The father of one of the girls allegedly sexually assaulted by youth minister Carroll Wynne during Phil Ryken’s time as Senior Pastor of Tenth Presbyterian (PCA) in Philadelphia has come forward to urge Ryken to resign as president of Wheaton College. Anglican Watch joins in calling for Ryken’s immediate resignation.
In a letter to Ryken and Wheaton College Provost Dr. Karen An-Hwei Lee, which has been released publicly, Paul J. Reimold urges Ryken to resign, citing both the abuse of his daughter and the findings of an investigatory report about Tenth by the non-profit GRACE group. GRACE is an advocacy group that opposes abuse in church and provides churches with a variety of related services, including investigations and abuse prevention training.
The GRACE report identifies numerous cases of abuse and cover-up, including Tenth’s Director of Music, Dr. Paul S. Jones, who allegedly groomed young men for sexual exploitation and subjected them to brutal naked beatings.
Multiple sources close to the matter tell Anglican Watch that Ryken knew about the Jones allegations and other issues of sexual misconduct at Tenth Presbyterian, but covered up and ignored the allegations.
Our take: As stated previously Anglican Watch fully agrees with Reimold: Ryken bears ultimate responsibility for abuse that occurred during his tenure as senior pastor at Tenth. Indeed, it is easy to parse the underlying issue: Either Ryken knew of the allegations, and thus is culpable by not immediately addressing those issues. Or Ryken didn’t know, in which case he had a ethical duty to know, and thus was negligent.
Moreover, while we are unable to determine the full scope of Ryken’s knowledge of the rampant sexual and spiritual abuse at Tenth, Anglican Watch can state unequivocally that Ryken was aware of key issues, including the Jones situation. That conclusion is supported by multiple independent sources as well as the GRACE report, which references Ryken as a “former leader,” or “FL.”
From there, the Jones allegations should have been an all-hands-to-battle-stations warning of dire problems at Tenth. These sorts of situations in which an abuser exploits a difference in real or perceived power typically happen in environments where speaking up is perceived as a betrayal, and where people fear the consequences of speaking up.
Indeed, the fact that neither Ryken nor Tenth as an organization had an issue with behavior by Jones that is prototypical “grooming” behavior, including massages and inappropriate relationships with young men, is shocking and appalling. We cannot imagine a more facially obvious situation, or how anyone could learn of the allegations against Jones and regard them as anything other than a four-alarm fire.
Further, we know that Tenth can and does bully whistleblowers, as evinced by its organizational and individual perjury and other illegal conduct directed at Phil Snyder.
We also know that Ryken declined to be interviewed by GRACE about abuse at Tenth. That begs the question: If everything was above board during Ryken’s tenure, why would he not be eager to help eliminate abuse within the church where he previously served as senior pastor?
So why did Ryken allow these issues to go unaddressed? Indeed, by ignoring abuse at Tenth, Ryken also allowed the statute of limitations to expire on these cases, meaning that both civil and criminal charges against the perpetrators are, at best, difficult.
As an organization, Tenth is equally corrupt. To date, it has made no effort to has repent of these egregious sins, both of omission and commission, which makes clear that it thinks this behavior is okay.
In other words, at Tenth Presbyterian, the ends justify the means, no matter how egregious or criminal the behavior may be.
Anglican Watch therefore calls on Phil Ryken to resign immediately, to apologize to victims publicly and in writing, and to take steps, both personal and organizational, to make restitution to victims. And yes, Tenth should take down Ryken’s portrait—any nearby dumpster will do.
In other words, it’s time for the PCA, Tenth Presbyterian, and Phil Ryken to match the actions with the words and behave like Christians.
The text of Reimold’s letter follows.
RE: Tenth Presbyterian Church GRACE Report
Dear Phil/Dr. Ryken,
For your information, enclosed is a portion of the Tenth Presbyterian Church GRACE report from 2023. Of the accounts mentioned in this report, two of them pertain directly to you during your tenure as Tenth’s Senior Minister. The two sections are in regard to Paul S. Jones Director of Music and Carroll Wynne Youth Minister. Both of these men were on Tenth’s staff during your time as senior ministry. (Be warned. The Paul Jones chapter of the report is extremely disturbing. And heart breaking.)
As stated in the GRACE Report, Tenth’s Director of Music, Dr. Paul S. Jones groomed young men for sexual exploitation and subjected them to brutal beatings.
Also reported in the GRACE Report, youth minister Carroll Wynne inappropriately touched young (underaged) women in the Maranatha youth group. It was also reported that Rev. Wynne stored pornography on a Tenth computer.
So, Phil, during your role as Tenth’s senior minister, Rev. Wynne was patting young ladies’ bottoms. Meanwhile, Paul Jones was beating young men’s bare buttocks to a bloody pulp.
Full disclosure: One of the Carroll Wynne victims was a member of my family. The day that Rev. Wynne patted her bottom was the day she renounced her Christian faith.
As Tenth’s Senior Minister, you were the one ultimately responsible for the safety and welfare of our children. You failed miserably. You have been derelict in your responsibilities. The victims have been grievously harmed: physically, emotionally and spiritually. (One of Paul Jones’ victims is in a mental institution.)
