MISSOURI
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
For immediate release: Thursday, May 28
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests ( 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com )
A Bible college professor has quit his job over a clergy sex abuse and cover up case. It’s heart-breaking.
Doug Lay is a hero. He should be recognized and treated as a hero by both St. Louis Christian College and First Christian Church of Florissant. He has been brave and caring throughout the entire Brandon Milburn ordeal, seeking the truth and comforting Milburn’s victims. I am honored to know Doug and am deeply proud of him for his integrity and courage. A small group of others at FCCF – including Dawn Varvil and Titus and Kari Benton – have also acted heroically during this tragic situation.
Lay says that SLCC officials Dr. Guthrie Veece and Mike Chambers did not pressure him to resign. But we believe that Veece and Chambers could and should have done more to expose the selfish pressure put on college staff by FCCF staff. We believe that Rev. Steve Wingfield has used his muscle to try to intimidate whistleblowers at least three times now (first, through an unsuccessful restraining order bid, then through an unsuccessful lawsuit and now through informal pressure on the college).
Reasonable people may disagree about what Wingfield knew when and how he responded (though we wholeheartedly agree with Lay, Dawn Varvil, Titus Benton and others who firmly believe that FCCF staff should have been more honest and responsible by calling police and warning congregants sooner).
But no one can deny that children were sexually assaulted because of the witting or unwitting actions and inactions of Rev. Wingfield and his employees. Having put kids in harm’s way (likely unintentionally) and having kept kids in harm’s way (perhaps unintentionally), FCCF staff have a duty to aggressively reach out to others who were hurt at FCCF.
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