The elders knew in detail the full extent in which our child was sexually molested by Patrick but DID NOT TELL US OR THE AUTHORITIES!
In a previous post I explained that two days after discovering that our child had been sexually molested the elders had a meeting with Eddie and Patrick Rojas. The elders spent the day (literally) with them and came over to our home that evening.
We had asked a couple in the church to come and be a witness to the meeting (the husband was out of town) but the wife came. The elders, Dave Barrueto and Jim Cameron, basically came to see how we were and told us that they had been in contact with other pastors to get advice and that they had contacted a lawyer to find out their legal liability.
I remember them explaining that because we had reported the crime, they had no legal obligation to report it as well. That since it is in the "States" hands they were not going to talk about the case with us.
They wanted to know how they could help us in the process of healing, forgiving, and reconciliation.
Our friend that was with us has a background working in sexual assault centers. She directly asked the elders if there was any information that came out of their private meeting that we (the parents of the victim) should know? Any new information at all? Jim Cameron was at the original meeting with us and knew exactly what Patrick had admitted to doing to our child. The elders looked at each other and said,"No, nothing to add." They reminded us they were going to stay out of the legal stuff.
Approximately 2 1/2weeks after the initial discovery that abuse had occurred and the private meeting with Patrick, Jim Cameron and Dave Barrueto, Jim was interviewed by the sheriff detective working on our case. Jim Cameron ends his statement to the sheriff with, "In his opinion Patrick wanted to stay pure, but wanted to know what it felt like to kiss" and "It was just the wrong place and wrong age." (Jim's statement is public record.)
We received a copy of Jim Cameron's statement well after Patrick's sentencing was over. When I saw that Jim Cameron minimized the crime in his statement and in my opinion, he even lies by omission, I will have to admit my heart filled with hate. This man along with Eddie and Dave Barrueto knew everything. Jim knew that we, as the victims parents, didn't know what had really been done to our child. He and the others in authority allowed the church congregation to believe what happened was "Only a kiss" and "Just inappropriate affections."
A grown man (22yrs old,) goes into a minors (under 12yrs old,) bedroom at night and sexually molests them and his statement is, ".....just the wrong place and wrong age."
It was not for six more months until we would learn actually what happened to our child, When the prosecutors office called us and read the Psychosexual Evaluation to us.
Six months the elders let us believe "It was only a kiss" (which by the way, we never minimized.) From day one we considered that when a 22 yr old snuck into an adolescents room and gave them a "kiss" to be sexual abuse and so does the state of Washington! Six months! Then to learn it was much more than "just a kiss." Devastating!
If you remember from an earlier post our child had a "dream like" memory. The memory was very minimal and the elders along with Patrick and his parents knew that. The elders knew they did not need to legally report the crime, so they did not. BUT what about morally? What about getting the victim the help they needed as soon as possible?
Not only did these men (Eddie Rojas, Dave Barrueto, and Jim Cameron) influence the outcome of the charges filed by their silence but they greatly influenced a congregation to support a seriously dangerous pedophile. Somehow, theses elders were able to gain sympathy and support from the congregation for Patrick and his "innocent" parents.
Part of : "What The Elders Knew"
No comments:
Post a Comment