Letter to Friends in Victoria and Tasmania

[Linford Bledsoe]

I don't need details. I thought there was an investigation going on and there were several. My sources are impeccable. Just wondering why they don't always line up.

[ex tasvic]

Hi another vic,

Sorry did we say we did nothing.
In 1983 we were young and new to vic. and we were not told by the victim but by friends that had been told by friends and at the time we were unsure how true it was, or if indeed it was true at all, and we did not personally know the victim. We are not people to go along with gossip and there is plenty of that. At the time we did not know what to believe and we certainly did not have enough evidence to report it.
If we had been told by the victim, it would have been very different.
As far as talking to the workers about abuse, and things that are of great concern, we did and have, and the only action they took was against us, and that is why we are no longer in. The ones we spoke with did not want to know the truth and deal with it. All they could say to us was that we must be willing to obey them.
They could not even be honest, but in saying this we are sure there are workers that may be different.

[Linford Bledsoe]

There are workers that are different. We need to focus on the poaitive and support any to make things right. Sadly this board doesn't always focus on the positive. If it did the board wouldn't exist.

[ex tasvic]

Thanks waterguy,
We found there were workers that wanted to be different but they also were limited to what they could do.
Some even confided in us on how they were sometimes treated and it made us feel real sad.

[Deleted]

Time for a full overhaul chaps and chapesses!

[me too]

Oct 19, 2010 7:51:25 GMT -5 @ex tasvic said:

Hi another vic,

Sorry did we say we did nothing.
In 1983 we were young and new to vic. and we were not told by the victim but by friends that had been told by friends and at the time we were unsure how true it was, or if indeed it was true at all, and we did not personally know the victim. We are not people to go along with gossip and there is plenty of that. At the time we did not know what to believe and we certainly did not have enough evidence to report it.
If we had been told by the victim, it would have been very different.
As far as talking to the workers about abuse, and things that are of great concern, we did and have, and the only action they took was against us, and that is why we are no longer in. The ones we spoke with did not want to know the truth and deal with it. All they could say to us was that we must be willing to obey them.
They could not even be honest, but in saying this we are sure there are workers that may be different.

That sounds a familiar story. Well done! Your evidence from back then may be critical to the detective investigating the first case. His contact details are in another post on this thread.

Thanks for your care and concerns for the victims of CSA and for the gospel in Vic/Tas. We value those workers who always handle the truth with integrity, and who point us to obedience to holy God.

[Scott Ross]

Oct 19, 2010 7:51:25 GMT -5 @ex tasvic said:

Hi another vic,

Sorry did we say we did nothing.
In 1983 we were young and new to vic. and we were not told by the victim but by friends that had been told by friends and at the time we were unsure how true it was, or if indeed it was true at all, and we did not personally know the victim. We are not people to go along with gossip and there is plenty of that. At the time we did not know what to believe and we certainly did not have enough evidence to report it.
If we had been told by the victim, it would have been very different.
As far as talking to the workers about abuse, and things that are of great concern, we did and have, and the only action they took was against us, and that is why we are no longer in. The ones we spoke with did not want to know the truth and deal with it. All they could say to us was that we must be willing to obey them.
They could not even be honest, but in saying this we are sure there are workers that may be different.

Hi there extasvic,

WINGS has been informed of an incident which took place in public view that happened on a Victorian beach in 1983. This incident was witnessed by a number of observers. It allegedly involved a worker molesting one of the young friends.

If you were present (and it appears you weren't) or know anybody who was, please contact Detective Leigh Lambert.

Leigh LAMBERT
Det.Sen.Constable 29449
Warragul CIU
PH: 56 227153
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]

If you prefer, you can also contact a member of WINGS who can forward on the information.

[e-mail]

[Scott Ross]

I don't remember if the following organization has been linked to here on the board or not, but it is an organization in Australia that is a place to report sexual abuse that has happened in churches there.

brokenrites.alphalink.com.au/

I think there is also a UK Broken Rites site as well. The following is taken from their web site (sounds like it was set up by a group similar to how WINGS started) I highlited a few things. Read on their web iste for more info.

Our research and findings

Broken Rites investigates church-related sexual abuse. This abuse may have occurred in parishes, church schools, church youth clubs or church-affiliated children's homes. The offenders may be clergymen, religious brothers, church-school teachers or other church personnel.

