INSTANCES OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGEDLY PERPETRATED BY MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS A HISTORY- 1959-2017 SIC LOQUITUR PRO SE Compiled by Deborah J. Diener RN BSN CLNC WE CANNOT CHANGE WHAT WE FAIL TO CONFRONT Child abuse dramatically increases the risk of 7 out of 10 of the leading causes of death; decreases life expectancy by 20 years; and this damage is passed genetically generation after generation. The lifelong health effects of child sexual abuse include: Brain atrophy; Suicide risk- GIRLS 2-4 times the risk and BOYS 4-12 times the risk; Psychological problems; Anorexia Bulimia; PTSD; High risk behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse; Promiscuity and exploitation;Teenage pregnancies are higher than the norm in child sexual abuse victims; COPD 2-5 times the risk; Hepatitis 2-5; times the risk; Depression 4-5 times the risk; Lung cancer 33% higher risk; Ischemic heart disease 3.5 times the risk; ADHD 2.5 times the risk; & Self Harm. There is a substantial increase in delinquent acts leading to more incarcerations by a victim vs the general population. There is a high association with child abuse resulting in homelessness.1 Child predators on average, will abuse 175 children in their lifetime; some have admitted to over 1000 children.2 Researchers at Harvard have determined that “there is no cure for pedophilia” therefore the focus should be on protecting our children.3 A child predator will abuse 50-75 children before he is caught, but only 3% of predators are apprehended. .4 According to experts, 86% of child sexual abuse is never reported and it is a world wide epidemic with over 40 million survivors. The damage from abuse is far reaching! It costs our country billions of dollars every year. 5 INCLUDED IN THIS DOCUMENT ARE EXACT QUOTES FROM PUBLIC DOCUMENTS (ACTIVELY RESEARCHED UNTIL 2014): 1. Legal Complaints, Court Orders on Motions, and Appellate Court Rulings. 2. Documents from the Boy Scout IV files 6 3. News Articles In 1986, Marilyn Sandburg the former director of the Weber County (Utah) Task Force on Sexual Abuse addressed LDS Social Workers at an AMCAP (Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists) meeting stated: “Most of these abuse cases were referred to the legal system by individuals other than religious leaders, and yet in many of the cases the abuse had been brought to the attention of clergy members long before it was reported to the authorities." "One particular incest case I worked with had been reported to six different bishops, and none of those bishops reported it to the authorities. The molestation continued for a period of eleven years.”7 IN 2013 a lawsuit was filed in Berkeley County (West Virginia). The suit “alleges that the Church and church leaders covered up the sexual abuse of 12 children occurring over a period of five years by Christopher Michael Jensen. The children were ages 3 and 4 at the time of the abuse. The suit states that the church was repeatedly put on notice or had knowledge about allegations that Jensen had sexually abused children of church families.” Perpetrators of abuse target organizations where children are likely found. And child Predators are purposely charming and amicable but extremely manipulative.8 They can fool even experts. We must use every opportunity to limit access to children by these perpetrators and report them if special knowledge of abuse is confessed, reported, or suspected and let the experts determine if a crime has in fact been committed. This church is the first in a series of research about churches and their response to child perpetrators using historical public documents compiled chronologically. The hope is that this research (and others forthcoming) will educate members so that they will encourage their organizations to report abusers immediately, rather than stand behind priest penitent privilege or encourage the abuser to self report. Dates are reflective of when the abuse began or the date a legal document was filed. 1 https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/ https://www.dropbox.com/s/8i1c0pk03zsgfz7/RESEARCH%20ARTICLES.docx?dl=0 2 Salter, A. C. Predators: Pedophiles, rapists and other sex offenders: New York: Basic Books, 2003 page 13-14 & Harlow, Nora and Abel, Gene G. M.D., The Stop Child Molestation Book: December 24, 2001 3 http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/pessimism-about-pedophilia 4 Gene G. Abel et al., Self-Reported Sex-Crimes of Non-Incarcerated Paraphiliacs, J. InterpersonalViolence 3 (1987) 5 https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childmaltreatment/economiccost.html 6 http://spreadsheets.latimes.com/boyscouts-cases/ 7 scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1260&context=irp 8 http://www.vachss.com/guest_dispatches/grooming.html DATE LOCATION PUBLIC DOCUMENT QUOTES 06/23/59 Oklahoma LDS Bishop Samuel