Do You Hear My Voice NOW?
Overview
This is likely the most under reported sexual abuse and least likely to be addressed.

The pain that sexual abuse from a father and / or other men in the family is like none other, especially if the daughter still has to see the father and have any type of relationship with him.
What's The Toughest Part . . . 
There are so many parts of this which can destroy a woman's mind.  It often starts when she is too young to even remember when it started.  It often happens for years and never gets addressed properly.  Her dad, her protector, the one that she trusted . . . violated her and is often in denial as to what happened, the degree to which it happened, and the dad, the mom, and even other family members will not want to hear the story.  
Family Sexual Abuse
What's so very sad is that the abuse happened in the first place.  What's also a tragedy is the denial of not only the fathers and others who are predators, but the families who protect the 
abusers through denial and further attacks on those 
who were sexually abused as children.

I wish it were my pastor vs. my dad who abused me . . . 

When my uncle started talking about how bad it was to be abused by a priest or a pastor, I shared . . . "I wish it were my pastor who abused me vs. my dad, because I would't have to ever see him again."  
46 Year Old Wife ~ Mother

I was abused . . . and then my younger sister was . . . 

"They say I have disassociation because I was abused by an uncle from a young age and didn't even remember it for decades.  A death in the family . . . triggered all the memories to come back.  It was devastating to me to then find out that the same thing happened to my younger sister as well."  
63 Year Old Grandmother
Families, especially the wives of the abusers, often err greatly in trying to keep things secret.  They do this out of their own selfishness and cause further abuse of their daughters.  In most situations the family abuser has and often is abusing others.  MAKE SURE YOUR VOICE IS HEARD!  
To Heal . . . One Must Feel The Full Pain . . . to Heal.
The following story . . . is a story right now in the making.  Those involved in sharing the story, those involved in interviewing the sexually abused individual are most concerned about other victims from the past who may be out there and/or even it happening right now while you are reading this with others who are not aware of the past . . . and may very well be impacted in the present or future. 
Children At Risk ~ Morris - Illinois
Is there an abuser in Morris Illinois who is still abusing girls today? 
~ Latest Update ~ Is upper leadership involved?
How Could My Dad . . . 
* Start sexually abusing me at 12 years old?

* Abuse me all the way into my engagement?

* Lie and say he only molested me twice and exposed himself once to me . . . when it was far more than that?

* Get my mother to support and protect him?

* Bring in his pastor to protect him?

* Become so scared and frightened that he won't even respond . . . 

. . . did he do it others . . .

. . . is he still doing it to others?

I Was 12 Years Old . . . 
. . . When It Started
My dad started sexually assaulting me when I was 12 years old and continued to do it through my engagement at 19 years old.  When I told my fiancée . . . he put a STOP to it immediately through the confrontation of my dad.  My dad admitted that he did it, said he "took full responsibility" . . . but what we didn't know . . . (continued below)
INTERVIEWER'S NOTE: It has come to our attention that the mother of the individual who is also the wife of the father who is the abuser is already working hard to discredit the abused daughter as many wives of abusers do. Here is a message to the abused daughters siblings, their children, grandchildren, and friends.
Dear Sisters and Brothers,

I understand that you may not read the following . . . and I would be alright with this if I wasn't so concerned with your children, grandchildren, and other children around you who may be falling prey to dad even right now.

I know you want to believe both dad and mom, as I do, but this is putting others at risk right now.  I wish I knew years ago, what I know now.  Now that we do know what we know, dad and mom's sin and continued poor choices are on us, if we do not do something today to ensure that what dad did to me, is not happening to others that he comes in contact with.  It's on us to ensure that this does not happen to others.

Dad and Mom had the opportunity to talk about this and both of them refused to have a conversation. In the last conversation with Dad, he called me a liar. If you have the courage to talk with Dad and Mom about this . . . ask Dad about the first time Dad was confronted with this, where he acknowledged sexually abusing me and how he said, at that time "It's all my fault."

