The Police Report
August 20, 2015 in Sovereign Grace Ministries
Someone obtained a copy of the police report relating to Gene Emerson’s arrest on solicitation charges.
Here is the first page (click to enlarge): [WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT/LANGUAGE]
Here is the second page (click to enlarge):
and the third page (click to enlarge):
© 2015, Kris. All rights reserved.
It is always wise to go back and read the allegations of fact in the Second Amended Complaint.
Victim: Dara Adams Sutherland’s Sister
Complaints: 45-55
Timeframe: 1987 to present
Convicted Abuser: David Adams
Alleged Conspirators: Gary Ricucci, John Loftness, Defendants
45. In 1987, Defendants conspired to cover up David Adams’ pedophilia, and conspired to violate their mandatory reporting obligations. Acting through Defendant Ricucci, they directed Peggy to let them “take care of everything.”
46. Defendant Ricucci never told Peggy about David Adams’ abuse of Plaintiff Roberts. Indeed, when Peggy referred to David Adams as a pedophile, Defendant Ricucci objected, insisting the label did not apply to David Adams. When Peggy replied that she was received letters from the police department referencing pedophilia, Defendant Ricucci looked the word up in the dictionary, and then told her that Adams was not a pedophile because he was not attracted to his 11-year old daughter but rather to the “woman” she “was becoming.”
47. In November 1987, rather than assisting the victims, Defendants retained and paid for a lawyer for David Adams.
48. Defendants interposed themselves between law enforcement authorities and the family members, and falsely claimed that they were acting on the family’s behalf. Defendants even suggested to Peggy that she send her molested daughter away in order to “bring” Adams home as “head of the household.”
49. Defendants took steps to prevent Dara Sutherland, then aged 12, from alerting others in the church community about her father’s sexual predation. After Dara confided in one friend, another church member, Defendants directed her to be quiet.
50. Defendants tried to intimidate Peggy, warning her that her means of financial support would disappear if David Adams was convicted, and tried to persuade her not to press charges. After Peggy refused to acquiesce in Defendants’ attempt to obstruct justice, Defendants dropped all pretense of support, and expelled the family from the Church. Defendants also effectively expelled the children from school by denying them the reduced tuition that the family had received for over ten years. Defendants told Peggy that the family’s financial destitution was self-induced because she was refusing to cooperate.
51. After David Adams was convicted and served his jail time, Defendants welcomed him back into the Church [in 1990] without taking any effective steps to prevent him from having continued access to children. [Back then Adams’ worked a plea bargain with the District Attorney that included not being put on the sex registry when he got out of jail.]
52. In August 2011, Defendants continued their conspiracy, both in terms of covering up the past and in providing David Adams access to children. Defendants permitted church members to send their children to a sleepover at the Adams home without advising them that Adams had been convicted for molesting his stepdaughter [technically incorrect, should read adopted daughter]. Defendant did not implement any precautions to prevent David Adams from having access to the children who were sleeping at his home.
53. Those who voiced concerns were told they were “slandering” Adams and needed to keep quiet.
54. Defendant Ricucci – openly and in front of church members willing to testify at trial – called David Adams “his hero.”
55. David Adams and Nathaniel Morales were not the only pedophiles being protected by the Individual Defendants’ ongoing conspiracy and the Institutional Defendants’ gross negligence.
Here is an informative comment from Peggy Adams Welsh made on this blog.
Exclcer’sMom 497
May 21st, 2013 at 12:20 am
Steve240, DA [David Adams] DID end up giving considerable child support AFTER the court forced him to. He tried every excuse NOT to, of course, from offering to pay it to CPS, for them to keep the children in foster care, to claiming he could not be guaranteed to continue making the amount he was at that time. To quote the judge, nearing the end of the 7 years we battled over custody of the children, the Judge was commending me, for all I had struggled through to have my children returned to me…at that point, he looked at DA and said, “Mr. Adams, I don’t have any gold stars for you”. DA’s lawyer (another SGM member) [identity unknown to me] tried to argue that the children were in foster care due to fault or inability of mine, and the Judge cut him short, saying how he (the Judge) had been involved in my case from the beginning, and that he knew the case was a result stemming from DA’s abuse. No, he has NEVER REALLY done much to show any of my children or myself any level of repentance. I don’t look for it, and neither do my children. His heart and the state of his soul is between him and God, for only God knows a man’s heart. I just want to be sure that children are protected. People were shocked to find he committed the crimes he did. The night before I found out I said to him, “I don’t know what dark secrets you hold in your heart, for I see you put more effort in trying to hide your sin that to repent of it”. If only I had known early enough just how terribly dark those secrets were! Too often, we see a way someone acts, and we ‘project’ how we would feel…only God knows a person’s heart. Some things affect the rest of your life-that is why God wants us to flee from such temptations! No, not everything is made new in this life. God gives us strength, but there are still consequences to our actions. From all I can tell, he wants to bury the past and forget the consequences, but there is a woman, who was once a young innocent girl, who still struggles with life and Faith and sanity due to his crimes. There is a family of children who all struggle with their Faith in God because of his crimes. I, myself, am only beginning to come to terms with it all Spiritually.