It is most unfortunate: the Pennsylvania statute of limitations for lawsuits and criminal prosecution expired years ago.
Phil, I urge and implore you. Do what is right in the sight of the Lord. Do what is best for Wheaton College.
(1) Resign your position as President at Wheaton College. The sordid details uncovered at Tenth need not tarnish Wheaton’s reputation. Your resignation would be best for the college.
(2) Arrange for your portrait to be removed from Tenth Church. Sorry to say this, but based upon events uncovered by the GRACE report, your portrait does not merit being on display next to Boice and Barnhouse. Having your portrait remain on the Tenth premises would be a cruel and callous affront to the young men and women who have been harmed at Tenth.
Please give these recommendations serious prayer and consideration.
Regards,
Paul J. Reimold
CC Dr. Karen An-Hwei Lee, Provost
You’ve been tracking this story for years. Looks like your tenaciousness has paid off. Great news!
In 2019 I sent all the available information to the Board of Trustees of Wheaton College concerning Ryken’s involvement in the Tenth Presbyterian Music Director misconduct. I also sent the statement Ryken made in public to the Philadelphia PCA Presbytery at the Presbytery meeting in 2017 in which the Tenth Pres. Session was admonished for their failures regarding the entire affair. In that statement Ryken admitted that in 2001 he knew the Music Director was sexually abusing young men, he never told the Session but only confided in a few Elders, he did not bring the matter to the Session for discipline, he believed what the Music Director told him and did not investigate, he failed in his pastoral duties, and he neglected his duties as Senior Pastor. The end result of all of this was his allowing the Music Director to continue at Tenth for 10 more years during which he had access to the entire congregation which was totally unaware of his egregious conduct.
My wife and I were members at Tenth from 2014 to 2017. We are also Wheaton graduates. After receiving my information in 2019, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees contacted me and we had a lengthy phone conversation along with another Trustee. I provided the information and gave them my opinion that Ryken must be replaced due to his conduct at Tenth and in light of the many problems encountered at Wheaton since he became President.
Since 2019, I communicated with the Chairman and the Board concerning several other problems at Wheaton along with my opinion that Ryken needed to be replaced. I never received any indication that the Board would do anything to Ryken despite his many failures and the many problems that have arisen at Wheaton since 2019. I just sent them another email with a copy of my 2019 email, along with the link to this Anglican Watch article, again telling them dismiss Ryken. I have not received a response.
I recommend that the Board of Trustees be contacted regarding Ryken. They are responsible for Ryken. Sending it to the Provost, as Mr. Reimold suggested, may result in her forwarding the info to the Board, but she has no authority to take any action. The Chairman of the Board is Dale Wong at [email protected], the former Chairman who I spoke to is Jim Goetz at [email protected], and other Board members I know are [email protected] and [email protected].
My wife and I left Tenth in 2017 when we found out about the Music Director’s misconduct and other problems which the Session failed to address and for which they withheld information from the congregation.
As Mr. Reimold stated, the Grace Report provides more information regarding other egregious problems which only reinforces the failures of Ryken. Mr. Reimold’s information is heart breaking and it is just one of other similar stories that resulted because of the failures of Ryken as Senior Pastor at Tenth Presbyterian. As I told the Trustees, Ryken has demonstrated at Tenth and at Wheaton that he is not fit for the job of President of Wheaton College. He must be replaced.
Thank you. I am sorry very sorry for your experiences,
– Editor
Ryken has continued to cover up abuse at Wheaton college. Christopher Lapeyre taught at wheaton after he was fired from his high school position. https://www.acnatoo.org/diocese-of-the-upper-midwest/clarkes-story
Ryken has never notified Chris’ students at Wheaton, in spite of the fact that they were the age he targets.
This proves that he has not really learned his lesson at all, in spite of the profuse claims from PCA elders that Ryken was “repentant” and “deeply pained” to learn what happened during his tenure at Tenth
Now Wheaton College Alumni are calling for Ryken to resign. The Alumni have created a website, forwheaton.org, which calls for the Board of Trustees to take immediate action to establish new leadership and address the many problems that have arisen in the past few years. Until that is accomplished all who sign on to the website are committed to ceasing all financial support of Wheaton, will stop recommending Wheaton to anyone, and inform their friends, associates and churches of the problems created at Wheaton College which go against the Statement of Faith.
The website has been active for only a few days and already there are 720 Alumni signatories and 271 Wheaton parents, grandparents and friends signatories.
The Alumni are calling for a meeting with the Board of Trustees.
If these allegations are true then Dr. Ryken does need to resign and/or the board should dismiss him. As a therapist I have dealt with many similar situations. The coverups only serve to compound the victims’ trauma. As a Wheaton alumnus I believe that a resignation and apology should be forthcoming for the good of the victims and and the reputation of the college.
thank you for sharing your experience. from what we have seen so far I am afraid that neither Tenth nor Wheaton truly care about what is best for the victims, only about preserving what they see as their “reputation”