Ask Mom why, when it was brought up, she immediately said "All dad's do this."  Ask mom about why she said that I should have kept this a secret and shouldn't have told anyone.  If nothing happened, or if it "only" happened three times . . . why they are so very fearful of having a conversation about this?

They were given a chance to be a part of the healing multiple times and they chose not to be.  It's a shame actually, because my family and I could have had a deeper relationship and friendship with them than ever before.  Unfortunately for them, they made a choice and it would seem that particular choice very well, will define both of their lives until their deaths and no one one really knows what happens after death.  

Trust me . . . when I say . . . that I was probably like you are right now . . . and didn't want to think about Dad and Mom this way.  I get it ...I really do.  Do not feel bad for me . . . as God, my husband, my children, and many friends are there for me  to fully heal.  

As far as I am concerned, you do not have to choose me / my family or Dad and Mom.  My heart hurts for Dad and Mom . . . but as a mother of girls and now grand daughters, their safety and the safety of other girls in and around Dad and Mom have a far higher priority than Dad and Mom's comfort.  

Read my story . . . or do not, that is up to you.
 
Love you all, 
Your Sister

Dad & Mom . . . Do You Hear My Voice NOW?
My Story . . . 
My name is _____________ _________________ and my maiden name is ____________.  I was raised in Morris, IL.  My dad's name is ____________ ___________ and we attended a Baptist church in Morris, IL most of my life and while the abuse was happening.  My mom and dad attend this same church to this day.  My dad has recently served in the nursery and has direct connection to young children and teen girls.
NOTE:  There are a number of reasons the individual we interviewed has left blanks in her story.  Maybe, there are other girls who are being sexually assaulted by dads or even pastors or other men in the church.  We hope that this brings global awareness and attentiveness.  This woman's dad is a pedophile, a child molester.  He volunteers in his church's nursery and has contact with a number of young girls.  When the pastor of their church was notified . . . based on what he shared, he has done nothing to protect the families and girls within the church or the community that are at risk.

One of the reasons she has left blanks is so other young girls and women who are currently being sexually abused can put their own name and the man's name  who's abusing them in the blanks to stop them from being predators.   Trust us . . . we can't even tell you how many women we have interviewed over the years . . . where they thought they were the only one . . . but there were others who were sexually abused.  Trust us . . . speak up . . . to save others.  We have decided to write this in first person as the story was told to us.  
Where do I start . . . 
My first memory of being sexually abused is when I was 12 years old.  I remember what my dad said, I remember what his rough hands felt like as my dad works in _____________________.  I cringe and feel sick even decades later as I remember the sexual violation that occurred.  

My step-father adopted me when I was 2 years old, so he's the only father I knew.  My dad has acknowledged a number of times after that first confrontation with my fiancée that he molested me when I was 19 and engaged.  

I have always known that my Dad sexually abused me over a period of time . . . what I didn't  know until recently, is that the abuse started when I was 12 years old or maybe even younger.

My dad just recently, through his pastor, said he sticks with his story that he "only" sexually molested me twice and exposed himself once to me.  I have had so many challenges over the years with being defensive, being fearful, letting my children take advantage of me, not being the mother to them that I could have been.  What I did not realize until recently, is that the abuse started at the age of 12 years old, maybe sooner.  

What I still do not know is the frequency that it happened and the full degree to which it happened.  My counselor tells me, that the memories may continue to come back as I heal and that I must first really feel the hurt.  My counselor tells me that the trauma was so great that I probably will never regain all my memory . . . all that was taken from me. 

Just recently . . . my dad in a weak moment of the guilt coming out or maybe grasping for straws after all those years, shared that "I was not a Christian when I did this."   What's interesting is that I was 12 years old, when he professed to becoming a Christian, not when I was 19 years old.  

