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Opinion: Brethrengate III...????

Sun 22 Apr 2007 In: Comment

Now that TVNZ has disclosed the possibility that a senior Exclusive Brethren elder has been a serial paedophile for the last four decades, let's hear no more nonsense about "vilification and victimisation" from eitherthat quarter, or their Tory apologists. It is no surprise that the Exclusive Brethren do not seem to have robust internal structures, procedures and policiesto insure accountability for members who allegedly sexually abuse children, nor that they are unable to acknowledge their errors through discipline and dismissal of this particular fellow. Or, for that matter, to hand him over to independent authorities for to face trial and possible imprisonment for his apparent crimes against children over a prolonged period. Why has this been allowed to happen again within the fundamentalist community? Effectively, this is another Capillgate scenario, in which a serial paedophile has been allowed to maintain his status and continue his offending within his sect, damaging the lives of at least four women, and possibly others, and may even still be preying on little girls. At the time that I wrote my original Capillgate pieces for GayNZ.Com in 2005 after that story broke, I challenged New Zealand fundamentalist churches to bring in independent child sexual abuse professional auditors and examine their internal safety procedures, policies and accountability to prevent any repetition of that horrific event. One hopes that, should the verdict be 'guilty' the Exclusive Brethren has an explanation for the continued predation of this sick individual and why he was allowed to continue to serve as a church elder, whether deliberate concealment of his activities occurred, and whether independent investigation and development of detailed internal child protection policies will follow this latest episode. Craig Young - 22nd April 2007    

Credit: Craig Young

First published: Sunday, 22nd April 2007 - 12:00pm

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