Category Archives: Child Abuse

Exposé on The New Bethany School For Girls

Right now Mother Jones has a expose article and slide show about the abuses at the New Bethany School for Girls that will break your heart.

There’s some very good journalism here demonstrating how this same group of people trace their roots back to Lester Roloff’s homes and have since changed their names and moved locations multiple times to stay ahead of law enforcement efforts to shut them down for abuse.

It’s time to start collecting millstones and chartering a boat.

The Ordination of Charles “Chipper” Snow IV

An alert SFL reader sent me these two pictures which the reader reported were put online in May of 2011.

From all appearances, it looks like the Southwest Licking Community Baptist Church has no problem ordaining an alleged sex offender and former BJU graduate assistant against whom charges are still pending for criminal sexual conduct with a minor child in Greenville, SC. And according to the local reports, he’s not even denying to police that he did it.

I’m still waiting on verification of whether or not Charles “Chipper” Snow IV is actually on staff at this church as the music pastor. He’s not listed on the website but sources have told me that they have reason to believe that not only has this church ordained him but they have employed him as well.

One can only hope that whatever church is harboring him is at least keeping him away from fourteen year old girls until his trial is over.

GARBC Drafts Resolution on Protecting Children from Sexual Abuse

The text reads as follows:

The messengers of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, meeting together in regular conference June 27—July 1, 2011, in Denver, Colo.,

Believing that the Bible stresses the sanctity of human life (Gen. 1:27) and the marriage bed, and that it condemns all forms of sexual promiscuity (Heb. 13:4),

Affirming that the Bible also stresses the protection of and care for children, as evidenced by (1) commands to not provoke children to wrath, but to bring children up in the training and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:1–4); (2) exhortations to love children (Titus 2:4); (3) the Old and New Testament regard for orphans (Deut. 24:17–21; 26:12, 13; James 1:27); (4) the condemnation of the ancient pagan practice of child sacrifice (Lev. 20:1–7; Ezek. 16:20, 21); (5) the teaching of Scripture that children are considered a heritage from the Lord and a reward (Ps. 127:3); (6) and the model of Jesus, Who welcomed and valued little children (Matt. 18:1–5; 19:14),

Respecting the laws of the land and governmental authorities, for government can act as God’s servant for good and can bring wrath upon the wrongdoer (Rom. 13:1–4),

Distressed by a seeming rise in physical and sexual crimes against children, reaching alarming levels in our nation, and disturbed that this abuse has occurred too often in churches and homes and at the hands of family, educators, ordained ministers, and ministry workers, we

Call upon the churches of the GARBC, pastors, and people to submit to God’s standards and to practice ministry with complete integrity; to encourage religious bodies to rid their ranks of predatory ministers; to encourage civil authorities to punish to the fullest extent of the law sexual abuse among clergy; to discipline those guilty of any sexual abuse and to cooperate with civil authorities in the prosecution of those cases; and to offer support, compassion, and Biblical counseling to victims and their families,

Express a deep level of moral outrage and concern at any instance of child victimization, deploring the cover-up, ignoring, or passive condoning of abuse by any individual, church, or religious body, and urge them to change the course of their actions,

Recommend that churches have in place an effective abuse prevention policy and respond to any suspicions or allegations of child abuse in a timely and forthright manner, never retaliating against the victim,

Appeal to churches and agencies to exercise moral stewardship in their employment practices, exercising due diligence to check the backgrounds of ministers, employees, and volunteers,

Pray for righteousness to prevail in our churches and ministries, for the repentance of the victimizer, for the healing of victims of sexual abuse plagued by possible emotional, physical, or spiritual wounds, and for the church of Jesus Christ, that it would be found “blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15).

Thanks to chucklestravels for bringing this to our attention

Tim Anderson Writes An Open Letter to Ken Smith

This letter is reposted from the I Support Tina Anderson blog.

Ken,

I’ve been trying to understand why you have taken this so personal. You’ve latched your teeth into Tina and I wish I knew why. You commented on the I Support Tina Anderson blog and yes, I read your comments even though we did not publish them. You said some hurtful things but I won’t take that personal. If you believe that Tina is lying, that is your choice. You may post that wherever someone will let you. I fought for our country so that you might have that freedom. I have contemplated for days if I should or would respond to you. Well, I decided that I would address a few things.