Just Saying –
You are perfectly displaying through your words, the very conditional love offered by most SGM churches and pastors: you will receive our care if you do exactly as we advise. If you choose not to follow our advice, you’re own your own. You’ve made your bed and you can lie in it. No sense of bearing others’ burdens, no grace, no mercy, just judgement. you seem to act as though you are in complete possession of the facts. Did you work directly on this with them or are you taking their word for it? If you are taking their word for it, it is ill-advised.
You are also displaying that you haven’t read enough about predators. No one believed he would commit abuse, again after prison and losing his family? That it extremely naïve. He was still very likely, statistically and the fact that the church was willing to risk the well-being of other kids is a complete disgrace and is not Christ-like.
Lastly, in your comments you are implying that the mom made the wrong choice to prosecute. This is at the core of what is still wrong with CLC. If you all can’t own up to the fact that there is never a right reason to not prosecute, you are bound to see this happen over and over. A criminal record may be the only thread to protect other kids when that pedophile relocates like Nate Morales did.
It boils my blood when I see people throwing the downtrodden under the bus to defend the indefensible.
Some of us will recognize the predator & situation described in the podcast Pam Palmer linked above…
http://thisliminalstate.com/2016/03/19/tll-25-beth-holt-on-protecting-kids/
Intro. starts at 5:27
Interview starts at 10:00
On August 11, 2011, Kris posted the following message from GS, on behalf of all the CLC pastors, to Dara Adams Sutherland and Pam Palmer. It sounded contrite, remorseful, empathetic and conciliatory but it was all a public relations ploy intended to manipulate their silence. They had just told their stories on Survivors and it was having an impact on CLC. In reality, however, GS believed Dara, Pam and their families had been extremely well cared for and their online stories were slanderous.
##
Dear exCLCer [Dara] and SGMnot [Pam],
This past week I read the stories that you posted on SGMSurvivors. The details are heartbreaking for me, the pastors of Covenant Life, and the members of our church. I cannot imagine the anguish these events have caused for you and your families. I am doubly grieved to know how deeply disappointed you are with the pastoral care you received during that crisis and in the years following.
In my 14 years of pastoral ministry at Covenant Life Church, I have so often failed to love and care for God’s people the way I should. If it weren’t for the grace of our Lord Jesus and the forgiveness of the saints, this pastor would not have the faith to keep caring for God’s precious church. Stories like yours cause me to cry out for more of God’s Spirit, more of God’s heart. I do not want to fail his children in their time of deepest need!
I realize you don’t have much confidence in the pastors of Covenant Life Church right now, and I can understand that. But would you be willing to talk with me about your experience? Though I am sure it would be painful to review the details, I want to make sure our pastoral team learns all we can from your experience so that we can better serve other families in the future. And if nothing else, I hope I could express the grief we feel for the suffering you have endured.
Kris has my e-mail address – please let her know if you are willing for me to contact you about this. In the meantime, I will be praying for you and your family.
On behalf of the pastors of Covenant Life Church
GS
(Family Life Pastor)
##
This message on Survivors brought a furious reaction from John Loftness and Gary Ricucci for putting them in a bad light which included a criminal light. As a result, the pastoral team caved into their demands for a retraction and bent over backwards to appease them and defend them.
At a members’ meeting only six days later, GS did a complete about face and fell on his sword. He told Covenant Life, “The pastors who were involved and their pastoral care, we really believe, and I think Josh [Harris] has already said this, we really believe that Gary and John provided a very high quality of pastoral care. … And yet we feel that the reports on line [Dara and Pam’s stories], though written probably by very sincere people, have really slandered these guys. And we want you to know, and them [Gary & John] to know, how highly we esteem their pastoral care.”
