When Pastors Become Predators

The Bible clearly exhorts faith leaders, in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” Sadly, this passage has been trampled on by sexual predators, who see churches not as holy spaces but as hunting grounds.

“It’s hard to believe that a faith community will wrestle with doing the right thing, but they do,” said one insider.

In Knoxville, Tennessee, a four-day sting operation by state and local law enforcement netted two ministers involved in soliciting underage girls for sex. Jason Evan Kennedy, 46, was the head of the Children’s Baptist Church of Knoxville, whose membership numbers 4,000. He answered an ad that offered sex with an underage girl, according to a recent Tennessee Bureau of Investigation news conference.

After arriving at a motel, this married father of three children was heard to “state that he wanted to have sex with both the underage juvenile and the other female in the room,” as reported by the Knoxville News Sentinel. He removed his pants and was promptly taken into custody by police, charged with felony human trafficking and patronizing prostitution.

Another predator, Zubin Percy Parakh, 32, creative pastor of the Lifehouse Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was also charged with felony trafficking in the sting.

What draws dangerous sexual predators to the most spiritual of places? Opportunity paired with a calculating, evil intent — a dangerous and devilish setup as old as the Bible itself.

“It’s the peril of any institution,” Jane Fredricksen, executive director of the FaithTrust Institute, told LifeZette. FaithTrust Institute, in Seattle, Washington, is a multi-faith training and education organization working to end sexual and domestic violence.

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“There is an institutional response to protect that institution, but the reality is that transparency is the key, as well as establishing policies and procedures — then following them when it’s painful,” she said. “The reality of a faith community is that they wrestle with holding perpetrators accountable and keeping victims safe. When both victim and perpetrator are in that faith community, there’s a duality of, ‘How do we do both?'”

How in the world does the sexual abuse of a child happen in places of worship, sometimes seemingly right in front of a loving family’s eyes?

“Victim-survivors and families are often lured into a false sense of security by someone who is very effective at grooming the potential victim and the community, and tearing down any barriers to the success of their mission,” Pat Neal, director of Virtus Programs and Services, said.

Virtus is a program created by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group that combats sexual abuse of children in the church, and is currently in use in over 80 dioceses in the United States.

Distressingly, a simple internet search produces story after story of abuse by clergy.

“Their grooming process can be lengthy and calculated,” said Neal. “It involves gaining the trust of both the child and the parents or other adults in the community with the purpose of overcoming any concerns that others might have for the adult taking actions that are prohibited by a policy or code of conduct — if a policy and code of conduct even exist at the location.”

Distressingly, a simple internet search produces story after story of abuse by clergy. This April in Aurora, Illinois, the pastor of Kingdom Church, who once termed his church “the place of strong families,” according to WGNTV.com, was accused of sexually abusing a child in the church. In the last year, in the continuing wake of the clergy abuse scandals that rocked the faithful, the Catholic Church has spent over $49 million on child-protection programs in the U.S., according to CatholicCulture.Org.

Abuse of children may be present in any organized or unorganized group — both a church class or a pickup basketball game are potential minefields for manipulative predators. A faith community has a special challenge with accusations of abuse: It’s the very nature of faith itself.

“We’re taught to forgive. That’s part of our Judeo-Christian values,” said Fredricksen. “What does accountability look like within that construct? Add to those values the protection of the institution, both financially and in terms of the institution’s reputation. That’s what [the movie] ‘Spotlight’ so ably portrayed. And it’s not unique to Catholic churches.”

Related: Hillary Goes to Bat for Sexual Predators

Parents and other caregivers need to take specific steps to judge whether a church group or activity is safe for children.

“A major safety indicator is the amount of effort and follow-through exhibited by a location, highlighted by a culture that puts the safety of children above any other priority,” said Neal. “One way to know this is to take a look at the policies and practices of that organization — as in, are there sufficient and acceptable screening and monitoring practices in place, and are they followed? For example, caring adults should ask what the policies and procedures are for ensuring a safe environment and notice whether the policies are followed without fail.”

All Protestant churches and the Catholic Church now have practices around risk reduction and safe sanctuaries, noted Fredricksen. Security and pension boards offer training to support parishes; their motivation may be financial in some cases, but ultimately it does protect children.

“The big question is, do they put those policies and procedures in place, and do they act on them when something happens?” said Fredricksen.

Neal offered practical suggestions. “Parents should ‘drop’ in on children’s activities to check in and see what is happening,” she said. “Schools and organizations should have policies that allow parents access, while still maintaining safety through following protocols — and if these policies are unjust or lacking, address them at the administrative level.”

In protecting God’s children, adults need to look hard at worship activities.

“It’s hard to believe that a faith community will wrestle with doing the right thing, but they do,” said Fredricksen. “It’s hard to believe — just like it’s hard to believe when a member of a school, a college, or a football team perpetrates sexual abuse. The special challenge with faith organizations is that they’re collegial, and they seek to love unconditionally as their faith system prescribes. This adds up to taking too long to say, ‘I don’t trust that behavior.'”