Although many churches and organisations have now adopted working child protection policies and safe practice, there are still those who are complacent about child protection issues. For this reason CCPAS continues to speak out about the necessity for diligence in this area. The seriousness of the issue cannot be underestimated and in this edition of Caring we are printing the experiences of a pastor who wants to recount the very costly mistakes his church made, so that others won't do the same.

Simon, (not his real name) is the pastor of a church somewhere north of Watford. He moved into the area with several others in the nineteen eighties. The church he attended thrived and grew substantially until relatively recently, when it came to light that two men in the church had been sexually abusing several young boys over a sustained period. One of these men was eventually convicted of 3 counts of male rape and 22 other offences were taken into consideration. For these crimes he received three ten-year jail sentences to run concurrently. At the time the church did not have a child protection policy and Simon admits to its naivety when it came to allowing adults to work with children and young people, much of it done on the basis of trust without a co-ordinated approach to carrying out the most basic of checks.

When revelations of what had been happening first broke, at the behest of the other church leaders, Simon agreed to shoulder the responsibility for dealing with the crisis. To say he was close to despair on occasions is probably an understatement, though if you talk to Simon today he will say without a moment's hesitation that it was the knowledge of God's sovereignty and grace that enabled him and his wife to cope, and he is now a much wiser and stronger person.

At the time however, he recounts how he would walk in the fields near his home at night, every night, crying for the children and families whose lives had been torn apart by what this man had done to them. Simon says 'When it was night I longed for morning, when it was morning I longed for night but neither brought peace'. Simon's wife was also deeply affected by what had happened.

To his credit, Simon was determined from the start not to close down, but to co-operate fully with the police and social services whom he found extremely supportive and sensitive to the issues. Because of his open response, the police were able to invest a significant amount of trust in him. This was vital because for the first three months he and his wife had to help many of the families, which included being present when the police conducted interviews with the children who had been abused.
Simon also appreciates the help and support given by CCPAS throughout the ordeal. He says that having someone outside the situation that he could turn to meant a lot in his hour of need and the positive effect this kind of support has on the morale of any pastor or church dealing with such issues should not be underestimated.

One of the main obstacles initially encountered by Simon was the fact that a number of the church leadership would not believe what had happened. Some of the congregation at the time still do not. This caused great division in the church and even when one of the young men (not convicted), confessed to Simon and a schoolteacher that he had abused a child, they refused to accept the facts.

It needs to be explained that the man convicted and sent to prison appeared to be, dare I say it, like you or me. He did not have shifty eyes or wear a dirty rain mac. Nothing about him on the surface could ever have indicated he was a paedophile. Simon described him as friendly and affable, able to gain the trust of the church leaders and was the most faithful sound engineer you could have wished for.

He abused children during worship meetings whilst he was sitting at the PA desk. He abused children at events organised by the church. Perhaps worst of all he raped children in their homes when he was babysitting for their parents. You may be wondering how he managed to keep the children quiet. He achieved this through the threat they would be separated from their parents if they ever spoke out. The other man bought the children's silence with sweets, bribes and lies and by insinuating the children were responsible for what was happening or that they were gay and their parents would be very disappointed in them.

Simon still finds it incredible that the man who was found guilty of serious sex crimes against children was able to deceive and find vindication from church leaders and members by confessing to sexual thoughts and even repenting with tears whilst he was continuing to rape young boys.

At the end of a three-year investigation it was discovered that many children had been abused. Again because of Simon's response and handling of the situation, all the children who opened up and got help are now doing exceptionally well. Simon says some of the best leaders in his church today are those who were worst affected by what happened and is evidence of the grace and healing power of God working in broken lives. Having said this, it is of great sadness to Simon, that those who weren't able to accept any help have fallen away from the church and, as far as he knows, are still tormented by their experiences.

Simon is also disappointed that whereas the local press behaved impeccably throughout their reporting of the court case (which inevitably drew much media attention), a Christian publication also ran the story using second hand material and invited comment from its readership without contacting Simon to check the facts or listen to his perspective. This only served to compound the hurt and pain the congregation was experiencing.

Simon now has great insight into the behaviour and habits of sex offenders and has strong words for the church. He says it must deal with these situations when they arise in a biblical way i.e. involving the authorities because serious crimes have been committed, rather than denial and cover up. It his belief that although forgiveness is at the heart of the Christian gospel, it does not necessarily equate to blindly restoring trust in an individual. He rightly says 'I would not put an alcoholic in room full of beer, so why would I put a sex offender who says he is a Christian, in a meeting full of children? It's unsafe for the children and unfair to the sex offender if they really want to change'.

Last but not least, Simon emphasises the need for every church to adopt a working child protection policy and to be mindful that sex offenders will target churches, and indeed any organisation working with children and young people. CCPAS endorses this and would reinforce what he says, that unless the correct protocols are in place and working, what happened in Simon's church could happen to a church near you.

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