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Offices of
Rev. Mike Stonbraker, District Superintendent
NW District of the United Methodist Church
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August 12,2012
Florence, Alabama --
Current police investigations into a pedophile sex scandal, which spans 40 years, have been reportedly stymied by several victims' hesitation to come forward and file complaints with Sheffield, Alabama police investigators. One investigator expressed frustration with his department’s inability to pursue prosecution without witness statements.
Now, new information is coming from a former United Methodist employee in that region, who not only reports possession of victim and documented evidence implicating sexual molestation and clergy sexual misconduct in two other area churches, but claims whistleblower retaliation by senior denominational leadership in an apparent Penn State-style cover-up attempt to preserve ministry positions, while knowingly compounding both victims' and family members’ losses, which includes propelling the complainant's family into abject poverty and loss of their housing. That family is only days away from becoming homeless.
Local police have reportedly indicated to the former employee, they have begun investigations into possible extortion in reference to actions taken in the cover-up scheme, allegedly substantiated by documented contact with the same denominational leaders involved in damage control for their United Methodist District and State Conference regarding the Sheffield First United Methodist Church pedophile scandal.
Church documents provided by members and public position statements by denominational leaders involved in the pedophile case have recently surfaced in media reports, strongly suggest a long-standing awareness of the presence of ongoing, decades-long molestation of multiple boys by a music and youth minister, from the 1960’s through the 1990’s. Locals state that rumors of a predatory molester in the church, have repeatedly surfaced for decades.
In that case of reported sexual abuse and clergy misconduct, church officials fired Oliver Brazelle just weeks ago. Brazelle had worked in that local congregation since 1956. Previously, when substantive reports of sexual misconduct reached the church’s pastor and lay leaders in 2003, they elected not to dismiss the music minister,even in the presence of notification by a third party to both law enforcement and DHS, in a back-room agreement between the United Methodist district superintendent and the state conference bishop's leadership, instead retaining and reassigning the alleged predator to "prevent contact with any minors". Initially denying any sexual misconduct in the 2003 reporting, church documents state he has now admitted to some instances of inappropriate sexual contact in response to the current allegations.
Meanwhile, separate complaints have reportedly been referred to an undisclosed municipal police department with appropriate jurisdictional authority to conduct further investigations into the newly disclosed whistleblower reports. Such witness statements, if proven in those separate incidents, could lead to findings of employment harassment, or far worse, a pattern of willingness or intent to obstruct justice, relative to statements already previously asserted in the pedophilia scandal.
A formal complaint process regarding one local pastor's sexual misconduct against an adult family member, was initiated by the victim-employee in that congregation, only to be quashed little more than 72 hours after sending the complaint letter to the North Alabama Conference bishop.
The complainant reports that demands and legal maneuverings were made against that individual, compelling withdrawal of their filing of the sexual misconduct complaint with the bishop.
Those actions, ratified and promoted by church leaders, including the legal counsel for the denominational district and state conference, will likely be, in part, the subject of legal and public scrutiny as any investigations move forward.
The victim-employee is also calling for the state conference attorney, to recuse himself since there is documented evidence he was directly involved in constructing and executing demands for withdrawal of the employee's duly processed complaint to the United Methodist Church leadership, regarding that individual's minister/boss' sexual misconduct. The minister, has reportedly admitted to church leadership, some of his misconduct in direct opposition to the church's sexual ethics policies for ordained clergy.
A separate United Methodist commission provided detailed intake and victim's advocacy support to the employee over a period of several months, including instruction and validation of the legitimate need for engaging the complaint filing process.
In a surreal turn of events, the same minister was granted a prestigious award only weeks after the formal complaint to the bishop was suppressed. The annual presentation by a United Methodist state conference organization in June, honored him for being a "barrier breaker" in supporting women's and minorities' rights.
He reportedly admitted to his superiors, late last year, that his sexual misconduct was perpetrated against a female constituent of his congregation, a family member of the former employee.
The names of complainants and witnesses are not being disclosed, to protect their families, as well.
There is an additional, separate reported molestation incident involving yet a third congregation in the district.
Reportedly, the church's leadership response to this incident involving a disabled minor was "dismissive", with the complainant reporting they were recently told to "hold off" on reporting the incident.
Sheffield Police Department members state that they understand concerns about filing formal abuse reports by victims whose molestation incidents occurred in childhood, but investigators cannot move forward in the pedophile abuse case without formal witness and victim statements.
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