"It's a crime if you don't report child abuse...it goes on more than people realize.....and if anyone is aware of child abuse that has taken place they need to report it immediately to police." Steve LeSueur, Odessa Police Department

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Two Texas pastors (husband and wife) have been arrested for failure to report allegations of child abuse at their church, Life Church in Odessa, at the hands of their youth minister, Angel De Los Santos. The story was reported by NewsWest9 here, and you can watch the news piece that aired last night.

 

The two ministers, Donald and Gina Haislett, became aware last year that De Los Santos was sexually assaulting underage girls from the church, yet they did not report it to the police within 48 hours as required in Texas.

 

Let that sink in for a second. A reverend, a pastor, a man who supposedly speaks for God, decided NOT to report to police that one of their own ministers was SEXUALLY ASSAULTING girls from their church.

 

Instead of reporting to police, the Hasiletts decided to do their own investigation - you know, keep it in-house, away from the police, away from the media, and away from the unsuspecting sheep they claim to love.

 

Not only did the Haisletts decide to do their own investigation, court documents indicate Gina Haislett sent a text message to the wife of the abuser saying she "should not volunteer any information" when questioned by the police.

 

This is a sad story of course, involving a youth minister sexually abusing girls at his church, made worse by the "man of God" who did not immediately report it to the police. Sadder still are the many instances where abuse is unreported and ministers who sought to keep the abuse hidden from public view are NOT arrested for failure to report, leaving more children in churches vulnerable to abuse. I have chronicled several of these cases here in Jacksonville, and won't rehash them here.

 

In Texas law, any person who becomes aware of allegations of abuse must report within 48 hours, and in Texas this requirement specifically applies to clergy:

"...The requirement to report under this section applies without exception to an individual whose personal communications may otherwise be privileged, including an attorney, a member of the clergy, a medical practitioner...."

But here is the bad news: the Haisletts are facing only a Class A misdemeanor for failure to report. Maybe Gina will be charged with trying to obstruct justice.

 

In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky/Penn State scandal, the state of Florida passed much tougher abuse reporting requirements, which makes failure to report suspected child abuse a first degree felony in the state of Florida.

 

Why do pastors fail to report abuse in their churches? A lot of reasons. They don't want to hurt business. They don't want to scare away people they need to fund their 501(c)3. But it is more than that. It is no secret that most pastors view themselves as called directly by God himself  - working directly FOR God and on God's behalf - to proclaim the message of salvation to get souls into heaven and out of hell. If one views their mission as that important - keeping people out of hell - then you can see why a pastor might choose to decide to keep allegations quiet for the greater "good" - rescuing people from eternal damnation.