Thirteen months later in October 2012, the original lawsuit with Dara and Pam as plaintiffs was filed against SGM, Gary, John, et al. It could have been avoided if not for the arrogance of Loftness, Ricucci and the self-serving pastoral staff. Their attempt to interact with Dara and Pam was insincere and deceitful. There was no genuine remorse or any kind of repentance for how they were handled.
GS and the other CLC pastors, no longer think Dara and Pam are “probably…very sincere people.” On August 12, 2014, Mark Mitchell, executive pastor, told the church they were liars with respect to alleging a cover up. CLC has demonized so many of the victims and/or their families while they justify themselves. Charlotte Ennis and Just saying are following their example.
Mark Mitchell- he was the one who said Satan was attacking CLC, right?
Well never mind, with the new anointed pastor-apostle Smyth, the Holy Spirit is going to be poured out at CLC in a fresh wave of glory.
The folks who would know most about the Adams’ case in the beginning would be Mr. Ricucci and Mr. Loftness and folks from the Mays’ Care Group. I believe they were the ones organizing meals, etc. Those folks are all free to weigh-in or contest the family on the details of the case. Just Saying, were you a member of that Care Group or either of those Pastor’s families?
5 Years,
Yes optimism is high at CLC now because of PJ Smyth. He spoke last Sunday in his usual engaging style. He talked about “baptism in the Holy Spirit” and “speaking in tongues” in a way I haven’t heard at CLC in 20 years. There was prayer after the service for people desiring to speak in tongues for the first time.
If you listen to his message he said he did not want to be “pedestalized”. Hopefully he will live up to that. He did make a few Driscoll-esque comments about his feelings for his wife (I think it was about 43 minutes from the start.) Also he made some remarks about his sons’ antics that brought a lot of awkward laughter.
Here is a link to PJ’s message Sunday.
http://www.covlife.org/resources/3975836-Spirit_Empowered_Churches_and_Individuals
Yes, Mark Mitchell was the one who called the article in Washingtonian magazine a satanic attack.
Dave MacKenzie says:
January 20, 2016 at 9:32 pm
At a short Covenant Life Church members meeting on Sunday [January 17], Mark Mitchell and P.J. Smyth alerted the church that the Washingtonian would be publishing the article this week. Although they had not been informed about its contents, they assumed it would be critical of the church. They believe it’s not a coincidence that the article is being published just as CLC feels ready to move forward with a new leader who has no history with the controversies. There seems to be a prevalent feeling among both the pastors and most members (including those prophesying on Sundays) that CLC is ready to put the past behind it. As I remember it, P.J. characterized the problems related to child abuse as either having been dealt with (he mentioned that Morales is in prison) or in the process of being dealt with. Mark attributed the timing of the article to a satanic attack trying to interfere with what God is doing at CLC. P.J. commented that he and the other leaders from New Frontiers and Advance had been following CLC’s problems for a couple of years as an outsider, and that Terry Virgo and those other leaders fully support his accepting the lead pastor position at CLC.
Bought, thank you, but I will pass. My comment was sarcasm, to think all this can just be swept under the rug, but God is very merciful and for the sake of his sheep there, despite the leaders, I sincerely hope you do experience times of refreshing.
Comparing a speaker to Driscoll would be my cue to run away as fast as I can. And to express optimism now because of the new pastor sounds like the same old, same old, look to men instead of God. I’ve been in churches where people talk about asking God to pour out his Holy Spirit, and I’ve been in PDI where it was all about the great leaders doing it right. Well, thanks for responding and may the future be rich in the Lord for all of us, by God’s undeserved mercy alone.
Brent…thanks. Ugh.
Mark Mitchell also posted a letter to the same effect on the CLC web site if anyone wants to read it.
I myself am nervous about the return to CLC’s charismatic roots by PJ. I wonder what makes the congregation think that is a stronger theological platform than Reformed Theology?
I second Bought the Field’s comments about P.J. Smyth. My friend who attends the church has made comments that made me think exactly the same things.
How is Gene Emerson doing? Has he repented and come clean?
Bought, former, other CLC…..
I would urge you to read the classic book by Martyn Lloyd-Jones entitled “Joy Unspeakable.” He was a brilliant young medical doctor in England who became a pastor. Died maybe 35 years ago.
