BishopAccountability.org

Survivor of sex abuse by Lebanon pastor to speak

By Andy Humbles
Tennessean
April 11, 2017

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/wilson/2017/04/11/survivor-sex-abuse-lebanon-pastor-speak/99691982/

Courtney Greene went from sexual abuse victim to survivor. Wochit

Courtney Greene

A Lebanon college student sexually abused as a teenager by her youth pastor has progressed from victim to survivor, but there is another step.

Courtney Greene, 21, told her story last year to The Tennessean just after Christopher D. Ross pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory rape by an authority figure in March 2016. Ross was sentenced to six years in prison.

Just over a year after her case was closed legally, Greene will speak publicly for the first time April 22, at a kickoff event for a new Wilson County organization whose mission includes helping women who have experienced tragedy.

“You aren’t magically healed when the plea is entered or the verdict is given,” Greene said. “The immediate danger has subsided, but the residual damage is very much still in place. That’s what I’m fighting now.”

Ross, who was a pastor at Fairview Church in Lebanon where Greene attended, was initially charged with 10 counts of statutory rape by an authority figure for sexual contact made in 2011 and 2012 when she was 15 and 16. Ross was 40 when the sexual contact began.

“I lived for years in the victim mindset, thinking there was nothing I could do,” Greene said. “I started the legal process and therapy and realized I had power, that I was a survivor. But now, I don’t want to just be a survivor. I want to be an overcomer. That’s why I keep fighting for and pursuing my own healing."

Greene is on pace to graduate from college in August in psychology and has also been working full-time. She plans to attend graduate school and get a masters degree in mental health counseling with a focus on trauma. She describes good and bad days, and working with her family who was also affected.

“Courtney Greene is a good example of perseverance, she is a real survivor,” said Nancy Willis, director of the Child Advocacy Center of the 15th Judicial District who suggested Greene for the mothers-daughters brunch. “She is an excellent role model.”

Real Life Helpers was launched in October by Petra Wade with services that include spiritual enrichment, purpose empowerment and career coaching while promoting purpose empowerment for women.

Wade, a Wilson County resident, was herself a victim of sexual molestation as a child growing up in Waterloo, Iowa.

“In my era you kept this quiet … and that doesn’t help anyone,” said Wade, 42. “My reason to do (the upcoming brunch) is to bring awareness to nonprofits who provide help.”

Wade and her fellow Real Life Helpers certified life coach Frances McNair and Willis will participate in a panel at the luncheon.

Contact: ahumbles@tennessean.com




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