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| As of today, child-porn file swapper Hochmuth had this up on LinkedIn. Here is a link I obtained - listing other Lutheran offenders. |
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Collusion is Devastating
"It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement and remembering.”-- Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery (1992)
“Collusion is usually far more devastating to victims than the primary abuse.” -- Dee Miller
What message do leaders send to clergy abuse victims by this conduct?
Answer: "What happened to you doesn't matter. Go away. Shut up."
What message do leaders send to clergy perpetrators by this conduct?
Answer: "You're safe with us. We'll cover for you."
“Collusion is usually far more devastating to victims than the primary abuse.” -- Dee Miller
What message do leaders send to clergy abuse victims by this conduct?
Answer: "What happened to you doesn't matter. Go away. Shut up."
What message do leaders send to clergy perpetrators by this conduct?
Answer: "You're safe with us. We'll cover for you."
When people collude, they are making themselves complicit in the cover-up of some sort of unethical conduct or in the protection of others who engage in unethical conduct.
We see the manifestations of collusion with clergy sex abuse through minimization, denial, rationalizing, victim-silencing, victim-blaming, and keep-it-quiet tactics. Collusion can be accomplished both consciously and unconsciously, intentionally and unintentionally. Even if someone says they didn’t intend to collude, their conduct may still be collusive. Many collude through silence and inaction. You won’t see collusion in what they do; you’ll see it in what they don’t do. Collusion often occurs behind closed doors. It’s a secretive sort of thing.
Here is an example:
I'm sure that everyone involved would say clergy sex abuse itself is a terrible thing. But look at the message it sends to a victim when something is done even unintentionally:
True case of a WELS pastor which happened a few years ago; local news media reported:
A Lutheran pastor was sentenced to two years in prison for possessing child pornography on his home computer. _________ pleaded guilty. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The prosecutor told the judge _____ had more than 70,000 images of young boys and other homosexual photographs on his computer. _____ is a pastor at ________.
As a victim, I struggle with the fact that he pleaded guilty; is a registered sex offender; had possible additional charges in a neighboring state; BUT, despite all that, is in the WELS Synod yearbook as being “retired”. He was an active pastor when this happened and instead of resigning he “retired” and, as of today, is still listed in the yearbook as retired. I struggle tremendously that the Synod knowingly lists a registered sex offender in their directory as if nothing happened; thus giving the appearance that he retired normally and there was no wrong-doing. I left God because I thought the church condoned what happened, so when I see this still in the yearbook, I continue to wonder. When you are struggling to come back to God, faith, and church, things like this (even if done unintentionally) are stumbling blocks. It puts doubts in your mind as to what is acceptable to the church.
Since the church considers itself to be “the family of God,” the parallels in how families deal with the shame of alcohol and other abuse are strikingly visible when we compare how families of “faith” justify such pervasive collusion with abuse.
It is generally recognized that enabling behaviors of the family members of a drug addict help to keep the patient in denial and out of treatment. By constantly "lowering the bottom" through rationalizing and covering for the addict, close relatives become a part of the problem. Generally, they are as resistant to seeing this as addicts are to facing their own addictions.
Family members do not collude intentionally. It's just that addicts are experienced con artists. They know how to play on the emotions of everyone. They are excellent actors, often even fooling themselves. By diverting attention, often to other issues, the addict keeps people from staying on course to clearly focus on the addiction as the root cause of their suffering.
The same is true for clergy perpetrators. A clergy perpetrator, usually with years of being in the public eye, is skilled at convincing almost everyone, including victims, that he is really innocent or just “made a mistake.” He uses his charisma and status to enhance this skill. Even if he breaks down and "confesses," he finds ways to minimize the problems and the harm already done. It takes an enormous amount of energy to find one’s way to reality through the fog of deception which has been created by the offender and the many colluders who have already been misled.
Certainly there has already been a lot of effort, on the part of most denominations, to consult attorneys and instruct clergy about the "new rules." Unfortunately, just like many spouses of alcoholics, the concerns seem much more about protecting the image of the "family" than protecting its most vulnerable congregation members.
When a patient enters treatment, everyone in the family minimizes. "It must be a chemical imbalance." Or "He'll be fine in a few weeks. After all she's only been drinking heavily for five years." The same dynamics are evident with clergy perpetrators and their colluders. "It's just the stress of the ministry. Treatment will be tough, but we are all going to expect total rehabilitation. With all the prayers going up for him, he'll be back in the pulpit in no time, being the great guy that he has always been.” Other common characteristics which colluding church leaders share with family members of substance abusers: distrust, high anxiety, conflict among formerly close colleagues, inconsistency, unpredictability, constant manipulation of the rules, and aggressive tendencies.
When an addict is finally forced into treatment, he seems to "clean up" quickly, but often does not stay sober for long, once he is released. It is common for him to look at the wife and children he has harmed and expect them to forget what he has done, welcome him home, and restore him to all the blessings of marriage and fatherhood while leaving behind their memories of neglect and/or abuse. Colluding family members have the same attitudes, thereby naively giving his denial support more than his sobriety. All of this is usually true, as well, of the clergy perpetrator and his colluders, as he tries to manipulate his way back into a trusting relationship with his congregation and profession.
