Church leaders arrested for not reporting child abuse....

[fairfarmhand]

http://baptistis.com/2010/12/01/hampshire-baptist-minister-elders-guilty-failing-report-abuse/

 

A minister and two elders of a Southern Baptist church in New Hampshire have been convicted on misdemeanor charges of failing to report suspected sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl. Tim Dillmuth, 34, a pastor at Valley Christian Church in Conway, N.H., was one of four church leaders arrested in February on a charge of violating a state law requiring the report of child abuse to authorities.

Dillmuth and elders Richard Eland, 62, and Robert Gagnon, 70, will be sentenced Dec. 21. They face up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

A fourth man, Michael Wedge, 32, cooperated with the investigation. His case was placed on file without finding for one year.

According to North Conway radio station WMWV, Dillmuth met in September 2009 with parents who told him their daughter had been sexually abused by a man who was a deacon in the church.

Court documents said the parents asked Dillmuth not to report the incident. The pastor told church elders about it but not the police. Legal authorities finally learned of the allegations Feb. 1, 2010, after a church member who knew about the case insisted that it be reported.

The three men argued in court that they acted in good faith by urging the parents to report the alleged abuse. District Court of Northern Carroll County Judge Pamela Albee, however, ruled Nov. 15 the leaders “deliberately attempted†to keep the matter within the church while discussing it at meetings of the congregation’s board of elders.

New Hampshire’s Child Protection Act includes ministers in a list of occupations requiring persons with “reason to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected†to report the information to authorities.

Police have not charged anyone with actually abusing the child, but court documents said that did not excuse church leaders who “knowingly have reason to suspect†that a child was assaulted and “neglected to report†the case as required by law.

The judge said that permitting an immunity defense sought by the church leaders “would eviscerate the very purpose of the Child Protection Act and its reporting law provisions.â€

David Clohessy and Barbara Dorris of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) praised authorities for filing the charges. “This pattern — church-goers keeping silent about suspected abuse — is terribly common but rarely punished,†the SNAP leaders said in a press release.

They said in a letter to prosecutors and police that deterring child molesters is hard, but deterring people who witness or strongly suspect crimes from keeping silent “may be the best way to stop a child molester after his fourth victim, instead of his 44th victim.â€

Founded in 1997, Valley Christian Church reports an average attendance of about 225. It is an elder-led congregation affiliated with New Hampshire Baptist Association, the Baptist Convention of New England and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Media reports at the time of Dillmuth’s arrest identified him as an associate pastor. The radio station report of his conviction labeled him interim pastor. The church’s listing on the New Hampshire Baptist Association website lists him as youth pastor. The association’s director of missions referred an inquiry about Dillmuth’s employment status to the church. An e-mail sent to an address on the church website did not receive a response.

[Jean in Newcastle]

They are mandated reporters.

[Harriet Vane]

Good. I'm glad they were arrested. It IS terribly common not to report. It's entrenched in religious culture, though it's also a problem with a surprising number of therapists and teachers and social workers, believe it or not. Typically people think they can finesse a situation along interminably--meanwhile the victim suffers and the perpetrator is scot-free.

[LauraGB]

Anyone who knows and doesn't report is just is disgusting and ultimately culpable as the perpetrator itself.

[LibraryLover]

There is a reason mandated reporters exist.

[asta]

I'm glad you posted this.

 

Some time ago I posted something that listed a bunch of different "groups" who had leaders who had been found to have (unfortunately) molested children. They were religious groups and scouting groups.

 

I find it very sad that the press seems to focus almost exclusively on the Catholic church (biggest? deepest pockets?) and other groups then "fly under the radar". In the long run (and short) it just leads to more children being hurt. Everyone needs to know they are under scrutiny and that they will be held accountable.

 

 

asta

[Ibbygirl]

They are mandated reporters.

 

Yep and as deacons and elders they should know better. I am just a youth worker (volunteer) and I had to go through backround checks as well as training for several weeks before I was given my class and I had training specifically on how to spot abuse as well as the law and the protocol for reporting and I'm just a grunt. These guys totally should have been aware of the law at their level in the church. Shame on them for covering it up! I reckon when they get out of jail they won't make that mistake again.

