Posted: Sunday, October 28, 2012 6:14 pm
original article posted here
SHEFFIELD Ala. (WAAY) - A Sheffield child sex abuse investigation has reached a standstill.
The Sheffield Police Department, in a news conference Thursday evening, said their investigation into a child sex abuse case has reached a "holding pattern", as no victims have officially come forward.
Oliver Brazelle, 78, was removed from his position as Music Minister at Sheffield United Methodist Church after possible cases of child sex abuse were made known to church leadership in late July. Brazelle confessed to having an inappropriate relationship with a young church member in the 1990's.
Sheffield Police Chief Greg Ray said unofficially the police department has heard from approximately 10 male victims who claim to have been sexually abused by the former youth and music minister. The victims ranged from 13 to 16 years old, when the alleged abuse occurred, with the earliest incidents dating back to the 1960's. So far no one was been willing to give an official statement.
"Our detectives have actually had counseling because this has been tough on them. It's been tough on me. I have lost sleep over it. We can deal with what happened. What we can't deal with is not being able to prove what happened."
Without proof Ray said there can be no charge made.
"Every detective down here says, ‘I want to go get him! I want to go get him!’ But its like a dog chasing a car. Once you catch that car what are you going to do with it? Once again it goes back to the basics of investigation; who, what, when, where, how and why. We don’t have that,” Ray said.
Sheffield Police investigated Oliver Brazelle previously. In 2003 a counselor reported their client claimed to have been sexually abused by the minister in the 1970's. That man also chose not to come forward, and no arrests were made.
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