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	Sex Assault Victim Claims 'Mennonite Coverup' Virgil Woman Says Church Scared Her into Silence By Brett Clarkson The Standard December 17, 2008 http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1349948 Anne Klassen claims a Mennonite "conspiracy of silence" intimidated her into staying quiet over the repeated sexual assaults she says she suffered for years at the hands of her now deceased father. Klassen, 56, went public with her allegations in a press conference yesterday for the first time. The native of Virgil wants the Mennonite church to acknowledge what she said was its role in scaring her into silence about the horrific sex attacks she said her father, whom she identified as the late Martin Klassen, subjected her to from early childhood until her 20s while growing up in the predominantly Mennonite town in the Niagara region. The mother of three announced she would also be embarking on a "water fast" until the church heeds her seven demands for change, which include publicly acknowledging, condemning, and reporting all sexual assaults the community becomes aware of. Klassen said that "to bring an end to this Mennonite coverup," she will only drink water until the church acknowledges her demands. "Today, I am breaking my silence," Klassen said. "Throughout my childhood I was sexually molested, assaulted, sodomized, and raped, hundreds of times, by my father in the Mennonite kingdom of peace." She didn't want to speculate on the prevalence of sex abuse in the Mennonite community, but said it could only be a good thing if a "flood of healing" results from her coming forward. David Wiebe, executive director of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, said the Mennonite community is aware of Klassen's campaign. He declined to comment and said another pastor in Kitchener, Vidya Narimalla, was more aware of the issue and it would be more appropriate for her to respond on behalf of the church. Calls to Narimalla weren't returned Tuesday. Klassen, who has since changed her name to Anne Jordan, said the core Mennonite belief of "non-resistance" forbade her from fighting back against her dad's advances. Klassen also said her religion trained her to believe her father had full rights to her body. "Not one of my family members or the Mennonite pastors who were informed ever objected," she said. On the contrary, she said, two pastors in the community encouraged her to forgive her father. Klassen said she was also told to never go to the police about the matter. Growing up, she never did. She said her father's pastor, who was based at what is now called the Cornerstone Community Church in Virgil, told her to forgive her father, her family, and the faith leaders who didn't come to her assistance. Klassen claimed the pastor said he was "torn" when she said she wanted justice for the attacks, and according to her, suggested that forgiveness of her father was enough. A call to the former pastor wasn't returned yesterday. "While my father was alive there was a relentless campaign to keep me silent, and the weapon that was used was that if I would speak, I would go to hell," said Klassen, who is no longer a practising Mennonite. "Hell was very real, it is very real. And I was in terror of risking my eternal salvation to speak. I didn't know that behind my back, people were discussing this." Klassen said her father, who died in 1997, used his faith to justify the sex assaults. "He said he was just like King David," Klassen said. "King David died with young women in his bed. When I pointed out to my father, that to the best of my knowledge, when I read in the Bible that those women weren't King David's daughter's, he was angry with me."
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