What's crazy is that my mom and their pastor actually are defending and protecting dad against all the evidence against him.  If only, mom would have protected me as much when I was 12 as she is protecting dad, who is in his 70's.  
  • ​I told a counselor at college:   I attended Faith Baptist Bible College and told a counselor that my dad had sexually abused me in high school and was still sexually abusing me.  She said I could turn him in and he would go to prison.  Interesting to me, how at the age of 18 years old that I had more consideration for my mom and siblings than my mom had for me while the sexual abuse happened to me for 7 years or more.
  • Your Groomed Me Dad . . . I wondered over the years why I didn't hit you, kick you, yell at you, and tell everyone.  I thought some of it must be my fault . . . UNTIL . . . through counseling decades later I discovered that you groomed me like the pedophile you are.  Dad, in your very sick and perverted mind . . . you conditioned me from when I first started developing sexually to think that "I was special" that "you loved me" that "all dads did this."  It's like medical science is just starting to discover, that sexual abuse, especially of young girls and boys, actually damages the brain.  It's like every time you sexually abused me over those 7 or more years that you hit me with a baseball bat and damaged my brain; how I think, how I love, how I am a wife and mother of my children . . . in ways you will never know.  
  • Let me get this straight Dad, Mom and Pastor . . . You believe that a dad will just start sexually abusing his daughter at the age of 19 years old, when she's engaged, never having done that in the past?  Will you all tell all the women, the mothers in your church that this long standing, upstanding father is a confessed sexual molester of his daughter . . . OR . . . will you seek to hide, repress, and protect a grown man who will not confess to:   
  • ​1.  What age the abuse really started. 
  • ​2.  How frequently was the abuse over the 6 or more years you abused me.
  • ​3. To what degree the abuse happened.
  • Dad and mom . . . I desire for you to be a part of the healing and to be honest with me for once in your lives.  I would rather hear the above things from you vs. having things come back to me, over time, as that has happened now as I have started to heal.
  • ​When confronted again by my husband and I over the phone recently . . . you said that you were telling the truth and that I was a liar in saying it happened more then three times.  By the way dad . . . "Thank you for calling me a liar" as that is the thing that snapped me to help me realize who you were all those years.
I actually feel worse for my dad.  He has worked his entire adult life for one company as a ______________.  He is a hunter, big and strong, and a real man's man     . . . but now he's reduced to a weak and pathetic helpless man who needs his wife and pastor to protect him from that little 12 year old girl.   Yes Dad, your little girl has finally grown up now and has found her voice.  You will hear me now!   

Dad . . . did you, like so many other sexual abusers abuse other girls?  If you did, how many did you abuse and for how long?  Did you abuse them worse than you did me dad?   Are you still abusing them dad? 

It must be ripping your heart to pieces Dad to feel weak and helpless now where the truth is finally coming out and there is nothing you can do to prevent it.  It's weird dad, I feel like I am 12 years old again . . . but this time it's so very very very different, isn't it dad?  You groomed me dad and then hunted me as a predator . . . for all those years and now the TRUTH is starting to hunt you.  So Different . . . right dad?  In the last year, I've heard of other dads who have done what you've done and they acknowledged it and actually helped to prevent this from happening to other dads and daughters.  From what I can see, you will never be that courageous of a man or father.  You are weak to me now.    

I felt scared, freighted and helpless all those years . . . where I couldn't talk to mom or anyone, and now it seems the tables have been turned and you are now the one feeling helpless, scared, frightened, and you fear who will read this . . . who will connect the dots and know it's you?  Every time you go to church, every time you are at a family outing, every time you go out in public . . . you'll fear who knows the truth.  This truth must be eating at you dad and keeping you up at night.

Will God connect the sexual abuse and hunting you did to your daughter and will God take all the joy of hunting away from you, Dad?  When you are with your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, will you fear them having read this?  Will God allow your mind to be destroyed, due to your poor choices in the past and present, so much so, that everything else you value and enjoy in life . . . will be connected to this shame and disgrace . . . so in your remaining years . . . on this planet and for all of eternity  . . . you will enjoy nothing, Dad?