If complaints arose, offenders were often transferred to a new parish or a new school, where they were inflicted on additional victims.

Too often, pressure was put on church victims to keep quiet about the offences. Many victims have to wait until they reach adulthood — or until their parents have died — before they can reveal that they were abused by an institution that their parents trusted.

Broken Rites Australia is not connected with any church or religious organisation.

Broken Rites does not charge for its services. It is non-profit and unfunded. It relies on donations from supporters.

It is never too late to report church sex-abuse. Church victims are invariably adults when they eventually contact Broken Rites.

Of the men and women who contact Broken Rites, most say that the abuse happened in childhood (up to the age of 16 or so). Child sex-abuse is always a criminal offence and the offender, if prosecuted, is not allowed to use "consent" as a legal defence.

Of all the people who contact Broken Rites, more than half are males. (In an analysis that we conducted of our first 1000 callers in 1993-94, the ratio of males to females was 55 to 45.) .

Commonly, Catholic victims maintained a long silence about their abuse. If they did report the abuse, often they merely told a church official — perhaps at a bishop’s office or the headquarters of a religious order. But this enabled the church officials to "tip off" their colleague, the offender; and then perhaps he would be transferred to a different parish or a different school or, in some cases, to another diocese, to abuse new victims; or he might be awarded an overseas "study" trip. The offender’s former parishioners (or students) would not be told why Father (or Brother) was leaving his old parish (or school), and the new parish (or school) would not be warned why Father or Brother was arriving. Thus, additional children and vulnerable adults were put at risk.

Obtaining justice

Broken Rites can explain to a victim the various options that are available for obtaining justice. For example:

At the very least, a victim can demand a written apology from the church authorities; or

If a victim is seeing a professional counsellor, the victim can arrange for the church accountant to send the counsellor's monthly fee directly to the counsellor; or

A victim might ask the church authorities to cover various other support services to repair a damaged life; or

Sometimes a victim may choose to have a confidential chat with an appropriate police officer about the offender's record — and about chances of a criminal prosecution.

Only the victim (not Broken Rites) can launch this justice process but Broken Rites can provide strategic advice.

Consulting the police

If the offender is still alive, Broken Rites can give victims the contact details for an appropriate police unit in the victim's state. Some Australian states have a specialist unit that handles sexual crimes and child abuse. These specialist officers, who are likely to work in plain clothes, are experienced at listening to the survivor’s story. In Victoria, these specialist officers are called the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (SOCA) unit; in other states, there are different names.

It is the victim, not Broken Rites, who contacts the police. Only the victim can provide the evidence. Broken Rites merely tells the survivor the relevant police phone number.

The specialist police officers will have a confidential chat with the survivor and they will tell the survivor whether or not a prosecution is viable. If the survivor wishes to proceed, the police then act on his/her behalf. The survivor has the right to opt out of the investigation process at any time. The prosecution cannot proceed without the survivor's co-operation.

Sometimes, when survivors consult the police, they find that the police are already interested in this offender because previous victims have contacted the police. Thus, in many of the Broken Rites court cases, the offender was charged in relation to several — or many — victims. This makes it difficult for the offender to get off.

In the majority of our Black Collar Crime court cases, the offender pleaded guilty.

In Australia, there is no time limit on reporting a child-sex offence to the police. Australian courts recognise that church victims are often intimidated into silence for many years — perhaps until after they become adults.

When a church sex-offender is convicted, this helps the healing process for victims. Every conviction encourages new victims to contact Broken Rites, alerting us to other offenders.

The website info was sent to me by one of those who have been in contact with the authorities in the Vic/Taz issue. This is what she sent me last night:

Tonight I also spoke to a representative from an organisation called Broken Rites who provide advise and support for people who have been abused by ministers and church workers.

They are a very useful resource to keep in mind esp. for Australian CSA victims - they are extremely experienced in dealing with church groups,.......... and have some very good strategies for dealing with groups wanting to shirk their pastoral responsibilities.

Their website gives contact info.

Anyone interested can contact Broken Rites by using the link to their website, or:


Broken Rites helps victims of church-related sexual abuse.

Broken Rites Australian National Hotline:
[phone]


Mail:
Broken Rites (Australia) Collective Inc.
PO Box 163,
ROSANNA,
Victoria 3084
Australia


E-mail Broken Rites Australia (we check our email daily)

[e-mail]

Indiviuals who have been abused are encouraged to contact Broken Rites for information and help.