His exegesis of the doctrine of the filling/ baptism/ outpouring of the HS in the NT is excellent. The typical Reformed community says you get all you will ever get of the HS when you are saved. The Pentecostals say you need a second experience where you get tongues.
The NT presents a third model of repeated baptisms, repeated infillings or outpourings (interchangeable terms, the way they are used). We spend our life hopefully with many many times of refreshing in the power of the HS. Not once, not twice, but multiple.
Smyth is presenting classic Pentecostal error that equates this with tongues. It may, but it certainly may not. Look at the end of Acts 2 & 4, where the HS was poured out. What follows immediately? Not tongues, but instead, all kinds of sharing with the poor and needy. (do you ever hear these guys talking about sharing money with poor people? I never have.) Actually joy is the most predominate result, not tongues (not trying to disparage tongues). There are many many gifts- Romans 12, 1 Cor- that are enabled by the power of the HS.
Do yourself a big favor. Don’t get sucked into second blessing Pentecostalism that equates the baptism of the HS as a one time second blessing with tongues. I urge you most strongly to read this book. worth every penny.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00AUOB2WQ
while I am at it :)
CLC, you need to read church history. The Reformation, with the gospel sweeping through nation state after nation state. Europe transformed. The first Great Awakening, with Edwards, Whitefield, and so many others. Hundreds of thousands coming to Jesus Christ. Entire towns getting saved. Second Great Awakening in the 1800s, same thing. Amazing. The missionary movement, and all the amazing stories as missionaries were sent out around the globe.
Revival in Scotland, simply amazing. Wales. China. New Hebrides.
None of these- none- came with tongues. They came with massive conversions and transformed lives.
I am not a cessationist. I had hands laid on me and have spoken in tongues repeatedly. But to equate this with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is what I call Pentecostal deception. In light of church history, I have to say it is stupid. Paul said he wished everybody spoke in tongues but even more that they would prophesy. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. When the HS is poured out, people will testify of Jesus with great boldness. Look at Acts. Reread it.
Maybe I misread the post about Symth; I didn’t listen to his sermon nor do I care to. Maybe his understanding of the power and baptism of the HS is much bigger than tongues. But I do think CLC is headed into another flawed path if I understand correctly. Authoritarian Shepherding, Second blessing Pentecostalism…..both are errors.
I do think that when the HS REALLY moves among the leadership at CLC, there will be a gift of repentance, and some honest apologies coming out. Harris had enough guts to say that there was legalism and turning principles into legalistic practices, and Greg S at least admitted to Loftness and Ricucci bungling the sex abuse, before he got stomped on. But I think we will know the Holy Spirit is moving in power when they openly repent for the past and don’t just sweep it under the rug.
Good point 5 years. It will be interesting to see what if any repentance occurs at CLC under this new leader. Will CLC repent of sins dong by former leaders though some current leadership was around when previous sins occurred and apparently stood by and did nothing.
Brent – “Allegation of fact” – who makes these phrases up? Is it alleged or is it fact? Just because you quote it, doesn’t make it true.
Kris – In regards to your exhortation to “just own it”.
Over and over again people make statements on here like they are the gospel…if you’ll excuse the expression. It makes the story sound like this:
DA abused his daughter. Church abandoned PA and financially ruined her. Church incarcerated her children in foster care. CLC is still doing that to people today.
First of all, what’s absent in that narrative is the huge passage of time. Seven years.
Also, there is a weird misunderstanding of what a church can do and what CPS can do.
The children were not sent into foster care because the father abused the daughter. They were not sent into foster care because the church did anything. They were sent to foster care because CPS determined PA was unable to take care of all those children. It was entirely based on the mother’s circumstances alone.
And, having more children wasn’t the solution to getting kids out of foster care.
That’s a question the children should be asking their mother.
Also, once PA left the church, pastors had no way to spring kids from foster care. They had no authority or ability to rescue the kids.
I do not know anything about DA and the pastor’s relationship with him and their motives. I don’t know if there was wrongdoing on their part. I don’t know what they did or why they did it or how they were involved.
I do know all of the pastors involved left CLC estranged and why we continue to blame the current leaders at CLC who weren’t even there at that time and are not picketing in the streets in Louisville is a mystery to me.
My reason for chiming in is not to justify the pastors. It’s because you are throwing somebody like Charlotte under the bus for raising concerns in how all of this played out.
We all agree it is outrageous for a man to abuse his stepdaughter. But, is it okay for a mother to continue having children when her own children are aging out in foster care for child neglect?