I do not wish this for you Dad . . . but I do SEE how God could allow the consequences of your sin, your choices, how the TRUTH could hunt you like you have hunted deer on your farm all those years Dad.  Will your own mind, your memories haunt and hunt you Dad?

Yes Dad . . . you should have confessed and shared the three things I had requested as you would have saved a great deal of pain for those around you.
    1. What age did the abuse really start?
    2. What was the frequency it happened over the 7+ years?
    3. To what degree did you sexually abuse me?

My Mom . . . 
Yes Mom . . . I knew at the age of 19 years old when you said "All dads do this", I guessed that your dad had sexually abused you and probably raped you as well.  I now know why you lied all the time, why you were defensive, why you treated Dad so badly, why you were so angry all the time, why you are so bitter, and why you avoided the hard things.  I get it.  I do not want to grow into the woman you have become Mom.

Mom, I am thankful that I was finally able to break the cycle of sexual abuse, at least for my family.  

At the age of 19, being engaged, I worked so hard with my fiancée to save ourselves sexually for one another, for marriage.  You do not know the pain Mom, because you are so self-centered and self-absorbed. 

Mom, when you shared that "I was wrong for sharing it with my fiancée".... No mom, you were wrong about that and about my fiancée.  You did not have the courage to stop it, no one at church would have listened to me, no one at school would have listened to me.  How you can live with yourself for what you have done, is beyond my understanding. 

My husband saved me from you and Dad.  I've seen him over the years deal with the pain of not only what he knew happened, but the fact that he knew that there was a lot more to the story that was not being shared.  With the little that Dad confessed when I was 19 years old, my husband and I could have had Dad put in jail even then.

Mom, you and Dad punished me for sharing the truth I was aware of at the time with my fiancée.  I do not know why God allowed it to take so long to be revealed but I trust God in my future healing.  

When Dad recently shared with my husband . . . "I didn't have to even tell you what I did." . . . it revealed Dad's true heart.  He didn't tell the truth all those years ago because he was sorry . . . he told a very small part of the truth, just enough to get away . . . and not go to prison.   

Mom, I wish you wouldn't have protected Dad, but would have come along side Dad, myself, and my husband to be a part of the healing . . . but you did not and that is something you will live with until your dying day, and maybe for all of eternity, I do not know.

Mom, I hurt for what your Dad did to you . . . but I hurt far more for the really poor choices you made in the past with your husband, my father . . . the man who sexually abused me for over 7 years and very likely has or is abusing other girls even now.  You may not want to own that Mom . . . but down deep I'm sure it's destroying you.

Don't continue to put your head in the sand Mom!  In protecting Dad, you are just as guilty of sexual abuse as he is.    
The Pastor . . . 
Eventually this is going to get out to your congregation.  It's going to get out to the young moms, the dads of the teenage daughters . . . then what?  

I would laugh at you, mock you for trying to become the victim and communicate with my counselor against my will.  I wonder . . . are you a child molester as well?  You know that there are a lot of pastors around the world who molest children, right?  

But you know, "Mr. Spiritual Leader", "Mr. Righteous" that you have little girls in your nursery and teenage girls who are at risk due to my Dad's past and who knows, potentially his current choices.

"Mr. Spiritual", you're supposed to protect the little ones . . . not the men who sexually assault the little ones.   I laughed out loud when you emailed my husband . . .
This is what the pastor shared with my husband . . . 
"In the last three days, you have accused me now of: sabotage, preventing truth, covering up sin, over-stepping boundaries, manipulation, being controlling, protecting abusers, treating you as a child, treating you as a servant, ignoring you, abusing you, and abusing ___________. My role as a Pastor depends on my qualifications and I take accusations very, very seriously. To be accused of these things (and especially abuse of someone I have not seen or spoken to) is unconscionable, slanderous, and libelous."     
"Mr. Spiritual" . . . when I read this . . . I know why my parents chose to confide in you after all these years of hiding it.  I tried to warn you . . . but you would not respect my wishes.  You stepped into my world of pain, hurt, and confusion and you made it far worse.  You blew up the chance for my parents to meet with myself and my husband.

