can walk up and down our long driveway and walk on the gravel road and for the most part, should be safe doing so but please observe the traffic and move well over to the side of the road when traffic approaches.

Secondly, while we have not been actively posting on social media, we have been actively reading and listening to your concerns on social media. One of the parent’s concerns has been of their children entering a community bathroom when they couldn’t be there with them because of difference of gender or other responsibilities, like taking care of their other children. So what we have decided would reduce or eliminate that concern is that we will have clean portable toilets positioned all through the grounds in well lit areas and especially close to the meeting shed so children can go out to these portable toilets and come back into meeting quickly.

Thirdly, there will be security cameras positioned throughout the grounds. Of course, they won’t be installed in private settings or sleeping areas or bathrooms because of privacy issues. They are installed in common spaces because we will be recording all movement. We don’t know the entire value of these cameras, but we do believe that it can be a deterrent if there are some evil deeds being considered and if we need to go back and review some activities.

The fourth concern is making sure that the visitors that we have coming are safe. While we will not know most of these people, we believe they are coming with good hearts and righteous motives. But, again, because predators can be so deceptive, we know of credible third party professional sources that are available for us to search out these people’s backgrounds. And at any time, if we are informed that we have a visitor with allegations of sexual abuse or unacceptable behavior coming here, or is here, we will take immediate and appropriate actions to prohibit or remove that person.

Our zero tolerance policy is very strict. It always has been, and it always will be, as long as we are owners of these grounds. Our definition of zero tolerance is that there will be no accused, alleged, or convicted predator or individual allowed on these grounds, IF we know who they are. We will always be on the side of the victims or survivors or potential victims. If there is a false accusation against a person and later, has been declared not guilty by law enforcement and/or other credible sources, we will reconsider our previous decision.

Our fifth concern is about those who have been enablers to these criminal and evil deeds. On one hand, though, we want to be very careful and thoughtful about accusing somebody who may be in a God given place of authority of something that they are not guilty of doing. We may not have firsthand, or even second hand knowledge of those people, and what they have done. However, if we do have adequate proof that any person/persons have been involved in those activities, we will prohibit them from being here.

Lastly, and most importantly, if anyone sees any suspicious behaviors or criminal behavior, please contact 911 immediately. We would want you to contact us as soon as possible. Our phone number will be posted around the grounds. We will be there as soon as possible to assess the situation and take appropriate actions. If you are hesitant to call 911, please feel free to call us and we will be with you as soon as possible to discuss the situation with you.

Another thing we would like to address is young parents who have children. We hope with all our hearts that you will feel free to come to the convention because of the safety and refuge provided here. However, we respect your choice whatever you choose. We had young children once ourselves, and we understand the challenges of keeping young and energetic youngsters under control, and under your supervision constantly. We have a large convention grounds here and we should have plenty of open area for young children to play and we encourage that the grounds would be used accordingly. There is one restriction that we will have to place this year on children. In the past, they have enjoyed playing in the woods northeast of the convention grounds and we will have to prohibit children from being in those areas. The reason for this is because the children are too far away from the main part of the grounds, that area is unsupervised and can’t be seen easily by observers. However, the woods behind the campers has always been a delightful place for children to play, and that can be easily seen by others and observed so that should be a safe place for children to play also. We want the youngsters to enjoy convention as much as we did growing up. We really appreciate you loving and caring parents who we know will do your best at knowing where your children are and thank you for your diligence in that endeavor.

We are in uncharted waters. As far as this fellowship is concerned, because what has been allowed to happen, the evil minds, and evil hearts of people, have created great damage to this fellowship. We are very saddened by it all because of the mistrust, the lack of trust, and just unsure of where to turn at times. We want you to know, and believe, that none of the above was written with the spirit of arrogance or pride. For months now, we have been tearfully and prayerfully, pleading with the Lord for His guidance. So we humbly want you to know, that we have the same, if not more love and respect for the humble and good hearts of this fellowship. Thank you for your consideration and welcome to convention!

Sincerely,

Bob and Viv Hansen

Concerned Friends Proposed Letter to Australia / New Zealand Overseers

WINGS Note:  A group of friends have written a response to the latest letter from overseers in Australia and New Zealand. They would like as many concerned and connected friends as possible to sign this letter before they send it. 