Oh, so you did come on here to be critical of her? I had thought you had said you hadn’t.
Just Saying –
Re Brent’s “allegation of fact” quotation: that is probably from the lawsuit; the person or people who bring the suit state a series of”facts” that support the main argument/case, and then state that the points are true to the best of their knowledge. You are right, just because they state these “facts” in the case doesn’t make them true. The case going forward usually attempts to prove/disprove these alleged facts.
Re your statement in regards to the Adams kids: “They were sent to foster care because CPS determined PA was unable to take care of all those children. It was entirely based on the mother’s circumstances alone.” Are you saying that PA lost the children solely because she went on to have other children out of wedlock?
“Also, once PA left the church, pastors had no way to spring kids from foster care. They had no authority or ability to rescue the kids.”
Isn’t more the issue that these pastors didn’t even try to find a place for these kids before PA left the church like at members homes?
I totally agree with Just Saying.
Brent routinely quotes from Complaints in lawsuits and treats them as fact. He is either ignorant about what a complaint is or is intentionally trying to mislead people into thinking that they are more than they are.
A complaint provides allegations that the Plaintiff intends to try to prove. That is it.
Just saying
I refer to the charges as allegations of fact or factual allegations because that is the language used to describe them in the lawsuit. See page 8 for the heading “Factual Allegations” before paragraph 29.
In a lawsuit the plaintiffs put forth facts they allege are true and can be proven in a civil proceeding. The lawsuit never contains all the proof in the possession of the lawyers and plaintiffs. That proof is presented at the hearing.
In other words, there is a lot more proof to back up the factual allegations than anyone is aware of with the exception of the lawyers. Nevertheless, the lawsuit does assert certain facts to be true.
Just saying
You said, “Over and over again people make statements on here like they are the gospel…if you’ll excuse the expression. It makes the story sound like this: … Church incarcerated her children in foster care.”
First, no one on this blog said the “church incarcerated her children in foster care.” Second, that assertion comes from Charlotte Ennis. She said that Dara “claimed in the lawsuit that the church had incarcerated her.”
As I’ve already pointed out that is a complete fabrication. Read my letter to Bob Allen above and read factual allegations above.
Brent: Thank you for clarifying this. Well-stated.
What I took away from Dara’s account is that A) church officials counseled against reporting the abuse to authorities; and B) church officials did not do enough to help the children. Even “Just Saying” does not dispute point A – instead, she attempts to rationalize it, asserting that the pastors were correct in their dire predictions of the fallout for the family once the dad went to jail.
As to point B, well, I can see why there’d be debate about what “enough” would have been. Consider the church culture. Especially back then, SGM churches had a VERY conditional standard for helping. Families have reported being given the cold shoulder during times of need because it was determined they weren’t tithing or weren’t tithing enough. If there were a question about a member’s moral behavior, or actual proof that sexual sin had taken place, I imagine the pastors viewed that as reason enough to throw up their hands. After all, they had predicted the catastrophe. The mom had not heeded their original counsel in the first place.
I don’t think anyone can really try to claim that this kind of legalism (with a bit of we-told-you-so and stick-it-to-ya mixed in) wasn’t part and parcel of CLC’s/SGM’s landscape back then. You can even hear traces of it in “Just Saying’s” desire to point out the “other side” of the situation and defend the leaders.
CLC pastors typically used just about any excuse to cover their decision-making. And, over the years, I heard some pretty creative excuse-making. Often, they attempted to cover a multitude of their sins. In my opinion, the treatment of the Adams family was inexcusable.
One of the most disturbing things about the Adams’ case was the sheer power the pastors held over that family. Now that I have been in a healthier church for several years, that is mind-numbing to me. Members at CLC should have been able to help that family in any way they wished and for as long as they desired. Pastors should never have interfered with that.
Early in CLC’s history leadership sure liked to quote the passage in Acts that said none were in need. A shame that they selectively practice d it.
I’m not defending the leaders. They piss me off.
I also do believe the church then and now still practices a very conditional standard of helping. A needy person comes on the scene. The church will help them if they join the church and attend care group and are accountable to someone over them. High maintenance people got the boot.
And for that, CLC, I SPIT on you.
I will NOT defend them for that.
Now, back to the subject at hand.
Persona – The pastors were not in control of this family, Child Protective Services was calling the shots. The mother wasn’t attending the church anymore. She went on her with her life. And CPS took the kids. There was nothing any of us could have done.