Actually ... the truth is that my husband only shared what was true ... but ... you did seem to take it to heart and added a number of things.   Interesting how you said these things about yourself, and now what you have shared, almost in a veiled threat against us going public, is now becoming public for all to see. 

It would be most interesting to see this come out in court, for the public to see.  Your drama and threats do not scare me ... they motivate me to pray that every mother in your church finds out about you, about my father, and about what you have done so they can make their own fully informed decision on if they want any of their girls around you ... in your church.  I know as a mother of four girls and grandmother of five granddaughters I would not want any of them around you and/or my father.  You both are dangerous men to be around.

You chose to put yourself and your itty-bitty little fragile pastor's feelings up against a 12 year old who had been sexually molested for 6 or more years.  

What in the world were you thinking "Mr. Spiritual"?  You quote scripture to my husband who was raised as a pastor's son himself.  I knew, at the moment that you did not honor my wishes, numerous times . . . and, after many warnings from my self and my husband that this was not going to go well with or for you.  

"Mr. Spiritual" . . . have you never heard of the internet?  Have you not heard of the #MeToo movement?  Have you no respect for girls who were sexually abused by their dads and DO NOT want vengeance, but do want their dads to speak the truth and to help them to heal?  My husband and I made many offers to my parents along with grace and  mercy  . . . but they were locked in . . . and drew you into something that could destroy your entire ministry. 

You say you "take accusations very, very seriously" . . . if that was true then you would present all the evidence (allow my husband and I to share our testimony with the congregation) and then let them make the determination if you are qualified.  But, you won't do that will you "Mr. Spiritual"?  You won't trust God, you won't trust your congregation.  You will, just like my parents, try to control the situation and the risk of those who trust you as I trusted my Dad.  If you do not do this then you may add "liar" or "delusional" to your list that you make public for all to see. 

Thank you for making public what my husband said to you in private and for the additional things you added which reveal your true heart.  You indeed seem to be a fool and it is only a matter of time that the truth comes out.  

When my husband tried to warn you about my Dad and how he may be of danger to the little girls in the nursery and other teenage girls in the church . . . you didn't take that warning seriously.  You as a man may not take the threat seriously . . . but I can assure you that the women in your church and in the community will take the threat of my Dad far more seriously than you do.  I can tell you that there are fathers in your church and in the community who will take this very seriously and probably see that your actions disqualify you from not only being a pastor of a church in Morris IL . . . but anywhere.  

"Mr. Spiritual" . . . my mom may think that every dad does this to her daughters but that's not normal.   The women, the wives, the mothers in your church WILL NOT think the same way my Dad and my Mom think, and the way you think, so you don't lose a family that supports you financially through their giving to the church.

Mr. Pastor / "Mr. Spiritual", it's only a matter of time before the truth comes out and you have aligned yourself on the wrong side of truth.  I wish you no harm, you are a foolish man and you have put the little one's in your care at risk to go through what I went through . . . and whatever judgement or wrath comes down on you personally . . . I will leave that totally up to God. 

Oh . . . one more thing "Mr. Spiritual" . . . I so wish that my Dad would have confessed and repented from his grievous sin and choices and then I could have read my letters to my Dad and to my Mom.   I wish that they would have cried, I would have cried, my husband would have cried, and that there would have been healing for all.  You contributed greatly to that not happening and you will answer before God for that and maybe to your entire congregation as well, maybe all of Morris, maybe the world and maybe the entire GARBC community? 

I hope you see . . . as I so clearly see . . . that your prayers have been answered.  Maybe not the way you were hoping, but they have been answered and I trust that you can see truth in this and the great things that will come from this . . . very likely at the cost to you, your wife, and your sons.

