Baptist Pastor Charged with Child Sex Abuse and Human Trafficking
A Baptist pastor from a Kalamazoo church has been charged with multiple counts of human trafficking and child sexual abuse, disturbing news that will hopefully rally the community to support his victims and take steps to encourage others who were hurt to come forward.
According to his attorney, Rev. Stricjavvar Strickland will turn himself in to Michigan State Police to be arraigned on 11 charges related to child sexual abuse and human trafficking. Communities are safer when such serious allegations are reported to law enforcement for prosecution.
Not only was Rev. Strickland the leader of a prominent Baptist community in Kalamazoo, but he was also the president of the Kalamazoo-area NAACP chapter from 2016-2018. A key part of the MO of many child abusers is to collect power and prestige. This is why we often see abusers in leadership positions in religious and social organizations. Because of this, we hope that the Kalamazoo NAACP will review their records related to Rev. Strickland and turn over any information that may be helpful to both the state police and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
A.G. Nessel has been steadfast in her fight to protect children and the vulnerable by investigating cases of clergy abuse and cover-up. We believe that her leadership has provided an excellent example of how a willingness to take on powerful authorities can encourage local law enforcement and private citizens to be vigilant and to speak out.
We hope that this case will inspire others may have been hurt or seen misdeeds by Rev. Strickland or others to come forward to law enforcement, make a report, and help prevent future cases of abuse.
CONTACT: Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
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