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The Predator in Plain Sight
On his first Sunday as a new pastor, Aaron encountered something nearly every pastor is unprepared to evaluate or handle — a repeat child sexual abuse offender attending his new congregation. Fortunately, his wife Amy had spent 20 years as a child welfare social worker. She knew exactly what the threat was.
What followed tested everything they thought they understood about how churches should respond when the danger is undeniable.
In this episode, Aaron and Amy tell the story of what they faced — and why even the clearest evidence isn't always enough to convince others of the threat. Then Victor Vieth, former child abuse prosecutor and director of the Center for Faith and Child Protection at the Zero Abuse Project, brings the perspective most church leaders never hear — from someone who has spent decades at the exact intersection of law, faith, and child protection.
This episode contains the education church leaders need. And for survivors, it names what many churches have refused to see.
This episode was written and edited by Carolyn McCulley. Our executive producer is Rachael Berglund.
- The Silenced Truth is a project of the Safe to Speak Initiative.
- Join our Patreon community to advocate for the legal protections that survivors need to safely disclose their experiences.
- To support the production of this show, you can make a tax-deductible gift to the Southern Documentary Fund.
FOR FURTHER CONTEXT
The Pedophile in the Pulpit (CBN) (John Hinton)
How to Spot a Child Abuser Hiding in Plain Sight with Jimmy Hinton (podcast)
Church hired pastor without checking his criminal record — then said it didn't matter (Burlington Free Press, 2019)
Church defends hiring pastor without background check (Rutland Herald, 2019)
The 2012 Journal of Psychology and Theology article by Victor Vieth
Ministering to Adult Sex Offenders: Ten Lessons from Henry Gerecke by Victor Vieth
Developing Effective Church Policies on Child Maltreatment by Victor Vieth
A Bird in the Air or a Nest in the Hair? by Victor Vieth
Zero Abuse Project trainings
GRACE trainings
The Silenced Truth is a project of the Safe to Speak Initiative and is a production of Citygate Communications. It is fiscally sponsored by the Southern Documentary Fund.
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By Carolyn McCulleyOn his first Sunday as a new pastor, Aaron encountered something nearly every pastor is unprepared to evaluate or handle — a repeat child sexual abuse offender attending his new congregation. Fortunately, his wife Amy had spent 20 years as a child welfare social worker. She knew exactly what the threat was.
What followed tested everything they thought they understood about how churches should respond when the danger is undeniable.
In this episode, Aaron and Amy tell the story of what they faced — and why even the clearest evidence isn't always enough to convince others of the threat. Then Victor Vieth, former child abuse prosecutor and director of the Center for Faith and Child Protection at the Zero Abuse Project, brings the perspective most church leaders never hear — from someone who has spent decades at the exact intersection of law, faith, and child protection.
This episode contains the education church leaders need. And for survivors, it names what many churches have refused to see.
This episode was written and edited by Carolyn McCulley. Our executive producer is Rachael Berglund.
- The Silenced Truth is a project of the Safe to Speak Initiative.
- Join our Patreon community to advocate for the legal protections that survivors need to safely disclose their experiences.
- To support the production of this show, you can make a tax-deductible gift to the Southern Documentary Fund.
FOR FURTHER CONTEXT
The Pedophile in the Pulpit (CBN) (John Hinton)
How to Spot a Child Abuser Hiding in Plain Sight with Jimmy Hinton (podcast)
Church hired pastor without checking his criminal record — then said it didn't matter (Burlington Free Press, 2019)
Church defends hiring pastor without background check (Rutland Herald, 2019)
The 2012 Journal of Psychology and Theology article by Victor Vieth
Ministering to Adult Sex Offenders: Ten Lessons from Henry Gerecke by Victor Vieth
Developing Effective Church Policies on Child Maltreatment by Victor Vieth
A Bird in the Air or a Nest in the Hair? by Victor Vieth
Zero Abuse Project trainings
GRACE trainings
The Silenced Truth is a project of the Safe to Speak Initiative and is a production of Citygate Communications. It is fiscally sponsored by the Southern Documentary Fund.