“The world is too dangerous to live in -- not because of the people who do evil but because of the people who sit and let it happen.” -- Einstein
References:
http://stopbaptistpredators.org/whats_collusion.html
http://www.takecourage.org/parallels.htm
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| This known protector of priest-offenders gave a lecture at Wisconsin Lutheran College, and so did some of his priests. |
Former Pastor Sentenced For Child Porn
March 4, 2009, 11:07 AM
A former Watertown pastor was sentenced to two years in prison for possessing child pornography on his home computer.
Sixty-seven-year-old Dennis Hayes pleaded guilty in January. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The prosecutor told the judge at Wednesday's sentencing that Hayes had more than 70,000 images of young boys and other homosexual photographs on his computer.
Hayes is a former pastor at St. Martin's Lutheran Church in Watertown.
Sixty-seven-year-old Dennis Hayes pleaded guilty in January. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The prosecutor told the judge at Wednesday's sentencing that Hayes had more than 70,000 images of young boys and other homosexual photographs on his computer.
Hayes is a former pastor at St. Martin's Lutheran Church in Watertown.
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ksfy ^ | 07.03.08 | Brian Allen
Posted on 7/3/2008 9:42:55 PM by Coleus
A Watertown pastor suspected tonight of having sexual contact with a child. KSFY obtained these court documents which lays out the case against Dennis Hayes. In documents released by Watertown Police, we're told the suspected contact happened last Friday when Hayes took a juvenile boy he had been mentoring from the "Southwest Youth Services Center" in Magnolia, Minnesota to a library in Luverne, Minnesota.
The boy claims during the drive to Luverne, Hayes held his hand and told him he loved him. While at the Luverne library, he claims Hayes rubbed his back outside his shirt. During the drive back to Magnolia, he says Hayes touched and rubbed his hand again.
And upon arriving in Magnolia, he claims Hayes slid his hand down into his pants and rubbed his buttocks. The boy told authorities this has been going on for a year. Hayes has told police he has patted and rubbed the boy in the past to calm him down, but then admitted he had placed his hand in the boys pants and touched his buttocks.
Hayes is a pastor at St. Martin's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Watertown he is now charged with three counts of sexual contact with a minor: In addition, Hayes was arrested today and charged with possession of child porn. He's free on his own recognizance tonight. I called Dennis Hayes house tonight: I wanted to ask him about these charges made against him. A female answered the phone and told me he could not talk about it.
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LCMS:
A teacher and basketball coach at a Lutheran school on Green Bay's west side faces five criminal charges in connection with the sexual assault of a 13-year-old student, Brown County Sheriff's officials said Thursday.
Wayne Makela, 27, of Hobart, was arrested by sheriff's investigators Wednesday after the student's mother found sexual text messages from Makela on her son's mobile phone, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.
Makela worked as a youth director, basketball coach and computer teacher at Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School, 1731 St. Agnes Drive. He is accused of assaulting the 13-year-old boy at the school and one of the incidents happened in Makela's office at the facility, authorities said.
He faces charges of second-degree sexual assault of a child, child enticement, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, exposing a child to harmful materials of harmful descriptions or narrations and sexual assault by a school staff person or a person who works or volunteers with children.
"It is with great sadness that we are informing you of recent events regarding one of the staff members of Pilgrim Lutheran," Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School Pastor Scott Malme said in a statement released Thursday that noted Makela had been at the school for six years.
Malme did not say if the school had taken any action regarding Makela's employment.
Brown County Chief Deputy Todd Delain urged parents to monitor their children's text messages and Internet use to keep them from coming in contact with predators.
Investigators seized "multiple devices" including a computer from Makela's home and have started examining their contents in an effort to see if other children may have been victimized, sheriff's Lt. Jim Valley said. He urged parents who believe their child might have had inappropriate contact with a teacher to notify the sheriff's department.
Makela is the father of a young child. His attorney said in court that Makela and his wife are expecting another child this fall.
Sheriff's officials said they have several open investigations into other potential child-sex cases. Capt. Jeff Sanborn issued a warning to potential offenders.
"If you're doing this," he said, "knock it off now before we knock on your door."
Email Rachel at rminske@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @rachelfminske.
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| David William Smith, 35, faces 10 counts of possession of child pornography, Norfolk police said. |
Patrick Wilson
The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
A pastor's arrest on child porn allegations during Holy Week left his congregation shocked and his attorney calling him "a good man with a problem."
David William Smith, 35, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, was arrested Wednesday on 10 counts of possession of child pornography. His attorney, Howard Copeland, said Smith confessed to police earlier this week.
"It's disturbing to everyone," said Copeland, who is a member of the church. "There is no hint of any contact with any child in any inappropriate way."
Smith was arraigned in Norfolk General District Court on Thursday and remained held without bond in the Norfolk City Jail.
