Group to Protest Richmond Church
By Louis Llovio
An activist organization created by victims of childhood sexual abuse will protest the Richmond Outreach Center today outside Richmond police headquarters on Grace Street. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is protesting the South Richmond megachurch’s decision to stand by its pastor, Geronimo Aguilar, as he faces charges in Texas for the alleged sexual abuse of two children in 1996. The group also is urging other alleged victims to come forward to local police. “Frankly, it’s always heartbreaking to us to see congregants immediately and publicly rally for an accused child molester instead of keeping an open mind and urging anyone with information to come forward,” said David Clohessy, a spokesman for the organization. Clohessy said the church’s decision to stand by Aguilar sends the wrong message to victims of sexual abuse — whether inside the church or watching the case from afar — who already find it extremely difficult to come forward and discuss what happened to them as children. The church’s board of directors voted last week to pay Aguilar as he took a leave of absence while dealing with the legal issues. In a statement sent to the congregation, the board said it “believes the accusations against him to be completely untrue and unfounded.” The ROC, as the church is known, did not respond to a request for comment Monday. By standing by Aguilar and proclaiming its belief that he is innocent, the church is hurting and intimidating other victims of sexual abuse, Clohessy said. Aguilar is “innocent until proven guilty, of course,” but the public support sends the message to others that “the alleged victims are either wrong or lying,” he said. That message is especially troubling for sexual abuse victims who are considering coming forward years after the abuse happened, said Clohessy, who added that the majority of abuse victims don’t reach out to the authorities until they are adults and can fully understand what happened to them. “A 7-year-old girl doesn’t get out of school and jump on a bus to the DA’s office, and an 11-year old boy doesn’t just walk to the police station,” he said. “It’s very rare for kids to disclose (they’ve been abused) while kids.” Aguilar, who remained in a Fort Worth, Texas, jail as of Monday evening, has been charged by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office in two cases with four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child younger than 14, which are first-degree felonies that carry a sentence of up to life in prison. He also has been charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child, which are second-degree felonies that carry up to 20 years in prison, and one charge of indecency with a child, also a second-degree felony. His bail in Texas has been set at $200,000. Contact: LLLovio@timesdispatch.com
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