You can open the following links to see the letter and fill out the signing form. They will be sending this letter on Saturday, 26th August. You can share this with anyone who would like to add their name in support.

Letter: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M7v9hB-2Os4A2tu8xMJhMoSkChC0-oLR/view?usp=sharing

Signing Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckG5Oen2PMwjCt2pxYdevxH6of0aI2j3FasPFY8kt7XNexDQ/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0&usp=mail_form_link

Dear Malcolm, Graeme, Wayne, Trevor, Alan Mitchell and Alan Richardson,

We would like to acknowledge your letter of the 18th August, 2023, communicating with the friends  and workers in Australia and New Zealand, the work you are undertaking in response to the church’s  concerns of prevention of child sexual abuse within our fellowship. In the interest of transparency, working openly and your invitation for all of us to support each other throughout this process, we  write this letter in reply. We have drafted a letter to the friends and workers of Australia and New  Zealand and will be attaching a copy of this letter for their viewing. We also welcome you to share this  information widely. This will open up dialogue to ensure that the measures being put in place have  input from all stakeholders and in accordance with standard two and three of the Child Safe Standards  of the Royal Commission undertaken in Australia (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017).

“Standard 2 – Children participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.

a) Children are able to express their views and are provided opportunities to participate in  decisions that affect their lives.

b) The importance of friendships is recognised and support from peers is encouraged,  helping children feel safe and be less isolated.

c) Children can access sexual abuse prevention programs and information.

d) Staff and volunteers are attuned to signs of harm and facilitate child-friendly ways for  children to communicate and raise their concerns.

Standard 3 – Families and communities are informed and involved.

a) Families have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of their  child and participate in decisions affecting their child.

b) The institution engages in open, two-way communication with families and  communities about its child safety approach and relevant information is accessible. c) Families and communities have a say in the institution’s policies and practices. d) Families and communities are informed about the institution’s operations and  governance.”

At a recent meeting of concerned friends, a discussion was held regarding your letter of the  18th August, 2023, and we would like to present you with some feedback to help inform the advisory  group. We hope they will be able to address some of our concerns and that our questions will help  them in future decisions. In the absence of a direct contact on the advisory board, we are  communicating in this way in the hope that everyone is informed. For future communication, we  request a direct email to the advisory group. It has been noted that some survivors do not feel  comfortable to go to workers due to past traumatic experiences and would not feel comfortable with  information being filtered through senior workers.

While your focus is the protection of children and victim-survivors, it seems that we cannot ignore  other members in our fellowship that will take on a significant amount of risk due to the roles they  have. Risk assessments for these contexts need to be worked on transparently, as a matter of urgency. For example, our convention owners and families who have fellowship meetings in their home. How  can we assure them that they are protected from risk? How will they be involved in this process? Are  there contingencies in place such as appropriate insurance cover? Will visiting workers from overseas  hold the relevant child safety checks that are equivalent to our Working With Children Checks  (WWCC)? There is a duty to consider this aspect of our fellowship. It raises the question if conventions  and fellowship meetings should continue in the immediate future until appropriate safeguards have  been put in place.

Further concerns and questions have been raised and we would like to summarise them for you:

• Your letter expresses a desire to be open and transparent and highlights that the members of  the advisory committee wish to remain anonymous. While we understand the need for victim survivors to be respected in this process, these two points appear to contradict each other. Also, you mention that the group will need support of each one of us as they progress. How  can we offer this support throughout the process if there is no direct line of communication?

• In relation to your point of ‘consultation and engagement will be needed from time to time’ – there is a view that this consultation should occur right from the start. How does the advisory  group confidently report on the effect of CSA in the fellowship if they do not ask for survivor  stories from the beginning? How can they quantify the effect without substantial knowledge?

• Further to quantifying ‘effect’, how is that measured? Are they measuring the mental trauma  or the financial cost of after care? Are they counting families or individuals? Are they counting  historical cases where the predator/perpetrator has died? What is their scope when  completing risk assessments? Given the complexity, it would be advisable that these risk  assessments be conducted by a third party to avoid any conflict of interest or legal  ramifications.

• Who formed this group, when was it formed and who decided who should be part of this  advisory group? Was there a transparent, democratic process in its development?

