FL- Missionary pleaded guilty to child porn charges

For immediate release Tuesday, January 4

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])

A Florida Missionary, Warren Kennell, pleaded guilty last week to two counts of production of child pornography and was sentenced to 58 years in prison. He's part of the Sanford FL-based New Tribes Mission, which has been implicated in other clergy sex abuse cases.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/29/florida-missionary-sentenced-for-sexually-abusing-indigenous-girls-in-amazon/

We applaud Homeland Security for responding to the tip about Kennell and for using all the tools at their disposal to charge and convict this dangerous predator. All too often predators abuse children in foreign countries and suffer no consequences. Clergy often abuse children in countries where laws are predator friendly and where children and their parents do not have the resources to mount an international criminal action.

We believe that usually, “where there is a will, there is a way.” This case demonstrates this axiom and we hope that it will prod other law enforcement agencies to follow their lead and pursue those who commit and conceal heinous child sex crimes, no matter where they occur.

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747[email protected])

SNAP Network is a GuideStar Gold Participant