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LINK Abuse victim says Denton Bible Church in Texas ignored all the red flags

Last year, Rob Shiflet, a former youth pastor at Denton Bible Church in Texas who had been repeatedly accused of sexual abuse, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for sexually assaulting two girls on church trips. He’ll be released next April and have to register as a sex offender.

That allegations that became public in 2019 prompted the church to do its own investigation. (Were there other victims? How did everyone miss all the potential red flags? Who knew what… and when?) And this past May, Pastor Tommy Nelson announced the results of that third-party investigation: It was even worse than anyone suspected.

Shiflet had allegedly abused 14 girls (including 11 at Denton Bible). His actions ranged from “grooming behavior and sexual harassment to criminal sexual abuse, abuse of power, and spiritual abuse.” The biggest issue in the report, however, was that church leaders didn’t seriously take action into the matter until 2019. While they had heard troubling stories long before then, the most they had done was confront him directly. One time, they asked him to write an apology letter to a child… which he didn’t do. In 2005, they revoked his ordination, a punishment that means next to nothing outside his church bubble. (He was still able to get a job at another church after that.)

They never went to law enforcement.

Nelson’s report in May, summarizing the investigation, admitted the church failed to recognize the warning signs, didn’t prioritize care for the victims, and created an environment where abuse could thrive… but all of that was a superficial apology. It suggested everyone was doing everything they could, but they simply didn’t know any better. ...

snytiger6 9 Oct 7
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