MS--Victims applaud arrest of predatory Baptist preacher

By David Clohessy
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
March 16, 2016

http://www.snapnetwork.org/ms_victims_applaud_arrest_of_predatory_baptist_preacher

Thank heavens for the attentive and responsive parents who reported an allegedly abusive Baptist youth pastor to the Hancock County sheriff. Often kids can’t tell, parents don’t believe them, or families foolishly tell church figures, not secular authorities. This mom and dad, however, promptly did the proper thing – they honored their moral and civic duty by calling law enforcement. We applaud them for their courage and wisdom.  

http://www.wapt.com/news/mississippi/youth-pastor-arrested-for-sexually-abusing-a-child/38545700

We’re grateful that Rev. David Matthew Thorne of Picayune, a youth pastor at Goodyear Baptist Church in Pearl River County, has been arrested. But it’s a long way from arrest to conviction. Now is not the time for complacency. Anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered Thorne’s crimes – or cover ups by church staff or members – must come forward.

We urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups at Goodyear Baptist to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling journalists, get justice by calling attorneys, and get comfort by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted and cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.