• If the advisory group members do not offer the facility to engage with the wider community,  how can stakeholders have input in the process if they are only communicated with when the  advisory group deems it necessary? You may view it as avoiding external pressures or  distraction but from our perspective, it is in contradiction with the Child Safe Standards – ‘families and communities have a say in the institution’s policies and practices.’ What process  will be provided for collaboration?

• Thank you for providing us with the break down of the group. We would also like clarification  of demographics of the group. For example, how many are from New Zealand and each state  of Australia? Are all contexts being taken into consideration? It would be advantageous to have a separate advisory group for New Zealand that is in communication with the Australian  advisory group, considering there would be a possible difference in laws. It also establishes  local support for victims and accountability of the ministry in this region.

• Will there be accommodation within future planning to ensure these groups are victim centred  and will there be opportunity for listening groups/collaboration with the wider community?

• You highlight that all members of the advisory group have relevant clearances and training.  However, these clearances do not assure other victim-survivors that the current members  have not covered up abuse within the fellowship in the past. With this lack of transparency, it  is difficult to develop trust in the process.

• How long a term are members of the advisory group volunteering for? Will there be a rotation  of people on the group to share the load long term? An advisory group will be needed  indefinitely considering the scope of abuse and there is a need for it to include elements of  advocacy. It would seem that it is not a ‘one and done’ scenario.

• The advisory board is to advise the ministry and has expressed a desire to act impartially. How  can this process be impartial if there are workers on an advisory group that are advising the  workers? This appears to be a conflict of interest. Also, as overseers, you have knowledge of  who these members are but the community you serve does not. You have an advantage of  being able to communicate with them that we do not have. This does not promote impartiality.

• Further to the topic of impartiality, there is a concern that an advisory group, while coming  from a range of professions and experiences, cannot remain unbiased due to their connection  with the fellowship.

• We were made aware that the advisory group is going to use publicly accessible material to  inform their risk assessments and guidelines. Will an independent lawyer be engaged to  ensure that they are sound and rigorous enough to align with current Australian and New  Zealand legal standards? Once again, the engagement of a third-party is needed.

• How is ‘zero tolerance’ of harming of children defined by your ministry? We are aware of a  number of people still in our fellowship meetings that have allegations and convictions. When  will your ‘zero tolerance’ be followed through?

• How will our fellowship be made aware of the advice given by the advisory group? What  accountability procedures will be put in place? How will we know that the advice being given  has been informed by the law and stakeholders and implemented to fidelity by the ministry?

• You have acknowledged in your letter that the scope of work to be completed is large and  there has been a prioritisation of tasks to be undertaken. Can we please be provided with an  indication of areas deemed the highest risk that will be addressed first?

• In relation to accountability of the appointed overseers, what provisions will be in place there?  Would there be a procedure where grievances could be communicated and acted upon?

Important concerns raised that require an urgent response are repeated below:

• Due to the imminent preparations and conventions in Australia and New Zealand, further  clarification is sought on the progress of risk assessments and safety procedures for these  gatherings. This needs to be done in a timely and collaborative manner to ensure all  measures can be in place.

• Provision of an email address to communicate directly with the advisory group to ensure a  transparent, collaborative approach throughout the process.

Once again, thank you for being proactive in beginning the process for change. We hope that this  feedback will help you as this important work continues. As mentioned, we will share this letter with  the friends and workers of Australia and New Zealand as an attachment to their letter so that they are  aware of the concerns raised, avoiding a duplication of questions inundating the advisory group. We  look forward to a formal published and shared response to these concerns being addressed, in the  interests of transparency.