Maybe . . . (I'm not as spiritual as you are of course) . . . but maybe God, in his infinite wisdom knew that you were not qualified to be a pastor and that may be taken from you for the rest of your life.  Again . . . I do not know if this is God's will, but I do believe that My Story may be a case study that seminaries all around the world use as an example of how pastors should not handle these situations.  

Maybe not what you thought would be your legacy . . . but there are many examples in the Bible where people are called out by name . . . maybe that will be you?  

I love how pastors . . . often preach and share how when really bad things happen to them . . . that God is in it all . . . and I ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT.  I just hope that any pastor reading this will be truly humbled, not a false humility, but true humility and own that they can do more BAD than GOOD and learn to really own their own choices and learn to have a true FEAR OF GOD. 

Maybe . . . just maybe . . . "Mr. Spiritual", your story of you being asked to leave your church or maybe families see the danger their young daughters and maybe sons are in, will leave and maybe just maybe . . . in the small town of Morris IL, this story will spread and new people will not attend due to the risks to their families.  

I do not wish this on you, or on the church . . . as it's the church I was raised in and was married in . . . but I do understand with 4 daughters and 5 granddaughters that they will all know that their mother / grandmother found her voice and was not intimidated by her father, the sexual abuser of seven years, or her mother who allowed it to happen and then protected the abuser at the cost of her own daughter. When a Pastor tried to sabotage, prevent truth, covered up sin, overstepped boundaries, manipulated, controlled, protected abusers, treated people as children, treated people as servants, ignored a young girl / woman's wishes multiple times and tried to abuse their mother and grandmother to shut her voice down . . . that she did not allow it to happen this time as she did from the ages of 12 to 19.  

Actually . . . I do not desire for My Voice to be heard, but God's Voice and His voice is so much more powerful than your voice and/or all the other pastors in the world.  

"Mr. Spiritual", your prayers have been answered and I am grateful to a holy God that He is finally healing my mind and heart to where I can clearly SEE injustice and I am willing to finally . . . after all these years stand up to you, my mom, my dad, and others who are like the three of you.  

Thank you for a wonderful gift!  

My Siblings & Their Spouses . . . 
I love you all . . . not like Mom and Dad say they love me, but in a very different way.  If I could go back in time . . . My husband and I would have pressed harder for the full truth to be revealed.  

My prayer is that neither of my sisters were sexually abused like I was.  My prayer and hope is that none of the many grandchildren were sexually abused and that no other children were sexually abused.

With the #MeToo movement, it's so strange how men can abuse so many girls, so many women for so long and get away with it.  I have prayed and cried and followed Matthew 18 in the Bible.  Mom and Dad would not talk to my husband and I.  I believe in part it's due to Dad's massive fear of the truth getting out and their pastors advice I believe and from the texts that my counselor has passed along to me from their pastor.

I was very clear with their pastor that he was not to contact my counselor for any reason and he violated my wishes as dad violated me for those seven or more years and how mom is violating me now.

In reading about so many of these situations I get that often the siblings will side with the mom and dad and abandon their sibling which causes further hurt and abuse on top of what their dad did.  I get that.

Mom and Dad are both expert manipulators and will feed just the right things to each of you to manipulate you and your spouses to think, "That didn't happen" or if it did happen, that it wasn't that bad, or that my husband and I are just bitter and trying to destroy them . . . they will seek to blame the abused rather than taking ownership of the abuse. 

Well . . . if you have not been through what I have been through . . . kind of hard to judge . . . right?  I already see in social media where Mom is putting up one of my sisters to try to intimidate and shut me down.  It actually has the opposite affect and inspires me to move forward to help to ensure that dad is not currently abusing other girls.

Kind of funny how all these years my siblings, my mom and dad and many others thought I was the weak one.  The only one who saw my strength was my husband and now he sees it even more as I heal each and every day.