Scott

[exVic]

Thanks for posting this Scott.

I rang Broken Rites last night. I found them extremely helpful, concerned and above prepared to listen. They are well used to dealing with a variety of church groups. They can also provide contact details for counselling and legal advice.

[angry]

A guy called waterguy posted this..

"So that means 96-98% are not abusers. Is that called risk? I'd take my chances on that."

My guess it's an old male with no idea. He's obviously not a victim who was sexually molested by a worker as a young girl and has suffered for 20 years. Days when the tears don't stop and through grief of relationship breakdowns. All because some creep worker, one of waterguy's "only" 2-4% of them, has sexually molested her with his vile hands and foul words. The same mouth that purported to speak of holy God on Sunday.

I find this guy waterguy and what he's peddling very offensive. It is abuse itself, of all victims and all who care and love them.

I suggest he be censured. He is responsible with those he is aiding and abetting in their wicked ways.

[Linford Bledsoe]

Angry: Yes I am an old man,and have suffered hard things from other humans.Not your form of abuse,but there are many forms of abuse. I have learned through tears that if we cry out to humans we go no where but if our tears are before God He will avenge His own. This problem of child abuse is not going to be cured on this board with all the discussions that go nowhere.That is far more cruel to the victims.

[exVic]

Hi Waterguy

as a survivor of CSA can I make some points.

You seem to be under the impression that discussing CSA On this board is cruel to survivors. Yes it does open wounds, however with the opening of wounds bring an opportunity for healing.

Maintaining silence on CSA will never allow the victims to move forward.

Victims also include the families and friends of CSA victims and also the family and friends of the perpetrators. This includes the whole church as well.

Regards

exVic

[Linford Bledsoe]

I agree.Healing comes with action for the victims.Believing their story and doing things to show we believe.

[exVic]

Hi Waterguy

one of the most important things a church can do for survivors is to be a safe and open place for healing to take place. This included acknowleging in public the fact that there have been incidents and there will be people within the community who have been considerably hurt. With such openess needs to come a realization that there will be times when the victims of CSA will emotional hurting ( even in places of worship). A caring church can overcome this crisis!

[Linford Bledsoe]

Yes and it must come from the church.

[exVic]

Waterguy

it certainly does!

Praying for that to happen very soon and end the hurting that is happening at the moment.

[was angry]

Oct 22, 2010 20:19:26 GMT -5 Linford Bledsoe said:

I agree.Healing comes with action for the victims.Believing their story and doing things to show we believe.

thanks waterguy, you show some good understanding in saying that. Believing us includes people like yourself believing and reinforcing us through our struggle for healing. That didn't shine through in all you were writing before. You said it must begin with the church, aren't you professing to be a member of that church?
I truly empathise with your personal abuse, it can take many forms and be very hurtful. Please try and see what I'm saying, to sexually violate a young girl has ramifications through life way beyond any physical hurt (although there is that too). It is not just outward hurt, it penetrates deep inside your being. You try and imagine a dirty evil perpetrator having forcibly penetrated deep inside your being. I don't think any man really can imagine.

You said "take it to God". That is correct and I know that God will judge and deal with unrepentant perpetrators. But I read in my bible that God expects men and women to be his instruments here on earth. He uses people to preach the gospel, and we read of prophets turning up when kings and priests practised wicked ways. Perhaps God is calling you, waterguy, to do something for him in all the recent evidence of CSA in your church.

[mod5]

Oct 22, 2010 21:34:18 GMT -5 @was angry said:

Oct 22, 2010 20:19:26 GMT -5 Linford Bledsoe said:

I agree.Healing comes with action for the victims.Believing their story and doing things to show we believe.

thanks waterguy, you show some good understanding in saying that. Believing us includes people like yourself believing and reinforcing us through our struggle for healing. That didn't shine through in all you were writing before. You said it must begin with the church, aren't you professing to be a member of that church?
I truly empathise with your personal abuse, it can take many forms and be very hurtful. Please try and see what I'm saying, to
sexually violate a young girl has ramifications through life way beyond any physical hurt (although there is that too). It is not just outward hurt, it penetrates deep inside your being. You try and imagine a dirty evil perpetrator having forcibly penetrated deep inside your being. I don't think any man really can imagine.

