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Church of England forgave pedophiles en masse, allowed them to continue working with children, inquiry finds
A shocking new inquiry has found that, not only did the Church of England forgive some 400 pedophiles, but it allowed them to continue working with children.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found that between 1940 and 2018, some 390 people employed by the church, as clergymen or in trusted positions, were convicted of child sex abuse.
They were ‘forgiven’ for their crimes by the church and allowed to continue their duties, often in close proximity to children, the IICSA found.
“The culture of the Church of England facilitated it becoming a place where abusers could hide,” the report reads.
Unfortunately, they didn't just hide!
The inquiry found the church repeatedly failed to respond in a consistent manner to victims and survivors of abuse, compounding their trauma over a period of decades.
In 2018 alone, there were some 2,504 concerns raised about possible abuse of children or vulnerable adults, including 449 allegations of recent sexual abuse.
“Over many decades, the Church of England failed to protect children and young people from sexual abusers, instead facilitating a culture where perpetrators could hide and victims faced barriers to disclosure that many could not overcome,” chair of the inquiry, Professor Alexis Jay said.
The IICSA lambasted the church for regarding forgiveness “as the appropriate response to any admission of wrongdoing.”
One such case highlighted is that of Timothy Storey, a man who was permitted to continue working with children after apologising “for everything he had done wrong.” Storey is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for multiple offences against young girls, including rape.
As part of the findings announced Tuesday in the damning report, the panel found that record-keeping of abuse claims was “almost non-existent.”
The panel decried the church's willingness to pervert the course of legal justice by meting out its own 'forgiveness,' precluding sex offenders from being held responsible for their crimes and prevented from re-offending.
The church was also blasted for its handling of the reverend Ian Hughes scandal, in which he was convicted in 2014 of downloading 8,000 child porn images, including 800 in the most serious category.
At the time, Bishop Peter Forster claimed Hughes had been “misled into viewing child pornography”.
The report further condemned what it dubbed as “tribalism” within the church, which placed loyalty to its own over the safety and wellbeing of children. It cited a “culture of fear and secrecy within the Church about sexuality” which then facilitated a climate of sex abuse.
The church issued an apology and expressed shame after the inquiry’s findings were released. “The report makes shocking reading and while apologies will never take away the effects of abuse on victims and survivors, we today want to express our shame about the events that have made those apologies necessary,” said the Bishop of Huddersfield, Jonathan Gibbs.
“The whole Church must learn lessons from this Inquiry. Our main focus in response must be recognising the distress caused to victims and survivors by the Church’s failures in safeguarding,” Gibbs added.
Should you not also recognize the sins you have committed against God in protecting evil men while endangering innocent children? You will stand to answer for these sins!
The inquiry held public hearings in July 2019, which led in part to the findings of the report.
The panel made eight recommendations, including an improved complaints process for victims of abuse, the reintroduction of immediate expulsion from the church for anyone convicted of child sex offences, and improved funding and support for victims and survivors.
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Civil lawsuit filed against church, Fairfax School District, Ca, over ex-vice principal’s alleged sexual abuse of minor
By: Veronica Morley
ABC23
A civil lawsuit has been filed against Fairfax School District and Fairfax Assembly of God church over the alleged sexual abuse of a minor by a former vice-principal in the district and church board member, Donald Ricketts.
According to court documents filed Monday, Attorney Daniel Rodriguez argues that officials at the school and the church failed to listen to reports of the abuse and follow their own bylaws and training.
Rickets, who pleaded no contest in 2013 to lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and was sentenced to three years in prison, was at the time of the alleged abuse a board member of Fairfax Assembly. He also served as a youth camp supervisor/chaperone for Fairfax Assembly, youth teacher and/or counselor, group leader, and/or authority figure at Fairfax Assembly.
The Plaintiff in the suit, according to documents, was 11-years-old when the alleged abuse began and continued until the Plaintiff was 16. According to the documents, Defendants in the case knew or should have known of the alleged abuse.
Rodriguez said Tuesday that according to police reports, there was an incident at the church when a woman walked into a dark room and turned on the lights. Rodriguez said she found Ricketts inside the room with a little girl on his lap and "his hand in a place that it wasn't supposed to be."
The woman, according to police reports, alerted the church but the only action taken was Ricketts was told not to be alone with children, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also said that when the Plaintiff did disclose the abuse to church officials, she was kicked out of the church.
The documents argue that Defendants, including those within the Fairfax School District, failed to provide reasonable supervision of Ricketts during times when the abuse occurred. According to the documents, "Despite knowledge of the sexual misconduct of Defendant Ricketts, Defendants held Defendant Ricketts out as a man who was safe to be around minors."