Out There – No. I am not saying they took her kids because she had more kids.
The kids were taken because of their home life. And the kids reached out to the authorities for help. And nobody could do a thing about it.
“And the kids reached out to the authorities for help.”
Would you, please, specify which child reached out to the authorities for help? I have never heard of any child reaching out to the authorities from this or, frankly, any family. That seems greatly out of their realm of thinking.
I am still trying to find out if it is true that PA had as many kids after leaving DA as just saying seemed to indicate. PA shared that one of the children was DA’s child and she was pregnant right when it was discovered Dave Adams molested his step daughter.
Is this story of all these kids just a smokescreen to make the CLC Leader look more justified in their actions?
I think Just Saying now has made her opinion of the leaders clear, and she does understand one of the criticisms of CLC/SGM when it comes to offering help – that it tended to be conditional and limited (I loved what PhillyinDC wrote several posts back, by the way, flipping the story so that it was a man with kids in need). So I don’t think she intends to justify the leader’s actions.
Just Saying – I understand that it is hard to help someone who doesn’t want help. If the Adams clan left CLC and declined help, options were limited. But then you have to wonder why they left CLC to begin with – maybe you understand that point, too, but it’s that point that is the basis for the lawsuit. Even if the family had managed to stay together and no one had called social services, the basis for the lawsuit – which was that the pastors had conspired on multiple occasions to minimize and cover up instances of child abuse within CLC and other SGM churches – would still exist. And maybe you agree.
So I am/we are not sure why you are bringing up the point about the children calling in social services, or the mom’s behavior..? Arguable, these things can be attributed the betrayal the mom felt and experienced from leaders she legitimately thought would support her, not her husband. And as you have seen, pointing fingers at the mom’s behavior years after the abuse stirs up strong emotions.
Are you trying to support something Charlotte said…? Something that supports Charlotte’s position that the statute of limitations should not be extended…? Or are you simply defending something said about Charlotte, but not agreeing with her position? Thanks for any clarification….
…sorry, “defending something said about Charlotte” should be “defending Charlotte against something said about her, but not agreeing with her position…”
The most pivotal point in the story for me is that the mom was in the hospital (due to the stress and strain of trying to put food on the table and take care of her kids after she PROTECTED THEM and the rest of society by alerting the police of this man’s behavior) and the pastor came in and asked her if she would trust him to take care of her kids. She said yes, with great relief. And he IMMEDIATELY turned all of the children over to social services, rather than asking the church to help. I believe that the people in that church are loving, good people. MANY have come on here to say they would have taken the children in.
This is important and should not be lost in the conversation.
Good point stunned. ” I believe that the people in that church are loving, good people. MANY have come on here to say they would have taken the children in.”
A shame that Gary Ricuccis and John Loftness didn’t go that route to get people to take these kids in for some period.
Banging head on wall.
People DID take the kids in, but CPS jumped in and took charge.
I’m pretty sure Steve240 is Brent.
I am actually very uncomfortable about this whole conversation. I don’t know the whole story. I don’t know what is true. I don’t know who to defend. I do know the narrative circulated on here, especially as it has morphed into inflammatory statements has become increasingly erroneous.
This situation had complicated extenuating circumstances that are just tragic. This was a Lose-Lose situation no matter what went down. There was no way to turn this into a win.
And, it’s just not my business to pass judgment on here. I feel like people are pressuring me to reveal secrets that are not mine to reveal. I don’t know what PA has told her children. I don’t know what the children told each other. I don’t know what went on behind closed doors. And, I don’t think it’s my job to tell them.
PA is a beautiful, intelligent, strong, compassionate and loving survivor who went through the most difficult situation I have ever witnessed and I admire her. The kids are survivors, too. They are amazing survivors and I wish the best for them.
That’s all I have to say on this topic.
Just Saying- One thing should be clear to you by now that the authorities were contacted quickly without hesitation to take care of the children but the authorities were not quickly notified to protect the young boys who reported being molested by Nate.
Just saying
That is a new one that I am Brent. LOL
I have met a few people in person and the will tell you that this isn’t the case. I doubt Brent would have a blog critiquing kissing dating goodbye like I have.
With regard to DAve Adams. The leaders hid the molesting so you wonder what else they have done that is questionable. Why didn’t leadership when this came out on here give some type of statement explaining their actions and giving their side?
