KS-- Big KC church denies trying to “out” young victims; SNAP responds
For immediate release: Friday, July 8, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790,314 645 5915 home, [email protected])
Officials at a Kansas City church are bullying two girls – ages 11 year old and a 13 year old and their mom. Now, the church’s lawyer is trying to deny the bullying.
A mother and her daughters are suing Westside Family Church in Lenexa. The mom wants to continue protecting the privacy and recovery of her daughters who were sexually violated by a serial predator who helped with Vacation Bible School.
But Westside wants a judge to “out” them and prevent them from moving forward as “Jane Does.” For decades, however, judges in the US have let crime victims seek justice while safeguarding their anonymity. This is especially true when kids are involved.
The church’s motion, filed in Johnson County Court, starts with this phrase: “Westside requests that this Court deny the plaintiffs’ motion (for) a pseudonym.”
It ends with this phrase: “Westside requests that this court deny the plaintiffs’ motion (for) a pseudonym.”
In between, the church’s motion says the alleged victims “should not be able to hide behind pseudonyms.”
Pretty clear, right?
But now Westside’s lawyer claims – in today’s KC Star - that church officials do NOT want to force these girls and their mom to put their names out there in public.
“We’re not looking to out these girls,” said Brad Russell, a lawyer for Westside.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article88327962.html
Huh?
Here’s what we said last week about this disturbing case, and why this hardball tactic
-- hurts this already wounded and still suffering family,
-- intimidates other victims from reporting child molesters who are still hurting children, and
-- deters witnesses, whistleblowers and others who suspect child sex crimes from calling police and other authorities.
http://www.snapnetwork.org/mo_big_baptist_church_tries_to_forcibly_out_abused_kids
There are really two options here: Let the girls and their mom seek justice while protecting their privacy, like courts have done for decades. Or force them to reveal their identities to the public. If Westside Family Church wins their motion, this already wounded family will have to decide – comply with the court order and the church’s wishes by disclosing their names or stop their effort to expose and deter wrongdoing.
For the sake of these girls, their mom, and others who see, suspect or suffer child sex crimes, we beg Westside to withdraw their hostile, intimidating motion.
We ask the public to consider this: What do you believe? What church officials put on paper in a written court document? Or what the church lawyer says later when facing criticism?
And we ask every single person with information or suspicions about child sex crimes and cover ups in churches or institutions – especially at mega-churches where there’s little or no oversight – to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.
Here’s what others are saying about this troubling case:
https://baptistnews.com/article/church-seeks-to-out-minor-victims-of-sexual-abuse/
http://stopbaptistpredators.blogspot.com/
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected])
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
Showing 2 comments
This is outrageous. Public figures and public institutions are never allowed anonymity in the press when it comes to allegations of sexual offenses. These are not allegations. The perpetrator is in prison already—yes, another conviction, this time because of what he did at Westside Family Church, who was “too Christian” to raise sufficient concerns to protect the children. Otherwise, the workers in the church would have all been alerted.
It was fitting and proper that the press conference held by SNAP was conducted during Vacation Bible School, since it was during VBS that the perpetrator gained access to these victims because of the naivety and negligence of the church. As a veteran advocate of thirty years, this is about the dirtiest “pool” I’ve seen played yet. Secrecy is in the service of power. Confidentiality is for the protection of the vulnerable, as anyone who has studied Ethics 101 knows. This megachurch is an institution of great power. “To whom much is given, much is required.” This includes integrity and transparency, above all.
This congregation is NOT the victim, and the more they play the victim, the more damage is going to be self-inflicted. The girls will be paying for the rest of their lives. They deserve anonymity, protection and a lot of compensation, as well as a public apology from this Southern Baptist congregation, which calls itself a “family” church, yet is behaving just like most incestuous families do. Russell boasts that the church cared because it promptly reported the abuse. That’s the law as any attorney would advise his client to do in the first place, not necessarily an act of caring. This is all about institutional “protection,” a game as popular with Baptists as Catholics.
Dee Ann Miller
author of How Little We Knew and the upcoming book, Enlarging the Spotlight: ecumenical back story with views from inside a Baptist parsonage
www.takecourage.org