Sex Abuse Victim Lashes out at Church Elders at Royal Commission

By Rachel Browne
Sydney Morning Herald
October 17, 2014

http://www.smh.com.au/national/sex-abuse-victim-lashes-out-at-church-elders-at-royal-commission-20141017-117nc0.html

A man who was repeatedly molested by his youth pastor lashed out at church elders, accusing them of using the child sexual abuse royal commission to "justify their failings and minimise their responsibilities".

In a statement read out to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse, the man, now aged in his mid-20s, described his life as a living hell.

The royal commission heard that he was abused for two years from the age of 13 to 15 by a youth pastor at his Pentecostal church in Queensland.

Jonathan Baldwin was convicted over the offences in 2009 and sentenced to eight years jail but has since been released. His father-in-law, Ian Lehmann, was the senior pastor of the church at the time of the offences.

His victim, given the pseudonym ALA, said Mr Lehmann and the umbrella body for the Pentecostal movement, Australian Christian Churches, had failed him and his family.

"They failed to detect the abuse, they failed to prevent the abuse, they failed to support us after Baldwin was convicted," he wrote.

"It appears to me they were more concerned about the reputation and financial position of Australian Christian Churches, above all else."

He accused the ACC senior ranks involved with his case of ignoring his suffering and using the royal commission to make excuses for their inaction.

"The way (they) have attempted to justify their failings and minimise their responsibilities in this royal commission has made me even more angry," he said.

In a statement read out to the hearing ALA's mother said no one from the church's executive team had asked after the family's welfare during the commission proceedings.

"Our son has been watching these hearings and he's so angry that every level of Australian Christian Churches seems to be passing the buck and blaming someone else, not caring for the victim," she wrote.

The statements were read out before ACC's national president Wayne Alcorn, who apologised to ALA and other victims of church abusers at the final day of the hearing into response of ACC and affiliated Pentecostal churches to allegations of child sexual abuse..

"I truly express deep sympathy to the victims and to the families," he said. "We do commit to doing more."

Mr Alcorn promised that the organisation would review its structure after listening to shocking cases of abuse which occurred at three affiliated churches.

A proposal for all the ACC's 1000 churches to adopt an enforceable child protection policy as a condition of their registration with the organisation is on the agenda at the national executive conference in April next year.

"We will seriously examine whether or not we can demand, for ongoing registration, the adoption and adherence to a policy for child protection," he said.

Churches registered with the ACC are independently run by their senior pastors and not currently required to adopt any policies from their umbrella body.

John Hunt, the state president of ACC Queensland, told the royal commission that the body did not currently monitor individual churches, enforce compliance of its policies or sanction churches which did not adopt them.

The royal commission will examine alleged abuse at the Brewarrina children's home Bethcar in a new public hearing to begin on October 22.