Bedford Pastor Suspended Amid Molestation Allegations from the "70s

By Maria Miller
WJAC
January 7, 2016

http://wjactv.com/news/local/bedford-pastor-suspended-amid-molestation-allegations-from-the-70s

A Bedford County pastor has been removed from his position after accusations of sexual abuse in the 1970s and 1980s. Rev. Howard White will no longer serve as a fill-in pastor at St. James Episcopal Church after the Episcopal Diocese removed him this week.

The allegations against White stem from a boarding school in Rhode Island where authorities said more than two dozen students have come forward.

Rhode Island state police said that boarding school has acknowledged it didn't report abusers to authorities and has apologized for not doing more. In the meantime, an attorney for three alleged victims has released documents from the school that he says show White was fired and asked to stay away for at least five years.

Three alleged victims identified in an internal investigation by St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island, allege their abuse came at the hands of White.

At a press conference Thursday, some of the victims and their attorneys said the school fired White in 1974 after determining he had inappropriate and potentially sexual contact with at least three male students, including sharing a bed and trying to touch them. Attorneys said recently released school documents show White admitted to inappropriate conduct with one of them.

Attorneys said a letter given to White at the time and released Thursday reveals the school gave him money and paid for his moving expenses. That letter they said also encouraged him to seek psychiatric help and to stay away from the school until one generation had gone through, which at the time, would've been five years.

Records show that White has been an ordained Episcopal priest for 50 years. He retired to St. James in 2007

The Episcopal Diocese told the Associated Press that it has not received any reports of abuse at the Bedford church.

Despite the allegations, White has not been charged with a crime.