Takeaways from AP’s reporting on a child sex abuse crisis inside a secretive Christian sect
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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — For decades, a little-known Christian sect has dealt with its abusive ministers and spiritual elders mostly in secret, shunning legal action in favor of urging victims to forgive the predators in their midst.
Forgiveness, however, was far from a cure: The abusers were often sent to live with other unsuspecting families, where they had easy access to new victims.
Now a grassroots effort by survivors has exposed the depth of the scandal — documenting allegations against more than 900 abusers in 30 countries, with cases continuing to emerge — and thrust the nameless sect into the public eye. The FBI has also launched an investigation into the group, sometimes called the “Two by Twos.”
The Associated Press interviewed more than a dozen current and former members, workers and experts, and reviewed letters, court documents and other records supporting the allegations. Several sect leaders and ministers either declined interview requests or did not respond to messages.
Here are some takeaways from the AP’s reporting.
The core doctrine of the sect put kids at high risk
Child sex abuse is a significant problem within many religious institutions: Insurance data company Advisen lists child sexual abuse as the second most frequent insurance loss for religious organizations, after wage-related claims. But survivors say the tenets of the Two by Twos place kids at particularly high risk.
The sect believes its volunteer ministers, called “workers,” should live among followers and rely on them for food, housing and other needs.
Many survivors told the AP they were abused by preachers staying in their homes. In some cases, the abuse was revealed and the offending worker was asked to leave the ministry. Frequently, however, regional leaders called “overseers” simply transferred the worker to a new region without warning other members.
Former sect member Pam Walton uses photos from annual sect conventions, reports from members and other records to track the movements of workers and overseers with abuse allegations.
Content retrieved from: https://apnews.com/article/christian-sect-child-sex-abuse-scandal-398b68475c2eab693e40e35552030e87.
