NH--Victims want minister fired from NH private school
For immediate release: Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Statement by Barbara Dorris of St. Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 503 0003 cell, [email protected])
A minister should be immediately fired and others should be harshly disciplined at a New Hampshire private school where sexual violence has been hidden and law enforcement has been ignored.
Phillips Exeter Academy’s Rev. Robert Thompson made an arrogant, self-serving and perhaps illegal decision to stay silent about a sexual assault (by Chukwudi “Chudi” Ikpeazu) and take it upon himself to fashion a ridiculous agreement that minimized the horror experienced by Michaella – a purported “act of penance” that involved her assailant “baking bread for the teen for the remainder of the school year,” virtually guaranteeing that she’d be forced to see her assailant every week. Shame on Rev. Thompson.
This is a common but disturbing pattern by clergy: keeping quiet about sexual violence, assuming that they know best and usurping the role of police and prosecutor in favor of unhealthy and coercive “forgiveness” and “reconciliation.”
We are glad that, according to the Globe, "Police are also investigating Exeter itself for its handling of Michaella’s case and other instances of sexual misconduct by both students and faculty," but outraged that "weeks after the October encounter, outside authorities knew nothing of the case — school officials didn’t contact them."
We hope law enforcement will charge Exeter officials with obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, tampering with witnesses or similar offenses. We hope Exeter officials are found guilty and face the most severe punishment possible. And we hope staff at other schools get the message: when you know of or suspect sex crimes, call 911.
Regardless of what the justice system does, we hope Exeter’s board fires or at least demotes other administrators and teachers who put the school’s reputation and their careers ahead of the safety of students and staff.
No matter what happens next, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in schools, churches or institutions – especially at private entities – 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.
(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
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