You said "take it to God". That is correct and I know that God will judge and deal with unrepentant perpetrators. But I read in my bible that God expects men and women to be his instruments here on earth. He uses people to preach the gospel, and we read of prophets turning up when kings and priests practised wicked ways. Perhaps God is calling you, waterguy, to do something for him in all the recent evidence of CSA in your church.

CSA in the church also has a deep spiritual impact on victims. I think this is especially so when the perpetrator is a worker within the F&W church.

The whole culture of this church revolves around the workers and they are elevated to a position of trust and treated like family members by many people. This creates situations for worker perpetrators to flourish and go largely undetected and unreported.

When someone is molested by a worker whom they trust and love then their whole spiritual world comes crashing down, and could dire consequences for their spiritual well being.

This is why the F&W church needs to have in place a sound child protection policy that not only protects our children, but provides guidelines for the the workers to operate.

[exVic]

Hi Waterguy

reading through my lunch posts I realised that my short posts really did nothing to help! So let me take some time to clarify my point.

It has been a considerable while since I was involved in any way with the Victorian friends and workers. I can however understand how the victims of this situation are feeling as I too have shared their experience. I have spent a number of years in counselling working through the issue - I can say that for me while the issue of CSA is pretty much something I can ignore and maintain in my (very busy) life it doesn't go away and there are times when I go through periods of post traumatic stress and depression related to my experience.

I was fortunate to be part of a very healthy church when I allowed myself to acknowlege the abuse that had happened. Within a matter of days after talking to one of the ministers the name of an excellent counsellor had been given to me. People within the church provided support whenever I needed it.

A huge part of my healing was sharing my testimony with the church one night - a lot of tears were shed by all.

While I have moved on from that particular church group I am always grateful by the love and compassion that was shown to me by all members.

It is that kind of love and compassion that I pray for within the friends and workers of Victoria.

Regards
exVic

[ts]

Oct 23, 2010 0:42:47 GMT -5 @exVic said:

Hi Waterguy

reading through my lunch posts I realised that my short posts really did nothing to help! So let me take some time to clarify my point.

It has been a considerable while since I was involved in any way with the Victorian friends and workers. I can however understand how the victims of this situation are feeling as I too have shared their experience. I have spent a number of years in counselling working through the issue - I can say that for me while the issue of CSA is pretty much something I can ignore and maintain in my (very busy) life it doesn't go away and there are times when I go through periods of post traumatic stress and depression related to my experience.

I was fortunate to be part of a very healthy church when I allowed myself to acknowlege the abuse that had happened. Within a matter of days after talking to one of the ministers the name of an excellent counsellor had been given to me. People within the church provided support whenever I needed it.

A huge part of my healing was sharing my testimony with the church one night - a lot of tears were shed by all.

While I have moved on from that particular church group I am always grateful by the love and compassion that was shown to me by all members.

It is that kind of love and compassion that I pray for within the friends and workers of Victoria.

Regards
exVic

Your post offers such hope.

I related a bit of our experience to an overseer recently. Similar to yours. I told him of the nice folks who were "outside" that helped us and prayed with us. He only said, "Yes, there are a lot of nice people out there." We told him that we do not believe that the meetings are where the saved people necessarily end up. He said we could not take part in meeting because of that belief.

I am so glad that you were able to find a spiritual family who treated you with such warmth. The friends and workers would do well to humble themselves and learn from spiritual leaders like you found.

[Concerned leader]

The senior workers of Australia know identity of (Bert) and my we state as a group that this man does noting but discredit God's true church in Australia.

[exVic]

Hi Concerned Leader

I don't think Bert is really doing much harm to the fellowship. The lack of leadership in acknowledging and apologizing to victims of CSA within and among the friends will cause far more harm.

Removal of the giant "perfect way" rug will certainly help!!!

Regards

exVic

[Scott Ross]

Jul 25, 2010 23:02:55 GMT -5 Scott Ross said:

The following is an excerpt from a letter that will be sent to friends in Victoria and Tasmania, and also will be posted in its entirety on WINGS in the near future

It is referencing a worker that was discussed on another thread here on the board.

This excerpt is from the final copy based on knowledge of those professing folks that we have been assisting in this matter.

