VIRGINIA
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
The process of choosing an appropriate firm was “flawed” they say
Mennonite committee apologizes to victim for excluding her
Survivors applaud this “rare public stand” by church leaders
Statement by SNAP Leader Barbra Graber, 540-214-8874, mennonite@snapnetwork.org, August 8, 2016
Today, a church panel ended their involvement in an investigation into a former Mennonite university vice president accused of sexual abuse, stalking and making violent threats. We applaud their compassionate move. We hope that officials will still take the Panel’s original recommendation of GRACE as the chosen investigating group or go back to the drawing board and this time be genuinely inclusive.
In August of 2014, Lauren Shifflett reported the crimes she suffered by church member Luke Hartman, to Lindale Mennonite Church officials. Instead of reporting it, church officials and possibly other Mennonite agencies covered it up.
In January of 2016, Hartman was arrested for solicitation of prostitution.
Through out this time, since 2011, he was vice president of enrollment at Eastern Mennonite University.
Under pressure, Mennonite officials agreed to launch an outside investigation into the church’s response to these and other reports of misconduct in the Mennonite community of Harrisonburg, VA that soon went beyond Hartman’s misdeeds against Lauren Shifflett.
After research and deliberation, the church-appointed Panel for Sexual Abuse Prevention recommended Boz Tchividjian’s GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) as their top choice for the job. Mennonite survivor groups OurStoriesUntold and the Anabaptist Mennonite Chapter of SNAP agreed. So did Lauren Shifflett.
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