WA--Seattle-area predator preacher accused; Victims respond

By Barbara Dorris
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
July 20, 2016

http://www.snapnetwork.org/wa_seattle_area_predator_preacher_accused_victims_respond

A Bellingham pastor is accused of sexually abusing a girl for two years. Now, his current and former church colleagues and members must aggressively reach out to others who may have information or suspicions about his alleged crimes or possible church cover ups.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/crime/article90671007.html

Christopher L. Trent of the Orleans Street Baptist Church will soon face formal charges. But we strongly suspect he has abused others – either in Washington or Oklahoma. It’s not enough for his supervisors and colleagues to claim they’re “cooperating” with law enforcement. They must use their resources – church websites, bulletins, mailing lists and pulpit announcements – to seek out victims, witnesses and whistleblowers and beg them to call secular authorities.

Josh Carter, the top pastor at Bellingham Baptist, must lead the way with courage and compassion. But this duty - to reach out to the lost, wounded sheep – falls on every person who is or was associated with this congregation.

No matter what prosecutors, judges or church officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered child sex crimes and cover ups in Baptist churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling law enforcement, get justice by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.

Finally, no one should call this “a relationship.” That’s inaccurate and hurtful. A child cannot consent to any kind of sex involving an adult. So calling child sex crimes “relationships” gives the false impression of equality where there can be none and ignores or minimizes the devastating exploitation, deceit and manipulation by shrewd predators.

If I rob a bank, or steal from one through embezzle from one, my actions are correctly labelled “a crime,” not “a relationship” with the bank.