NEWS

Sex abuse group to Jeff church: 'Shame on them'

Bobby Shipman
The Courier-Journal

A priest sex abuse victims group has criticized Jeffersonville church officials for requesting prayers for an accused child molester instead of his potential victims.

David James Brown, 46, of Indiana, has been charged with one count of prohibited use of an electronic communication system for the purpose of procuring a minor for a sex offense.

David Clohessy, director the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, released a statement calling First Christian Church’s actions “stunningly callous.”

"Shame on them," the statement read.

The church’s former head pastor David James Brown was arrested in Frankfort earlier this month after police said he traveled to meet with a minor he had been communicating with over a messaging app. The minor was actually an undercover officer from the state attorney general's cyber crimes unit, and Brown was charged with one count of prohibited use of an electronic communication system for the purpose of procuring a minor for a sex offense.

The 46-year-old died Wednesday in an apparent suicide in Atlanta, Ga., police officials said.

The church’s youth minister, Chad Boseker, sent out a statement following Brown’s death asking for prayers for the pastor’s family and for the church’s congregation.

But Clohessy said in a statement that the alleged victims deserve to be reached out to as well.

“Boseker and other church staff should be aggressively urging others who may have seen, suspected or suffered child sex crimes or cover ups in their congregation to call law enforcement, so that any church staff who may have ignored or concealed child sex abuse might be charged, convicted and punished,” Clohessy said in a statement. “That’s the best way to deter irresponsible and self-serving actions by employers in future abuse cases.”

In the statement, Clohessy encouraged the congregants of First Christian Church to reach out to those who may have been hurt by Brown’s actions. He also urged people with information regarding child sex crimes to contact police and provided a link to a list of 21 things to do when a minister is accused of abuse: snapnetwork.org/links_homepage/when_priest_accused.htm.

“This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface,” Clohessy said.

Bobby Shipman can be reached at 502-582-7079 or rshipmaniv@courier-journal.com. Justin Sayers contributed to this story.