If leadership wrongly covered up the molesting including putting other children in possible harm what else did they do wrong? It makes you wonder.
Just Saying – I agree that it is a good idea to stop discussing the details of the Adams situation. They are not on trial, here or anywhere, and SGM/SGC/CLC did not go forward with the case or in any way try to dispute the claims of the lawsuit with anything more than a blanket statement that they were not guilty of covering up child abuse.
Furthermore, no information in this recent conversation challenges the basic premise of the lawsuit – that the leaders had a pattern of covering up child abuse, and that their efforts to cover up were detrimental to the victims and their families. Your comments only suggest there could be a challenge to the extent of the damages.
One last point – please be aware that we are discussing the Adams now because you came on here to defend Charlotte. It’s not clear (to me, at any rate) why PA’s decisions in the later years would have a bearing on whether or not to extend the statute of limitations for civil cases. The possibility of false accusations, no matter how egregious, is not a good enough reason to limit any law (and I think the laws reflect this – it is not just an opinion). And maybe you agree on that point – maybe you were only defending what Charlotte specifically said about the Adams’ case later to the reporter. But again, it isn’t clear how what Charlotte said would serve as a basis for not extending the statute of limitation, so there is no need to further discuss/question the veracity of the Adams case.
False memory syndrome (FMS) describes a condition in which a person’s identity and relationships are affected by memories that are factually incorrect but that they strongly believe.[1] Peter J. Freyd originated the term,[2] which the False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF) subsequently popularized. The term is not recognized as a mental disorder[3] in any of the medical manuals, such as the ICD-10[4] or the DSM-5;[5] however, the principle that memories can be altered by outside influences is overwhelmingly accepted by scientists.[6][7][8][9]
False memories may be the result of recovered memory therapy, a term also defined by the FMSF in the early 1990s,[10] which describes a range of therapy methods that are prone to creating confabulations. Some of the influential figures in the genesis of the theory are forensic psychologist Ralph Underwager, psychologist Elizabeth Loftus and sociologist Richard Ofshe.
Dear Mark Mitchell,
Is this another Satanic attack trying to interfere with what God is doing at CLC?
It would seem as if MD Senator Resnick was correct when he said Covenant Life Church appears to be something of a clearing house for predatory sexual activity against children.
New article posted on Brent Detwiler’s blog:
“Covenant Life Member & Children’s Ministry Worker, Larry Ellis Caffery, Arrested on Nine Counts of Child Sex Abuse & Two Counts of False Imprisonment”
http://www.brentdetwiler.com/brentdetwilercom/covenant-life-member-childrens-ministry-worker-larry-ellis-c-1.html
Todd, proof positive, nothing has fundamentally changed at CLC. Parents should def avoid leaving their children in their alone in their children’s ministries. Stay with them or keep them by your side at ALL times when in that building. If it was me, I would immediately begin visiting other churches and seek a new church home.
Oh how horrible. How tragic.
Seek counsel, show respect, look up to the pastor and desire his imput into your life…..and they sure are easy to fool.
Brent, do you think he ever told Maresco about any of the crimes? Pretending to be repentant? Or just hid it?
Maybe he would have fooled us all, I don’t know. These sociopath types are really slick.
May God help that child (was it only one, or multiple?).
Persona….I would guess it is off the property that the worst takes place.
According to Larry Caffery’s book, CLC helped him edit his book. And they still let him do children’s ministry. Larry himself say’s he hopes he does not have a girl because he might sexually abuse her. How can a Pastor let that go by? Didn’t a red flag go up in his mind and make him think,oh this guy needs serious help,we can’t let him be around children. How stupid are these Pastors.Where is common sense with these pastors?
There is another document associated with Caffery’s case that summarizes court orders during hearings: “Shall not abuse; Shall not contact: Shall not enter residence; Shall vacate the home.”
It sounds like the victim or victims lived with him.
In a world filled with evil outside, and inside the church, we have a Savior who already paid the price for those who repent and give their lives completely to Jesus! SGM leaders caused and still causes much havoc within my family. However, this Easter Day I am more aware of my sin, Calvary, and what Christ personally did for me, than the hurt and evil that has been done to my family and me. Thank you Jesus for giving me hope and joy in a hopeless and joyless world.
Happy Easter everyone!
He is Risen!
This is sad to see another case of a child molested coming out at CLC. Not sure what to think.
OutThere..sounded to me like he imprisoned and abused his daughter. I wonder where the mom was?