Vienna Presbyterian Church Undergoes Investigation

After an extensively reported sex abuse scandal, more facts are coming to light about how the Student Ministries Director managed to commit acts of sexual abuse with youth in the church. The investigation has caused the resignation of the church's Executive Director and has caused the church to take a deep look at its own practices that allowed the abuse to happen. In a report received by the church last Wednesday, it was noted that the church was not prepared to deal with sexual misconduct. Notably, it said:

It said:

• The Church had no educational plan in place to deal with sexual abuse; "It is unfair to assume that untrained individuals should have been able to identify the abuse," Carter said.
• Poor decision-making occurred, such as allowing De Vries to address the youth upon his resignation. "The congregational awareness of De Vries’ evil was minimized by vague official statements which contributed to uninformed, harmful speculation within the adult congregation, staff and youth," the report said.
• VPC’s safety and security plan had not been implemented and purchased security technology was not in use.

As Vienna Presbyterian Church learns these important lessons, let's hope that more churches take note so that these mistakes don't have to happen again. [Vienna Patch]