VIRGINIA
Richmond Times-Dispatch
BY LOUIS LLOVIO Richmond Times-Dispatch
A national organization for victims of childhood sexual abuse blasted a Richmond church Wednesday for allowing Geronimo Aguilar, charged in Texas with sexually assaulting two young girls, to speak at a Good Friday service later this month.
“Fundamentally it comes down to this: We as adults can make it easier or harder to catch child molesters. These folks are making it harder,” said David Clohessy, executive director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Clohessy was speaking about the decision by Cedar Street Baptist Church of God to allow Aguilar, who could face up to life in prison if convicted, to speak at a Good Friday program called Rush Hour to Calvary.
The event features seven local pastors who will speak for seven minutes each.
Clohessy said the main problem with giving Aguilar a platform to speak, even if he has not been tried yet, is that it makes it more difficult for victims of sexual abuse, who are already terrified, to come forward.
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