Yours in gratitude,

Concerned and Connected Friends of Australia and New Zealand

Guidelines for dealing with CSA/SA in Middle Tennessee

Guidelines for Elders/Wives dealing with CSA/SA

  1. Any allegations of CSA/SA amongst our fellowship meetings will be reported to the appropriate law enforcement immediately. 
  2. With a single allegation, all elders will be contacted immediately.
  3. The alleged perpetrator will be immediately told not to attend any meetings.
  4. Ministers in the field will then be notified, though they will not be involved in the initial process of hearing the allegations or reporting it to authorities.
  5. Any victims who decide to come forward or anyone with concerns can talk with any elder/elder’s wife. They do not need to go to the elder/elder’s wife where they usually attend fellowship meetings if they are more comfortable talking to someone else. Certainly, a victim may also be more comfortable talking to someone other than an elder/elder’s wife initially.
  6. Victims can report to authorities first then inform/discuss with the elder/elder’s wife as appropriate. 
  7. If a CSA/SA abuser – convicted or with allegations – moves to the area, the meeting in the area will not be polled to see if everyone is comfortable adding this abuser to the meeting. Rather, those who wish to have a bible study or meeting with this abuser may form a study group with those interested.
  8. Every elder/elder’s wife will take the Ministry Safe course every two years.
  9. For reference, Child Abuse Hotline (CSA): TN (877) 237-0004 and KY (877) 597-2331, Sexual Assault (SA) call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). 

Guidelines for Middle Tennessee fellowship meetings:

  1. The fellowship meetings will be a safe place – meaning no known convicted or accused abusers of CSA/SA will be allowed attendance at fellowship meetings.
  2. Any elder and/or their wife will listen to an accusation or concern of CSA/SA from their respective meeting and will aid in reporting it to the authorities as warranted and legally required. (Any accusations/concerns can be made either to the elder or their wife or both together depending on situation and comfort level.  Accusations/concerns can be made to the elder or wife of another meeting if more comfortable.)
  3. Known offenders in the area will be shared with the elders and their individual meetings. Ministers will be informed of further communication to be disbursed.
  4. If you have children, please be aware of safe parenting to add another layer of safety to their welfare.
  5. Elders will make every effort to seat families together during the fellowship meetings.
  6. Elders will notify meeting attendees of friends and/or ministers visiting from other states/areas.
  7. For those visiting the meeting, elders will inform the visitor that there are children in the meeting and express that we have a zero-tolerance policy for CSA/SA.

WINGS Note: THese Guidelines were developed by 25 elders and their wives (not the workers).

Sacramento Decision Change

[Posted August 19, 2023]

Dear Sacramento elders,

Thank you for meeting with us earlier this week and for helping with considerations and decisions. We respect your perspectives and look forward to a better future.

Reporting back to all of you, Ron visited with his meeting and discovered there are grandchildren who sometimes attend, and Gilbert’s presence could possibly cause them to lose that special opportunity, which is unacceptable to all of us. After we considered the attendees in the remaining Sunday meetings, we realized there are no Sunday meetings that could host Gilbert without complications. As a result, we feel it will be most peaceful and appropriate to have a meeting where only volunteers will meet with Gilbert. The Wainwright’s and Keith Smith’s have volunteered for this meeting. In time we can consider similar arrangements for Wednesday and Union meetings. Regarding gospel meetings, we have asked that Gilbert call in.

This has been a new experience, but we do feel the encouragement of our Father’s help as we seek to do what is safe and peaceful. We appreciate your effort and help to work through these processes in a way that promotes peace.

Your brothers in Christ,

Harold, Rob and Richard

WINGS Note: THe previous decision was reported at Concerning Decision Despite Opposition

Acknowledgement and Apology

Aug 17, 2023

Dear friends,

How do we begin to say sorry to people we’ve loved and hurt? We hope this letter can be the first step.

We would like to make an apology for our part in allowing SA and CSA to continue in our fellowship. Whether out of ignorance or denial, we did not act on what we were being told.

Many years ago our oldest child was a victim of CSA by a member of our fellowship. At the time, they were four years old and didn’t have the words to express what happened. We continued our relationship with that family and unfortunately another violation occurred. It was many years later before that violation was brought to our attention. We still remained in denial. Immediately after the Dean Breur news broke, this child contacted a close friend to discuss a need for a website for victim-survivors to go to for support. They developed https://voicesforthetruth.org . We are so thankful for the many selfless hours of work given by our oldest child in support of victim-survivors all while also being a victim-survivor. We are terribly sorry that they had to suffer alone in silence for so many years.