Each felony carries a punishment of 1 to 5 years in prison for a conviction. A bond hearing is scheduled for Monday, and a preliminary hearing is set for May.
Smith has served as pastor of the Granby Street church near Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center since late November 2010.
Copeland said Smith also taught youth classes at the church, which has a few hundred members.
Smith was placed on leave from the church and will not be allowed on campus if he is released on bond, according to a statement on the church's Facebook page. He lives with his family in Poquoson.
"Our prayers are with Pastor Smith and his family," the statement says. "During this time of Holy Week, we are reminded of the sacrifice that Christ paid for our sins. It is only through Christ that we are saved from ourselves and the evil that persistently assaults us."
It also said that church members were stunned and would cooperate with authorities.
"All we saw was what was in the news," said Judy Sykes, a church member and the principal of the church's school, which serves toddlers through fifth-graders.
A biography of Smith on the church's website, which has been removed, said he previously served congregations in St. Louis, San Diego and Nashville, Tenn.
He also led an Old Dominion University student group called Christ on Campus, according to the university's website.
He also was a member of the University Chaplains Association at ODU, a volunteer group of faith leaders who operate independent of the university, said Brendan O'Hallarn, an ODU spokesman.
Patrick Wilson, 757-222-3893, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com
Louis Hansen, 757-446-2314, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com
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| Rev. Jonathan L. Offt has been charged with attempting to purchase sex after being caught up in a prostitution sting. | Marion Police Department |
BY LUIZA OLESZCZUK, CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER
October 18, 2011|8:40 pm
An Iowa minister, a married father of three, has been caught in a police-arranged sting while allegedly attempting to purchase prostitution services Friday, it emerged this week.
The Rev. Jonathan L. Offt, 41, served as the senior pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, since 2003, local media have reported. He was one of nine men charged Friday.
The sting was arranged by the Marion Police Department. Police officers have placed advertisements on various websites offering sexual services. Potential customers were responding via telephone, text messages and email, reported The Huffington Post. In an arranged meeting with an undercover female police officer, the potential clients were arrested upon offering money in exchange for sexual services.
Police told a local newspaper, The Gazette, that after the arrest, Offt was "pretty sullen."
All of the arrestees were booked at the Marion Police Department on misdemeanor prostitution charges and released upon their promise to appear in court, according to The Huffington Post.
The Trinity Lutheran Church has released the following statement:
Trinity Lutheran Church and School is saddened by the most recent news story regarding Jonathan Offt. The proper authorities are handling the situation. The church and school request your prayers for all involved. We have no further comments at this time.
The minister’s name was removed from the list of pastors on the church’s website.
A native of Blairstown, Offt has previously served as a chaplain in St. Louis and Des Moines and as assistant pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Iowa City, as well as a chaplain-administrator at the Davenport Lutheran Home, The Gazette reported. He and his wife reportedly had one daughter at the time of the appointment.
In addition to Offt, who was the first to be taken into custody, police also arrested: Daniel Gingerich, 37, of Marengo; Ronald Coleman, 40, of Robins; Joseph Burke, 57, of Cedar Rapids; Michael Romanowski, 67, of Iowa City; Steven Van Nevel, 53, of Brooklyn; Gregory Stroyls, 40, of Marion; Donald Wedewer, 53, of Earlville; and Keith Myers, 50, of Cedar Rapids, reported The Huffington Post.
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ELCA:
Lake Orion pastor accused of soliciting minor to be held, federal magistrate rules
DETROIT -- A federal judge ordered a Lake Orion pastor to be held prior to his trial on solicitation charges during a Tuesday hearing at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District.
William Bendert, 51, appeared in an orange St. Clair County Jail jumpsuit alongside his attorney at the hearing before U.S. District Magistrate Virginia Morgan.
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LCMS
Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning, the Bentonville Police Department arrested seven people an undercover prostitution operation conducted at an area hotel, including the pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Bentonville.
Robert Joseph Burnham, 36, of Bentonville, was arrested and charged with sexual solicitation. Burnham is listed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Bentonville on his joeburnham.com website. According to Burnham's wife's Twitter account, they just recently moved to Bentonville from Denver, Colo., in November.
A church spokesman said Friday that Burnham resigned from his position as pastor after his arrest. In a statement released Friday, the church said: "We are saddened to hear of the charges brought against Robert Burnham. Clearly, we do not condone this type of action. He has offered his resignation, and it has been accepted. We will be praying for all parties affected."
Read more: http://www.4029tv.com/Bentonville-Pastor-Among-7-Arrested-In-Prostitution-Investigation/5262424#ixzz3CguY4YWR
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GJ - The evidence in the public domain shows how much is going on, because a lot is being hidden. LCMS policy is to destroy all notes so the evidence disappears. All officials have an obligation to protect children. Instead, they protect the abusers.
One woman, now a mother, has nothing but scorn for Lutherans because she was raped as a child. Her Lutheran pastor told her she could NOT report it to the police, that she would go to Hell for reporting him. Instead, she had to forget it. The consequences have been very serious for her health and she is an opponent of the Christian faith.