Those of you from the area in question may have been hearing about this, and how the workers there have been asking families if they have any knowledge of abuse which may have occurred to any family members. The workers have been working with the abuse survivors who have come forward, and the worker in question has been removed from the work.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
An open letter to Friends in Victoria and Tasmania
From WINGS staff

Dear friends,
We regret writing this type of letter to you, but it is necessary to do so considering the serious nature of what we are about to write. This letter is for every one of the VIC/TAS list of friends. Many of you would not have children in your care, but you may be grandparents or otherwise have special concerns. We have become aware that there is information circulating so we want to end the speculation and give you the facts as we are so far able to share.

Staff of WINGS include current and ex members of our fellowship of Friends and Workers. We have no agenda or motive beyond seeking the safety of our children from sexual abuse, and healing for past victims. It is our belief that by openly tackling any such issues should they arise, in a legally correct manner, the fellowship will only grow in integrity and with its reputation enhanced. By seeking to deny or cover over such issues, the reputation of the fellowship can only suffer. It seems improbable that God could bless a ministry that knowingly failed to deal correctly with any worker who had sexually abused children.

In July 2010 we became aware that some women had spoken of their experiences as little girls, molested regularly over many years by a well known and respected senior worker. We understand that the said worker has confessed to molesting sexually at least six girls, and there may be further victims. The girls ages range from 9 to early and mid teens. The sexual abuse happened on convention grounds and in homes and public places.

.................



The complete letter will be posted on the WINGS site as soon as it is finalized.

Scott

Now that Ernie Barry has been tried and convicted of Child Sexual Abuse, I wonder if the senior workers will be sending out a letter informing the friends there about the fact that they have had a worker who has been convicted of Child Abuse moving from home to home throughout the years.

I know that there are some people that are hoping that they will be open and honest about this situation with the families that Ernie has been in contact with.

There are other letters from overseers that they can use as an example. This would be a good one to use as an example:

wingsfortruth.info/lyleletter.pdf

[MM]

Thank you Scott.

The women of Victoria/Tas know a lot more than the 'authorities' would like to think.

When a senior worker is a womaniser, we know by observing him. We've lived with men all out lives, you know

We know there are young children who have been victims of abuse because if it is not thankfully our own, it is our friend's children, or we observe the traits of abuse in someone else's. We know which senior workers to avoid our children being left alone with.

But an open letter would be nice, because it would be a first step to cleaning out the bad apples.
MM

[to MM]

Hi MM

I wish I could agree with your response. However, there is one major problem with it:

if it were as simple as keeping your children away from the workers you regarded as "suspect", why is the abuse continuing? To me letting these workers slide under the radar by not speaking out means that you (those that know that abuse is happening) are actually enabling the abuse to occurred and re-occur. If you lived in other states of Australia and didn't report to authorities you would be breaking the mandatory reporting guidelines!

Speaking out and letting the authorities know what's going on is an important part of breaking the cycle of what is now generations of abuse.

[JO]

Oct 22, 2010 19:55:58 GMT -5 Linford Bledsoe said:

Angry: Yes I am an old man,and have suffered hard things from other humans.Not your form of abuse,but there are many forms of abuse. I have learned through tears that if we cry out to humans we go no where but if our tears are before God He will avenge His own. This problem of child abuse is not going to be cured on this board with all the discussions that go nowhere.That is far more cruel to the victims.

Child sexual abuse in the fellowship has thrived due to a lack of accountability.

The only way to bring accountability is publicity, and silence and denial would be a greater cruelty for the victims.

[Deleted]

Oct 19, 2010 8:03:31 GMT -5 Linford Bledsoe said:

There are workers that are different. We need to focus on the poaitive and support any to make things right. Sadly this board doesn't always focus on the positive. If it did the board wouldn't exist.

Liford, with due respect, anyone who is seeking to have the right thing done with csa is doing the "positive" thing. This is such an important issue that those workers who claim to be doing the "right" thing should be standing firmly against the negative workers.

It is far less important that there be serious divisions with far reaching consequences amongst workers than it is to do the positive thing with the protection of children.

The most positive thing that can occur by far, is that any negative worker is swept aside (not under the carpet), out on his butt. That's what they deserve.

[emy]

The most positive thing that can occur by far, is that any negative worker is swept aside (not under the carpet), out on his butt. That's what they deserve.

Hey! That's what happened to Darren Briggs!

Did you notice Lin's post was from Oct. 2010? If he doesn't respond, maybe he's not reading (here) anymore.