In 2013, our next oldest child became aware of the extent of CSA in our fellowship. Since that time, she has been actively trying to make us more aware of the CSA issues. Due to her persistence, we finally began to see the gravity of Ira Hobbs’ involvement in CSA and the mishandlings of the Ministry’s leadership in dealing with predators. In September 2019, just five months after Ira Hobbs raped our dear sister worker (which we were unaware of at the time), and prior to Clever Convention, we asked to speak to our overseer (who was aware of the violation). Although this daughter was no longer in the fellowship, she remained intent on being a child advocate. With tears in her eyes she sat down with us and the overseer. We pleaded that the overseer would not allow Ira Hobbs to gather with young children and asked that he please ban Ira from coming to Clever Convention. We were told we alone could say who could and couldn’t come on our property. She helped us to write a letter to Ira Hobbs stating that fact. We want to thank her for the persistence in being a child advocate and continuing to be involved in making us aware and educating us on the dangers of CSA and coverup. We also want to apologize to her that for so long her voice fell on deaf ears. The following is our letter to Ira Hobbs along with his response.

09/01/2019

Mr. Ira Hobbs

I am contacting you concerning the conventions at Clever. As you know, hundreds of our fellow Christians both young and old gather together here once a year to celebrate the life of Christ. We will have a phone number set up to listen in for those that cannot attend convention in person. I strongly urge you to utilize the option to call in to each of the 3 meetings that will be held daily.

This year as in future years, attending in person or staying on the grounds during the week of convention is not an option that will be available to you. It is not our place to judge or convict only to walk with God and open our home as a safe place of worship. We have not addressed any safety concerns in the past as we felt moved to allow the workers to handle the situation. We have been advised that only we have the authority to make a decision about who can and cannot attend the convention at our home. We also feel that this would be best for your own protection against any future accusations that you not be present.

We have made the call-in option available because through Christ is our salvation and we want anyone who can to participate and enjoy the spirit of convention. This has troubled our hearts for some time now. Therefore workers were contacted and they have consented to, and are in agreement with this request. We ask that you respect our decision and respond to let us know that you have received this communication.

Sincerely,

The T Family

__________________________________________________

09/07/2019

Dear Lecil,

God is witness of the grief caused by your strange and questionable judgment.
Even though we had hoped to get to Clever convention this year, considering our current major health issues, it is not even feasible to physically attend any convention next week.
We love the fellowship and quickening meetings, and hope to share at least some of the meetings by conference call, if that is provided.

Sincerely, Joan and Ira

———————————————————–

In 2013, our youngest daughter, who had 3 small children, also became acutely aware of the horrific acts of CSA committed by Ira Hobbs. She vowed at that time to take action. She contacted as many people as possible via email to sign a petition pleading for our Overseers to take action to rid the fellowship of CSA. Sadly, only 86 people signed that petition, fifteen signed ‘Anonymous’. Due to our refusal to open our eyes and see there was a problem from within our fellowship, she felt she was fighting alone without the support of her parents. For that we want to apologize to her. We also want to thank her for doing what she felt necessary at the time to protect her own family and our grandchildren. Back in 2013, it may have seemed extreme, but we are grateful for her insight and that she felt strong enough to make a stand. The following is a link to the petition written by our youngest daughter 10 years ago. https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/create-publish-and-implement-a-child-sexual-abuse-education-and- response-plan.html

Our youngest child, our son, is presently very active and involved in assisting us in this fight to rid our fellowship of SA and CSA. We want to thank him for volunteering his time, along with our oldest in helping victims-survivors through Voices for the Truth. We want to apologize that he did not see his parents take a more active stance against SA and CSA in the past. We realize what a disappointment this must be to him as well as to his siblings. We want to thank our son for always challenging us and opening up hard conversations. And thank him for the work he’s done to help open us up to a kinder and more loving perspective towards others, especially those who may not share our skin color, sexual orientation or gender, or faith. It is in this that we have become more aware of the needs and struggles of others.

Although none of our children currently are in this fellowship, they realize our commitment and love for this fellowship and our desire to remain a part of it.

We are sorry that we recently allowed an alleged perpetrator to work on our property even after we learned that there were allegations against him. On June, 9, 2023 we received a letter notifying us of allegations against Brad Holman. Then on June 16, 2023 we were notified that Brad would be coming to Clever Convention grounds to pick up some of his personal things, wrap up an electrical project, and drop off a vehicle. Although Brad was never in our home, one week later, Brad was still present on the grounds. We asked Craig Winquist if anything was being done to clear Brad of the allegations and told him that if not, Brad would need to leave. Craig informed us that the allegations were serious and doubted that they would be cleared. Brad was told he would need to leave our property and he left on Sunday June 24, 2023. We know now that allowing Brad to work on our property even after we knew there were allegations against him appeared as us supporting him. To the community and especially victim-survivors, we hope you will accept our sincere apology.