Rodriguez said the decision to file the new suit stems to new law that took effect in January allowing survivors of childhood sexual assault to file a lawsuit up until the age of 40. Previously the law only allowed lawsuits to be filed up to the age of 26.
The Plaintiff in the case, now 28, according to the document, claims to suffer pain of mind and body, shock, emotional distress, and physical injury among other things.
Why were the Pastors and elders not charged with complicity? What a disgrace for a church!
Inquiry details allegations of sex abuse at hands of Bradford, UK, vicar,
Trevor Devamanikkam
By Jo Winrow, T&A
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s (IICSA) report into the Anglican Church details the full case against the late Reverend Trevor Devamanikkam.
It states: "Trevor Devamanikkam was ordained in 1977 (6th story on link) as a priest in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds. In March 1984, he moved to a parish in the Bradford diocese, where he remained until 1985. Devamanikkam retired in 1996 but between 2002 and 2009 had permission to officiate in the Diocese of Lincoln.
"Reverend Matthew Ineson is an ordained priest in the Church of England. During his teenage years, he had difficulties with his parents and went to live with his grandparents. His family were religious and attended church regularly. Matthew Ineson was a member of the church choir and an altar server. As his grandparents were struggling, a local priest organised a respite placement living with Reverend Devamanikkam."
The report states that in 1984, aged 16, Matthew Ineson went to live with Devamanikkam and his housekeeper. On his second night, Devamanikkam came into Matthew Ineson’s bedroom, put his hand underneath the covers touched him indecently. It continues: "When asked if he liked it, Matthew Ineson said no. This continued for two or three nights, and then progressed to Devamanikkam telling Matthew Ineson to share his bed with him. Devamanikkam made it plain that, if he did not do so, he would be thrown out of the vicarage and would have nowhere to go. While sharing a bed over a number of weeks, Devamanikkam raped Matthew Ineson at least 12 times and also sexually assaulted him."
"After approximately two months, Matthew Ineson’s grandmother came to the vicarage and spoke to Devamanikkam. Matthew Ineson was not part of that conversation and his grandmother left without talking to him. The next day, Matthew Ineson said that the Bishop of Bradford visited the vicarage and told him that he had to leave, saying that “It’s not my problem where you go but you have to leave here”. No reason was given.
"Bishop Roy Williamson (who was then Bishop of Bradford) told us that there was “disquiet about the arrangement” between Matthew Ineson and Devamanikkam but he did not remember visiting the vicarage. A licensed deacon at Devamanikkam’s church (who made a detailed report at the time about Devamanikkam’s mental health) said that it was the then Archdeacon of Bradford (David Shreeve) who had visited the vicarage. There was no written record of this visit.
"Reverend Ineson went to the police first in 2013 and then again in 2015. In 2017, the police investigated and charged Devamanikkam. Devamanikkam took his own life in June 2017, the day before his court appearance for three counts of buggery and three counts of indecent assault between March 1984 and April 1985, all relating to Reverend Ineson."
In addition the report details how the case of Matt Ineson demonstrated the "potential difficulties in imposing or upholding" a 12-month time limit on complaints. Although, since 2016 this time limit does not apply to allegations of child sexual abuse, it adds.
One Bishop was aware of the abuse at the time, and Mr Ineson, went on to disclose his abuse to senior Church leaders between 2012-2014, before making a Clergy Discipline Measure complaint in 2017.
The report states: "As regards his allegations against Devamanikkam and Bishop Williamson, this was in part because he thought that he would not be believed.
"At the request of the police, Reverend Ineson delayed making the remaining complaints while an investigation into Devamanikkam was ongoing.
"When the President of Tribunals wrote to the clergy who were the subject of the complaints (including Devamanikkam) asking for their observations on granting permission for the complaints to be outside of the time limit, none of them agreed.
"The President of Tribunals extended the time limits only in relation to the complaints against Devamanikkam and Bishop Williamson."
The report also details how the inquiry heard widespread support for a mandatory reporting law with any failure to comply being enforced through the criminal law.
It adds: "Reverend Matthew Ineson noted that a mandatory reporting law would make it a matter of routine to 'pick the phone up to the police'."
Former Strafford, Mo youth pastor charged with child sex abuse
by: Associated Press
Oct 11, 2020 / 03:51 PM CDT
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A former youth pastor was charged with seven felonies following accusations he sexually abused a child in Missouri.
Taylor is accused of sexually abusing a child for several years beginning when the victim was younger than 14.
Court documents say Taylor worked at First Baptist Church in Strafford until a few days ago.
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