My husband even called dad and left a message that in the many years he has been married to me that he has never seen me this strong and resolved.  I get that you do not want to think of our Dad and Mom like this . . . I get it . . . but that does not change the truth.   

I wish you all the best . . . and for years I did not want to know the full truth and that hurt me, my marriage and my children.  As of today . . . that will stop . . . and I will pursue the truth . . . as it will set me free.

Love you all,
Your Sister  


NOTE TO READERS:  We will continue to keep you updated on this story on a monthly basis.  There are plans to give dads who have sexually abused their daughters a written plan on how to be a part of the healing.  The husband and children may also share.  We are also seeking to lift up other stories to help heal and protect.  We are looking into ability to communicate online, set up support groups and do crowd funding.  If you are interested in participating please email:
DoYouHearMyVoiceNow@gmail.com
Update
The following are additional updates.  
It seems to get worse!
Overview
Would leadership look the other way?
You wouldn't think so . . . but it's clear that in some situations they not only look away but actually protect the abuser at the risk of abuse happening to others.  

We wonder if the GARBC congregations know that if there is a risk of their children being sexually abused that the leadership in the GARBC either are unwilling or unable to even approach the deacons in the church to make them aware of the risks to their children?  

We wouldn't even question if someone is Godly as that only God knows . . . but the "wise" part, well . . . it does not seem to be a wise thing to do.

Do pastors and leaders just believe they can ignore the situation and it will go away?

Is Leadership Involved?

The Leadership To The Pastor

The husband and wife in this situation have received some interesting feedback and advice.  One of the suggestions they took was to approach Bernie Augsburger who is the regional director for the GARBC ~ General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, for which the pastor and the church are in association with.  

Mr. Augsburger came highly referred by another GARBC pastor and shared that Mr. Augsburger was a "Godly and wise man."   

The husband approached Mr. Augsburger with his concerns about the safety of the children in the church and his response is as follows.  
"Hi Mark, 

As the Representative of the IL-MO ARBC I carry no official role over any of our churches. At best one might say I only have a
position of influence. 

This is the way an association of churches functions. This means that I can only become involved in a church matter if the Pastor or leadership of the church officially asks me to be involved." 

Sincerely,
Bernie Augsburger
staterep@ilmoarbc.org
Cell. (720) 244-1720
This is a most interesting position.   Maybe those in the GARBC leadership haven't been aware of all the things happening in denominations?   
One would think that the leadership in the GARBC would be concerned first and foremost for the little girls and boys who are at risk and would take a great deal of action to have a conversation with the pastor, deacons, and other leaders? 
If they weren't motivated by compassion for the little one's, one would think that they would be concerned for the parents who very well might hold them responsible for ignoring / not taking any action than an email or conversation with the pastor.
If one wasn't concerned about the children or the parents, one would think that with all the things happening that the GARBC would be concerned about a lawsuit and/or the national press if other children were being abused due to their lack of caring through any type of tangible action.  
The woman has shared with us that she is in fear for her safety.  Another sign of a predator is that, even decades later, they still cause the abused, even as a grown woman, to have concern for her safety.   
We as a network have secured her interviews / story so if anything were to happen to her or a family member, that we would release her story to the national press.  