To all victim-survivors of CSA and SA: we are deeply sorry for the pain you have experienced. We are sorry that we didn’t do more sooner. We see you. We hear you. We believe you. And we will do everything within our power to support you.

SA and CSA have many secondary victim-survivors. It is a crime not only against an individual, but against a community. For our part in the complicity, we are so very sorry. Our lack of awareness and understanding delayed the urgency of action. We have been educating ourselves through literature, conversation, and sharing. And we plan to continue to do so. We understand that ignorance made us make wrong decisions, but that is inexcusable. We have also learned that accountability does not erase the damage done by our actions/inactions. We hope that our current stance against SA and CSA can show that we are not only sorry, but we are also committed to taking an active role in the healing of victim-survivors as well as the prevention of further harm. This letter is in no way written to justify our complicity and inaction in past years. We take full accountability.

For too long, we have not considered the anguish SA and CSA has caused the victim-survivors. To those who consider our stance too radical, we hope that you will come to see there is nothing radical about supporting victim-survivors and protecting our fellowship.

We know that many of you may have been personally harmed by our inaction on this in the past and you deserve a personal apology as well. Please reach out to us if you feel comfortable doing so: we would be grateful for the opportunity to apologize to you directly.

With remorse,

Lecil and Gaby T

WINGS Note August 21, 2023: Some details that were initially redacted to preserve privacy have now been reinstated after clarification that the authors approved the full disclosure.

Previous posts:

Clever, MO convention cancelled

Clever, MO Convention Safety Protocol

Preparing for convention at Clever, MO

Concerning Decision Despite Opposition

Recently a private (secret) meeting was held in the Sacramento area. The Sunday morning elders for the 11 meetings were invited (no wives, no union elders or Wednesday night elders) by Rob Newman and Richard Denherder to discuss a known and personally admitted CSA perpetrators readmission into fellowship meeting.

They were told that while this man has admitted to (some) of his abuse, that a 4 hour phone assessment was done, and he had passed (assessed as no longer a risk).

So he is now able (according to the CA/AZ policy) to be readmitted to attend meetings (including those with children).

Rob and Richard took a vote of the 11 elders as to who would be willing to have this known and confessed perpetrator in their Sunday meeting.

  • 4 elders voted NO.
  • 2 elders said that they wanted to asked their meetings.
  • 5 elders voted Yes.

It was determined based on this minority vote of 5/11 that this known and confessed (of some of his abuses) perpetrator, is now allowed to attend meeting in the Sacramento area.

Friends have raised many concerns about this process:

  • What information did ministry share with the risk assessor regarding GS?
  • Were victims or victim impact statements part of the process?
  • How many victims of GS did the risk assessor know about?
  • Did the risk assessor know about the AFTT investigation or did they reach out to AFTT to get more facts than ministry has?
  • Did anyone other than ministry and the predator talk to the risk assessor in the GS case?
  • Declaring GS “low risk” (just like they recently did for others) does NOT mean he should be back in meetings and does NOT fit with a zero-tolerance policy.
  • Wives should have been involved.
  • The wider meeting community should have been involved.

This process is contrary to the expert advice posted at Urgent Professional Request to the overseer and workers in the States of CA AZ NV HI

  • No one can accurately predict or identify offenders by observing them.
  • Risk assessments should not be used to determine whether an offender can attend fellowship meetings. Alternate arrangements should be made to meet with offenders outside of fellowship meetings.

Previous information was posted at Gilbert Smith, California elder, removed from meetings

WINGS Note: Gilbert Smith is a former worker and current elder in California. During his time in the work, Gilbert labored in California, Arizona, Idaho, Alaska, and Chile. Known allegations stem from his time in Alaska and Chile.

In the late 90s, Mark Huddle (who was removed from the work in April 2023 due to several allegations of child sexual abuse) was approached with some of these allegations. His response was that the family was overreacting, and nothing further was done.