First, please read http://www.scribd.com/doc/44495191/Tina-Anderson-s-Statement-to-the-Concord-Police. This is a copy of what Tina wrote to the police when they called us on my birthday about a year and a half ago and asked her to give a statement of what happened. We stand by what she wrote and what she swore under oath that her statement to the police was truthful.

Second, there were a couple things that the newspapers got wrong. Where it came from, I don’t know but someone said that Ernie was a deacon. You’ll notice in the police report that Tina never called him a deacon and never said that in the couple of interviews that she gave. That issue was quickly addressed and corrected in future articles.

Third, you say Tina lied when she agreed with Elizabeth Vargas on 20/20 that she “lost” her job. You are correct that Tina was not fired from being a teacher. We never said that she had been fired. I understand how you and others could understand it that way. There was no willful intent to deceive. The word lost was used in the context of “no longer in the possession, care, or control of someone or something” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lost) but it was not “lost” in the sense that it was taken away.

On purpose, we did not go into the details of why Tina put in her resignation. There were a lot of things that happened that made us realize that we could not continue at this church and school. This is the church that I grew up in since I was five years old. This is the place where I attended the Christian academy from kindergarten to 12th grade. This is the college that I achieved one of my bachelor’s degrees and almost completed my master’s degree (I’d have to complete three more classes). This is where I devoted over 20 years of my life. We chose to walk away. Although it’s been brought out by others, I don’t bring up the names of these organizations because I don’t want to drag them through the mud but it’s part of our life and it’s kind of hard to hide where you’ve spent about half of your life. I have deep feelings for that place. When I say I’ve “lost” friends, it means that us and them have chosen to part ways. It means that people I’ve known all my life and all the people that Tina got to know while she was there, don’t fellowship with us. Will some of those friendships be renewed? I don’t know, maybe. I still hold out hope. There are a couple families that we do see occasionally but six people out of hundreds is not very many.

Fourth, you’re concerned about The Tina Anderson Foundation and where does the money go and how much does Tina and I receive. There might be other concerns but I’ll address the one I know about. Tina and I do not receive any money from the foundation. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, during Christmas time, we were given gas money and our hotel room paid so that we could take a week’s vacation to spend time with friends out of state. The foundation also gave us some Christmas gifts that my kids still enjoy playing with. The purpose of the foundation is stated on the website. If people want to donate to help others, that is great! If people are not comfortable with donating to this foundation, don’t. This was set up to try and make a difference in people’s lives and to give a chance for others to help. I trust and support the people and their families who run the foundation. In fact, I love them like family. All of them have meant so much to me, my wife and my kids.

Finally, Ken. I know this will not answer all your questions and you may dismiss what I have to say. That is fine. I pray that God’s peace come upon you and that you have joy in your life. God has greatly blessed me and I pray that God will also bless you also.

Sincerely,

Tim Anderson

P.S. Darrell, I know a couple of people have asked that you remove Ken Smith from SFL. You do not have to remove him on mine or my wife’s account. Ken says that he’s standing up for what he thinks is right. As long as you are willing to allow him to post, it will not bother me.

Ernie Willis: Guilty

The mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small.

After a decade of justice delayed for Tina Anderson, her rapist, Ernie Willis, has been found guilty on all four counts of rape brought against him. Finally, there is not only vindication for Tina and her supporters but also encouragement for other victims who have suffered under the hands of abusers who have taken a cowardly refuge behind a corrupt religious system. Bravo, Tina. Bravo.

I’m sure that we’ll hear much in the coming days from fundamentalists who seek to spin this story and question the facts. They’ll either be forced to do so or left to admit that their own system harbored a rapist for years and did not help his victim to find justice. Prepare yourselves to see character assassination and mudslinging on an epic scale.

But whatever they do to malign and tear down this verdict, they cannot change the facts. They cannot change the truth not matter what tales their cowardice compels them to concoct.

My heartfelt thanks goes out to Tina Anderson for being willing to face down her attacker and those who defended him. Thank you, Tina, from the bottom of my heart. This world is a better place with brave people like you in it.