Imagine . . . if this was you as a woman.  Imagine . . . if this was your mother, your wife, and/or your daughter.  
After the above email Bernie has discontinued any email conversation with the husband and the pastor has discontinued all conversation to seek to resolve this and to insure that other children in the church and community are safe.  
  • GARBC Pastor​~ Maybe Bernie could use some encouragement and assistance to assist this pastor to understand that he's not just putting his own church / congregation at risk, but the entire GARBC network.
  • GARBC Member​~ Is this the type of denomination / association that you want to be a part of?  If you feel this may put your own children at risk, or other children, it would be good to bring that up to your GARBC representative or maybe even bring it up to the President of the GARBC.
  • Live in Morris IL or know someone who does ~ If you think that because you are not attending a GARBC Baptist church in Morris that your children and / or grand children are safe.... Trust us, they are not.  Morris is a small community and when something like this can go on for six years and then when it is brought to light and then pushed under the rug . . . well . . . these same people are involved in all aspects of Morris.   Let others in Morris know about this website and let people be informed, aware, and make their own determination.  
  • Someone Who Doesn't Want Children To Be Sexually Abused​~ Often organizations do not listen to someone outside of their organization . . . seems like the GARBC doesn't even listen to those within so well, but never hurts to give it a try.  Call 888.588.1600 and ask for the President.  
  • If enough people complain and take, then eventually those in leadership will respond.   If you know of anyone in the local, regional, or national press pass this along to them.   It's interesting how the GARBC and pastors will say they care, but maybe not  so much other than TALK . . . unless of course, their own financial situation is put at risk.  
  • It's interesting how people in the community do not like to attend a church where a pastor seems to have so much control and there is no actual accountability.  Interesting how pastors often say there is accountability . . . like Bernie and the GARBC but when you get down behind the scenes to an actual situation, you find out that maybe people who would do something like this, might not be the most honest people in the world and probably a good idea not to trust them in what they say.  

What Can I Do?

Possible Action To Take
  • Post a Google Review & Social Media for ACTION!

Give it a 1 rating ... and then ... post something simple ...

"Is this true? ~  https://www.DoYouHearMyVoiceNow.com/child-sexual-abuse?"

Should you post something on Facebook / other social media asking the hard questions and/or email the church?  It seems ... that those who are guilty tend to seek to ignore, but if enough people ask the hard questions, those who are guilty will be forced to address the serious wrongs they / those around them have done.  Do not give up!   Young girls ... don't have a voice so we are compelled to be their voices.

It seems that if you don't go public with things like this ... well ... organizations will not take any "real" action. 

  • #2: Google Review for Emmanuel Baptist Church ~ click here ~
  • #3: Google Review for Faith Baptist Church ~ click here ~
  • #4: Morris Herald-News

"Did your reporter want to interview the victim and witness to the abusers confession and then did leadership kill the story?  Why would you do that?  Did you tell the reporter that they were not to pursue the story any further?  Why would you do that?  So ... who investigates the press when the press is unwilling to protect the girls in their own community?  What has the press in this country come to?  Because you are a small town paper, do you know the abuser?  Are you fearful of disrupting those in power?   If you don't pursue the truth ... are you just as bad, if not worse, than the man who abused the 12 year old girl and likely others?

What will your response be when the national news picks up this story that was in your own backyard and you not only missed it, but did you intentionally kill it?

So do you fear the men in power?  Have you heard of social media?  Do you have any fear of the moms and dads of parents in Morris and what they will do to your publication when they discover you killed the story which could prevent future young girls from getting abused?"

"In spite of the abuse happening in Morris, did you direct the sexual abused victim to the sheriff's department and then not follow up with?  Why?"

  • #6: Grundy County Sheriffs Department ~ click here ~

"Is it true that the investigating sheriff gave the impression that he was more concerned with being sued by Caleb, the church and the reputation of sexual abuser than the girl who was sexually abused and those who may be being abused now?  Were you fearful to go back and ask follow up questions to the pastor and the sexual abuser?  Why?"

Direct Links To Share With Others

What's sad is that it seems that one young girl, one woman being sexually abused ... "Doesn't seem to matter." to the press, to the police.  When we look what happened with Jeffrey Epstein and how men in power, the press and even the FBI took decides to do anything we learn something about the nature of this type of evil.  When we look at the many gymnasts who were sexualyl abused for years and again ... men in authority, women, and even the FBI again seemed to not care.  Get enough people who are willing to care enough and ask the hard questions ... and that will help to shed light on this great evil that spreads.  Share This With Others Who Will Take Action!