Authorities Charge Church Member in Sex Assault of Kids
By Betsy Lehndorff And Hector Gutierrez
Rocky Mountain News [Loveland CO]
July 12, 2007
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5625651,00.html
Three Loveland pastors may have believed they needed to answer to a higher authority when they found an alleged child molester among their flock.
They encouraged the 23-year- old man to turn himself in with an attorney.
But now the Rev. James W. Rice, and assistant pastors Thad Gunderson and Eric Mowen, at Gateway Baptist Church, will have to answer to a Larimer County judge.
They are accused of failing to report the series of sexual assaults when they discovered the first one had occurred last summer.
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Authorities say the decision amounts to failure to report the assaults, a misdemeanor.
Rice said Wednesday night that the accusations were unfair considering that they instructed the alleged perpetrator to turn himself in. Rice said he and the pastors also launched an internal investigation with the help of a lawyer once they concluded that inappropriate sexual touching had occurred.
Police believe that the church member, Paul Lavertu, of Windsor, assaulted at least five children - girls ages 14 and 10, and boys ages 8, 10 and 14.
Four of the victims went to the Gateway church. The fifth did not.
Lavertu allegedly touched the children inappropriately under their clothes.
He went to the Fort Collins Police Department on June 22 with his attorney and talked with detectives about the allegations.
But he couldn't be arrested at that time, Fort Collins Sgt. Don Whitson said.
"He gave us minimal details. The problem is the victims in this case were not cooperative," Whitson said. "They were hoping it would all be handled within the church."
After his interview with police, Lavertu allegedly committed another sexual assault on the fifth victim in Larimer County. That boy's parents contacted the sheriff's office.
The reverend said that in August, a family told the clergy that Lavertu might have a problem, that he did something at their home and requested that they provide him with counseling. Rice said the clergy consulted with an attorney, who advised them that they had no legal recourse because the family wasn't seeking a criminal prosecution and the information was scant.
The pastors provided Lavertu with strict spiritual counseling for a few months, Rice said.
On June 5, another family told the clergy that their child allegedly was fondled by Lavertu, Rice said. That same day the church launched a 10-day investigation and spoke with families about whether their children had reported any inappropriate touching by Lavertu.
The probe found that three other children, including the one from last summer's incident, had been victims, Rice said.
On June 16, the reverend said he confronted Lavertu about the allegations. Lavertu said he "was very stupid" and "did a lot of bad things." The clergy then instructed Lavertu to turn himself in to the police with a lawyer.
On June 22, Lavertu and his attorney met with the police. On June 27, the clergy met with the police, Rice said.
"The only reason people know something happened is because we did the investigation, and we told him to turn himself in to the police to be held accountable," Rice said.
But James Avery, an attorney for the most recent complainant, said parishioners were told about the assaults, which occurred at church functions, and decided to shelter the suspect.
Lavertu, who was an adult member of a youth group, is considered to be mentally disabled, Avery said.
Lavertu was arrested at his home July 9 and has been charged with three counts of sexual assault on a child, a Class 4 felony; one count of attempted sexual assault on a child, a Class 5 felony; and one count of unlawful sexual contact, a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Contact: Betsy Lehndorff lehndorffb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2792
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