BishopAccountability.org
	Pastors Face Charges over Not Reporting Assaults By Sara Reed The Coloradoan [Loveland CO] July 12, 2007 http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070712/NEWS01/707120390/1002 Three Loveland pastors face misdemeanor charges alleging they failed to report a series of sexual assaults involving families at their church but say they were not trying to hide anything. Paul Lavertu, 23, of Windsor, faces three charges of sexual assault on a child, one count of attempted sexual assault on a child and one count of unlawful sexual contact for a series of incidents going back to 2005, according to Fort Collins police. Lavertu, who is free on a $15,000 bond, was arrested Monday. On Wednesday, pastors Jim Rice, Thad Gunderson and Eric Mowen of Gateway Baptist Church, 325 S. Taft Ave., were cited for knowing about the alleged abuse and failing to report it to police. Lavertu and four of the alleged victims are members of the church. The other alleged victim has family members who attend the church, police spokeswoman Rita Davis said. Clergy are among those required by state law to report child abuse or suspected child abuse when they become aware of it. Other mandatory reporters include teachers and other school officials, firefighters, doctors and nurses, and therapists. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor. Rice, the church's founder and senior pastor, said they had Lavertu come forward to the police and the church provided information soon after. "We didn't have all the facts (regarding their obligations under the law), but we're not going to hide behind that," Rice said. "We weren't trying to hide anything." Lavertu is accused of inappropriately touching five children through their clothes - a 14-year-old girl in Fort Collins, a 10-year-old girl in Loveland and three boys, 8, 10 and 14, in unincorporated Larimer County. Of the alleged incidents, two occurred approximately two years ago, one occurred last summer, one occurred last month and the last occurred earlier this month, according to police. The last incident apparently occurred after both the church and police became aware of several earlier allegations of inappropriate sexual contact. Rice said his understanding is that the last incident was not directly connected to the church or its members. The pastors first learned of an alleged incident from a congregant last June and decided to "work with" Lavertu but didn't report the allegations to police, Davis said. They then set him up with legal counsel after learning of other alleged incidents last month, she said. Police learned of the alleged abuse when Lavertu and his attorney came to Fort Collins police June 22, Davis said. "He gave us minimal details. The problem is the victims in this case were not cooperative," Sgt. Don Whitson told the Rocky Mountain News. "They were hoping it would all be handled within the church." Jim Avery, an attorney for the family of one of the victims, told the News that parishioners were told about the assaults, which occurred at church functions, and decided to shelter the suspect. Avery described Lavertu as a mentally disabled adult member of a youth group. Rice said one of the children's fathers came to another staff member last summer and told that employee that something had happened and that Lavertu needed counseling. The father did not go into detail beyond saying there was "some touching they didn't approve of," Rice said, adding that he personally had no idea it was sexual in nature. The counseling was provided by a member of the pastoral staff who is a trained counselor, Rice said. However, an alleged incident June 3 led the pastors to hold a meeting regarding Lavertu and ask other families if anything like that had happened to their children, Rice said. During those conversations, two other families told them that something inappropriate had happened with Lavertu and their children. After they learned of all the incidents, the church talked with an attorney and gave Lavertu the chance to go to police himself, Rice said. The attorney told them that the counseling was privileged and they were not required to report the suspected abuse if Lavertu was making progress with the counseling, Rice said. This attorney, whom Rice declined to name, is the same attorney who is representing Lavertu, the pastor said. "That is the highest form of accountability," Rice said of the decision to urge Lavertu to go to the police. "We wanted to give him the opportunity to tell his side of the story." An hour after Lavertu went to police, Rice said he contacted police. Rice said he provided a list of names, addresses and phone numbers for investigators. Contact: Sara Reed SaraReed@coloradoan.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.