These days, there’s not much coming out of Texas that we like. But local Texas officials got it right when they arrested a former teacher and the Head of School at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene.
Local media report that last July police arrested former St. John’s teacher Kelsey Alexander and Head of School Rebecca McMillon, each on two counts of failing to report child abuse.
Subsequent posts on the school’s website suggest that St John’s has replaced McMillon with an interim head of school.
The charges originate following the arrest of Samuel Eichorn, a former teacher at the school, on charges of producing child pornography. Police found lewd images on Eichorn’s mobile phone, and he subsequently admitted to improperly touching a student at the school.
The day before McMillon’s arrest, Robert Wagstaff, an attorney for the school, sent a letter to school parents defending McMillon and the school’s response to the Eichorn arrest, including asserting that McMillon’s investigation established no reason to believe that Eichorn had abused students at the school.
Anglican Watch wants to be clear about Wagstaff’s claims:
- Wagstaff is an idiot and is gaslighting parents and the St. John’s school community. Specifically, his letter is an effort to shield the school from potential legal liability. But, as the abuse scandal at Vienna Presbyterian showed, the important thing is not protecting the organization. What matters is caring for victims of abuse.
- Attorneys often get issues of abuse wrong. Specifically, when someone comes forward with an allegation of abuse, best practices include:
- Assuring the victim that they have done nothing wrong.
- Telling the victim that you will handle the matter with discretion, but you cannot guarantee secrecy.
- Taking notes of what it said.
- NOT — repeat NOT — attempting to conduct your own investigation, contact witnesses, or otherwise muddying the waters.
- IMMEDIATELY contacting law enforcement and child protective services.
- Documenting your contact, including who you spoke with, what was said, the number you called, etc.
- Following up if you do not get an adequate response. (Here’s looking at you, Bishop Chilton Knudsen.) That may mean, among other things, sending a certified letter, calling repeatedly, and more. A child’s well-being is at risk–this is not the time for a one-and-done approach.
- Most importantly, reporting the allegations, regardless of one’s views of the credibility of the claims. School officials lack training to investigate allegations, authority to issue subpoenas, and the ability to take other needed steps. Nor are they insulated from legal liability if they reach the wrong conclusions or cross the line into defamation. And even if law enforcement cannot substantiate the allegations, having a police report on file allows investigators to connect the dots if future complaints arise.
Simply put, mandatory reporting does not hinge on whether a school official thinks they know better, whether they distrust the reporter, thinks the reporter is a heathen, or any of the other stupid reasons people cite for not reporting child abuse.
And for the record, yes, we believe Amy Curle, Robbie Rogers, Steve Berger, and other Grace Christian Academy officials should face criminal charges for failing to report the abuse of Gracie and Grant Solomon. Further, without saying too much, any meaningful investigation would raise other issues with these folks, including the repeated use of non-disclosure agreements to shield a GCA football player with a history of alleged sexual assault. And while GCA parents say they are afraid of this person and his father, we are not, and we note that there is no evidence that school officials reported these incidents of abuse.
In the meantime, Alexander and McMillon appear to be out on bail. But we hope they will both be fined and receive at least some jail time — even a week behind bars would teach arrogant folks like these two to take child sexual abuse seriously.
Relatedly, we strongly suspect that various folks in the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real have some tough questions to answer. A pedophile begins grooming the Church of the Holy Family, and the diocesan response is to tell the parish to develop a written policy on sex offenders in church?
Get a clue, folks.
Similarly, the Rev. Rob Morpeth, Bishop Glenda Curry, and Bishop Alan Gates all have failed to act as mandatory reporters in the Losch case, with Morpeth and Curry going one step further by lying to law enforcement. Thus, all of these individuals should face criminal charges.
In the meantime, we recommend that all Episcopal entities reinforce the notion that mandatory reporting is just that — mandatory.
All church officials, volunteers, leaders, employees, and others need to understand that, as a Christian ethical matter, all allegations are subject to mandatory reporting. No “investigations,” no meetings with your attorney to make sure you’re doing things right, no consultations with your board of trustees.
Just one simple thing is required: Immediate reporting to law enforcement and child protective services.
The Episcopal Church continues to bollix these issues, and we are really tired of seeing the results, including the trauma and human suffering caused by arrogant, dimwitted, and unethical so-called leaders. And we are tired of Episcopal school administrators who somehow believe they are not subject to church policy regarding sexual misconduct prevention training, including former Grace Episcopal Alexandria head of school Chris Byrnes, who blithely ignored diocesan requirements involving sexual misconduct prevention training, and financial reporting. (No, Chris, you don’t get to unilaterally approve budgets.)
As for attorneys like Robert Wagstaff, do all involved a favor and mind your own damned business. You may be helping to reduce potential legal liability, but that is not what is needed when allegations of abuse arise. So, until you understand the dynamics of abuse and the importance of caring for victims, you’re just making things worse–and you’d be the first to file a lawsuit if your own child was on the receiving end of your foolish advice.
Finally, it’s important to remember that abuse can take myriad forms, not just sexual abuse. Whether it’s emotional, financial, relational, or even filing false civil charges against someone, abuse is abuse. Judicatories can and must report all allegations that may involve criminal behavior to law enforcement.
Failing to do so, for any reason, is an egregious breach of trust that almost invariably results in irreparable harm to the church’s reputation and relationships within the church. Thus, there is no excuse for failing to report allegations, including that you conducted an investigation.
In the meantime, kudos to Abilene law enforcement for holding these two knuckleheads liable for failing to report. Not only is it essential that professionals who work with children recognize that mandatory reporting is just that — mandatory — but the publicity of the arrests provides a powerful incentive for school officials to stay in their lanes and not “investigate” criminal conduct. Even better, it signals to corrupt church officials nationwide that they will be held accountable for cover-up.
About damned time.
Good! Let them serve time. And many more should serve with them. Chris Byrnes….ughhhh….What an awful memory.
Yes, Chris is manipulative, a bully, and dishonest. Not someone I’d want around kids or a leadership role.
– EB