H. Gardner (AKA Mercer) allegedly abused a child. The child stated, "When I was fifteen years old, I was being sexually abused by my bishop," GARDNER- Samuel H. Gardner 2 pdf. “Bishops begin interviewing children when they are young. Mormon children are supposed to be interviewed by the bishop when they are eight years old to see if they are ready for baptism. When a boy reaches the age of twelve, he is interviewed by a bishop to see if he is worthy to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. This interview is conducted behind closed doors. These interviews continue as the boy advances in the priesthood. Unfortunately, some Mormon bishops have been accused of using these interviews as an opportunity to sexually abuse young men. Since the bishop is supposed to have special authority from God, sexual advances by the bishop tend to greatly confuse young men. Furthermore, it is very difficult for those who are abused to accuse the bishop of wrongdoing. Consequently, they tend to bottle up their feelings. Jack McCallister, who was formerly a bishop in the Mormon Church, felt that it was very improper for one individual to be alone with a young man and ask all kinds of questions related to sexual matters.” “Standard Church policy is that two priesthood officers must be present to handle Church funds, a check and balance system to prevent financial error and inhibit the temptation to steal. And the Church conducts regular financial audits. How many priesthood officers are required to conduct a personal worthiness interview with a youth? One. And there are no procedures for auditing the actions of these leaders for inappropriate behavior." (Case Reports, page 205) “Jack McCallister was especially concerned about these worthiness interviews because he himself was abused by his bishop in his office. He related the following: 6/13/17 Compiled by Deborah J. Diener RN BSN CLNC 5 of 316 DATE LOCATION PUBLIC DOCUMENT QUOTES “We were the only ones in the meetinghouse. We shook hands and he put his arms around me. He told me how much the Lord loved me. He felt directly inspired tonight to call me down to his office.... He asked if we could pray together before we talked. He said a lot of really nice things about me to God... I felt very special and very humble. It was one of the most beautiful, heartfelt, eloquent prayers that I've ever heard on my behalf, asking the Lord to bless me, watch over me, care for me, and assuring the Lord of what a fine wonderful young man I was.... Then we sat down in two chairs in front of his desk. He pulled his chair up really close to mine, looked me straight in the eyes through his pink-tinted bifocal lenses. I could see he still had tears in his eyes from the prayer. 'What sincerity!' I thought. 'Maybe some day I can learn how to talk to God with such powerful impressive prayer language." (Ibid., pages 167-168)” “After some conversation about temporal matters, the bishop proceeded to discuss sexual matters with him and eventually molested him. This abuse caused severe trauma to Jack. He wrote:” "I couldn't figure out what was going on. He was the bishop. I was the obedient but unworthy servant. He was God's chosen leader on earth. Whatever he did was directly authorized by God. My thoughts raced around." (Ibid.) “Jack McCallister decided to keep the matter secret. Even though he eventually became a bishop, his suffering did not end. To add to his own pain, he learned that his own son was also victimized by another Mormon bishop. In a letter to Gordon B. Hinckley, the current president of the Mormon Church, Jack and his wife, Merradyth, expressed their dismay that things were being swept under the rug.” Salt Lake City Messenger Utah Lighthouse Ministry Tanners Newsletter #91 http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no91.htm Case Reports of the Mormon Alliance, Vol. 1, 1995. http://mormon-alliance.org/casereports/volume1/v1.htm 6/13/17 Compiled by Deborah J. Diener RN BSN CLNC 6 of 316 DATE LOCATION PUBLIC DOCUMENT QUOTES 12/13/60 California LDS Jene Albert Hansen listed as Mormon in the Boy Scout perversion files. News clipping from Hayward Review states "an irate Dad violently attacks Hansen" Hansen is listed twice in the BSA files and was in 2 different troops. HANSEN-Jene Albert Hansen 2.pdf. http://documents.latimes.com/jene-albert-hansen/ 01/15/61 California LDS William Shubeck allegedly abuses a 15 year old. The plaintiff, "at the behest of and with the knowledge of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church), was the victim of sexual abuse by defendant." SHUBECK-William Shubeck-Kathleen B v pdf http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=in caco 20091209076.xml&docbase=cslwar3-2007-curr 01/01/63 Rexburg, Idaho LDS LaVar Withers "Over 125 women and children (some as young as 13 years old) came forward to the Rape Crisis Response Center to tell of his abuse over a thirty year period.