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Investigation Underway after Kcpd Police Chaplain Accused of Abuse

By Chris Oberholtz, Angie Ricono
KCTV Channel 5
March 7, 2019

https://www.kctv5.com/news/investigation-underway-after-kcpd-police-chaplain-accused-of-abuse/article_492c69f0-40fa-11e9-bd53-6b6e6f8d6525.html

Kansas City attorney Rebecca Randles, who has represented hundreds of clergy sex abuse victims, identified the chaplain as Baptist minister Stan Archie, who has been part of the department's program for about 10 years, police said.

The Kansas City Police Department is investigating after one of their chaplains has been accused of abuse.

Local advocacy group SNAP, which keeps track of priests and ministers accused of sexual abuse, revealed the information that they say the department should have known.

Kansas City attorney Rebecca Randles, who has represented hundreds of clergy sex abuse victims, identified the chaplain as Baptist minister Stan Archie, who has been part of the department's program for about 10 years, police said.

Archie has been sued twice. Randles said one filing was resolved out of court which involved a 15-year-old girl who claimed Archie encouraged her to go out have sex with men and then call him so they could talk about it. He would then masturbate to her phone calls, Randles said.

Another was a civil case that went to court. It was more of a split verdict where a woman accused Archie of sexually inappropriate behavior in a counseling relationship.

The jury did not convict him of that but did find his church guilty of fraud for trying to cover-up and conceal the allegations, Randles said. Three other women testified at the trial that Archie had abused them.

The accuser was awarded $350,000 by a jury.

She released a statement that said, "I was a member of Christian Fellowship Baptist Church, Stan Archie was my Pastor. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I became his prey. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Please, please stop him from hurting anyone else and stop these nightmares."

"We’re very worried frankly," said David G. Clohessy with SNAP. "Typically people who prey on the vulnerable seek out positions of power and prestige or access and they exploit that."

"We aren’t saying that Reverend Stan Archie should be hungry or homeless, but we don’t think he should be a police chaplain or have any role in a taxpayer institution," Clohessy said.

The police department issued the following statement on Thursday:

A KCPD chaplain has been accused of abuse. The Kansas City Missouri Police Department takes accusations of this nature very seriously. We are now reviewing the matter and investigating internally. This chaplain has been part of KCPD’s program for approximately 10 years.

Although chaplains are unpaid volunteers, we acknowledge this chaplain is affiliated with our department. Therefore, any accusations of misconduct are very concerning to us. KCPD chaplains – including the accused – periodically deliver invocations at department events and are available to all department members for spiritual advice and support during various times of need. Our department chaplains do not participate in the criminal justice process or as part of any criminal investigations.

Randles also issued a statement to KCTV5 News, saying in part that, "sexual misconduct cannot be tolerated in any organization."

Sexual misconduct cannot be tolerated in any organization, especially those committed to protect and serve the public. Those associated with law enforcement, even in a volunteer capacity, should be above reproach. It is our hope that the Department will fully investigate Mr. Archie’s background including the allegations made against him in the two lawsuits that were filed.

Archie is one of seven chaplains. KCTV5 News did its own background checks on the other six and did not find any other problems.

Pastor Archie responds

Archie characterizes the allegations as old and untrue.

He says he is frustrated that he has worked hard to resolve the allegations but they continue to surface.

“As an abuse survivor myself, it saddens me that SNAP in its expressed intent to support survivors of abuse would continue to exploit my experience as a victim of abuse and fail to recognize the painful impact of false accusations and how it hurts all survivors,” Archie said.

Archie told KCTV5 he has met with the leaders in the chaplain program but would not comment on his current statues with the department. He remains listed as an active chaplain on the police chaplain web page.

“My support for first responders will always be there…and the best vehicle I can do that I will take advantage of,“ Archie said.

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