[Gratia271]

I find it very sad that the press seems to focus almost exclusively on the Catholic church (biggest? deepest pockets?) and other groups then "fly under the radar". In the long run (and short) it just leads to more children being hurt. Everyone needs to know they are under scrutiny and that they will be held accountable.

asta

 

A large protestant church in our community "tried" to persuade someone to turn himself in which he, of course, refused to do. Their initial refusal to report him only prolonged the misery and wrong perpetrated against a little girl. Then, the church leaders attempted to defend their behavior to the church body. Absolutely disgusting.

[mirth]

-_

[laughing lioness]

Anyone who knows and doesn't report is just is disgusting and ultimately culpable as the perpetrator itself.

:iagree:

[mom31257]

Shouldn't the parents be arrested as well? They failed to report to DHHS. They discouraged others from doing so. They fall under "any other person having a reason to suspect". Why should the parents be exempted? Brings up the vital question who did the abusing and who contacted whom first.

 

169-C:29 Persons Required to Report.

Any physician, surgeon, county medical examiner, psychiatrist, resident, intern, dentist, osteopath, optometrist, chiropractor, psychologist, therapist, registered nurse, hospital personnel (engaged in admission, examination, care and treatment of persons), Christian Science practitioner, teacher, school official, school nurse, school counselor, social worker, day care worker, any other child or foster care worker, law enforcement official, priest, minister, or rabbi or any other person having reason to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected shall report the same in accordance with this chapter.

 

Source. 1979, 361:2, eff. Aug. 22, 1979.

 

While I agree they should have reported it, does the child really need to suffer more? I can't imagine going through something like that, and then potentially losing my parents, too. I think the parents (and child) should be in counseling, but not arrested.

[Mother Superior]

I find it very sad that the press seems to focus almost exclusively on the Catholic church (biggest? deepest pockets?) and other groups then "fly under the radar". In the long run (and short) it just leads to more children being hurt. Everyone needs to know they are under scrutiny and that they will be held accountable.

 

:iagree:

 

 

That poor little girl! I want to know why they haven't arrested the guy who did it. What are we waiting for?

 

As a former prosecuting attorney, I just wanted to say that this is not always as simple a decision as it seems. I had once case where my child victim could NOT testify against his abuser. He wanted to, but he was so traumatized, and was a very sensitive child by nature, that he just couldn't do it. I ultimately did charge the perp and got a conviction by utilizing a new (at that time) statute that allowed for child victims to testify via closed-circuit television. I doubt my victim (a boy who was only 5 years old) could have even testified using that, but once the judge ruled we could proceed using the closed circuit TV's, the perp started asking for a plea bargain.

 

Another time, we had a juvenile abuse case regarding a 6 week old baby, whose father apparently didn't like hearing crying. :001_unsure: The comatose baby was life flighted to a hospital, where the father's hand print was evident in the bruises on the baby's face. :( I pursued the child protection case FIRST, making sure he lost his parental rights with regard to the child, and after I had the guy's testimony locked in with regard to the DCFS case, THEN I charged him with felony child abuse. I knew I'd be in a better position to able to prove the abuse to a jury in a criminal case AFTER I had the man's testimony on record in the (civil) abuse/child protection case.

 

So in this case, the prosecutor may be pursuing other options that will bolster his case in the long run-- or maybe he doesn't have a case at all. It's not always that cut and dried.

[JoJosMom]

I'm glad you posted this.

 

Some time ago I posted something that listed a bunch of different "groups" who had leaders who had been found to have (unfortunately) molested children. They were religious groups and scouting groups.

 

I find it very sad that the press seems to focus almost exclusively on the Catholic church (biggest? deepest pockets?) and other groups then "fly under the radar". In the long run (and short) it just leads to more children being hurt. Everyone needs to know they are under scrutiny and that they will be held accountable.

 

 

asta

 

Asta brings up a good point for all parents to remember. Pedophiles love children-in a sick and perverted way-and they strongly desire their company. You will find them in all walks of life where they will interact with kids; they are teachers, priests/pastors/youth ministers, coaches, scout leaders, etc. As parents, we must be vigilant and monitor our children's relationships with adults who are not WELL known to us. If I sound paranoid, please don't flame. After well over a decade as a prosecutor, many of which were spent in the juvenile division dealing with the devastation wrought by adult molesters (molested children tend to act out), I AM totally paranoid.