What would you do?


notsurenow
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A family member told me this July that he got sexual sexual assaulted 16 years ago from his Scoutmaster. I called the Bishop and the Bishop called the the man who used to be the Scoutmaster, he admitted doing it but didn't remember my family member. The Stake President also got involved by the Bishop and they said that the Scoutmaster has already repented. He never got excommunicated and he always had high calling he is a high priest. He still works with the Scouts as they have never reportet it to the law.

His wife of over 30 years doesn't even know about it. Shouldn't she now if he has truly repented?

I believe in the miracle of forgiveness and I want to believe that he will not do it again but what if he falls back and hurts others?

I know his wife very well and I want to call her and tell her. What would you do? Thanks

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To be honest, I'm surprised that they still allow him to work with youth knowing that he had admitted this before. Repentance or not. It could become a huge liability should it happen again and it came out that they knew about a previous incident.

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they said that the Scoutmaster has already repented. He never got excommunicated and he always had high calling he is a high priest. He still works with the Scouts as they have never reportet it to the law.

If I were in your shoes, I'd urge the victim to report the incident to the police.

I would then have a very frank discussion with the bishop or stake pres (whoever is closest), and I would ask them if they knew that admitted child molestors should not be in a position of stewardship over children, and I'd ask them if they knew that every prophet has been loudly proclaiming that over the pulpit and in leader training for at least 20 years. If their answers failed to totally convince me, I would ask them if they were aware of the following guidance in the church handbook:

...the Church has established a help line to provide guidance to bishops and stake presidents in case of abuse. If one of these leaders becomes aware of physical or sexual abuse involving Church members, or if he believes that a person may have been abused or is at risk of being abused, he should call the help line. He will be able to consult with social services, legal specialists, and other specialists who can help answer questions and formulate steps that should be taken.

If their answers there failed to totally convince me that they had or were going to immediately take care of business, I'd let them know that I will be ending the conversation with them and then calling the police myself. Because if everybody else (a former victim and his current church leaders) refuses to act, I still have the duty to protect the innocent children this man is currently in a position of influence over.

From where I'm standing, that would cover the 'sustain your leaders' portion of my stewardship here. I would then immediately do what I told them I'd do.

But that's me, judging from here, with the little you've given me to go on. In my experience, sexual abuse of minors is something people don't want to think about so hard, that they end up exposing more kids to abuse with their inaction. Sometimes you gotta rock the heck out of the boat to get good people to do what they're supposed to do. I've had a few dealings with church leaders on this issue, and I've never had to be the person to rock the boat - they've all done what needs doing. But if I ever had to, I'd not hesitate one second to rock the heck out of every boat I could see.

Edited by Loudmouth_Mormon
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Repentend or not. Years ago or recent. Even LDS Bishops and Stake Prsidents have a legal responsibility to notify law enforcement when a criminal act against a child has been reported & there is reason to believe the report is verifiable.

A confession following a report would be considered verifiable.

Even if the victim is now an adult the offense occurred against a child.

While the laws vary some from state to state I know of no state that does not require clergy (even LDS Clergy) to report crimes against minors, particularly crimes of a sexual nature.

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Part of the reason the BSA has all these lawsuits over molestation is because of people NEVER REPORTING this stuff. It may or may not be too late to prosecute the man, but his continuance in youth programs is not okay whether or not he repented.

Maybe someone should contact the appropriate BSA Council.

Yes. We can expire him if there's a worry, though this is the sort of thing that might also get partially flung back on the ward. He may no longer be recognized by the BSA, but the ward still has the responsibility of removing him from the position. But, as I said above, we also have the problem that his police record is clean.

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In addition to the comments specified, and in accordance with LM's response, if the Stake President and Bishop are unwilling to act appropriately, then you have the right to contact the area authority, and let them know the situation also.

I agree with everyone here, this man should not be allowed to be with any young men or women within the ward. This individual should have been released the following Sunday.

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Part of the reason the BSA has all these lawsuits over molestation is because of people NEVER REPORTING this stuff.

Indeed. And the other massive reason BSA and churches lose the lawsuits, is when someone can prove that a church leader knew a guy got fiddly with kids, and kept him in a dang position of power over kids anyway, because 'he repented'. That crap hasn't flown in this church for decades - ever since the human race started to grasp these concepts openly for the first time. But you can still find church leaders who are not yet on board with the 'don't give child molestors access to children' counsel. Notsurenow's post sounds like it could be a case of ill-informed church leaders.

(It could also be a lot of other things that aren't really indicative of a problem too, but again, from my standpoint, if I hear about such things happening and children at risk, then I consider myself duty-bound as a disciple of Christ and a basic good person, to rock whatever boat I need to until I am personally satisfied. Your mileage may vary.)

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I have only heard your side of the story, but if everything you said is true. That is messed up!

This man should be reported to police and excommunicated immediately. Why was he not ex-ed? This is a far worse offense than adultery! The extent of his abuse needs to be fully investigated. The fact that he still works with the scouts pisses me off (excuse my language). The bishop and branch president should be reprimanded. These children need to be protected!!!

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