Youth pastor Seth Butler was arrested for the repeated sexual assault of a 14-year old girl. The 22-year old youth pastor allegedly carried out the rapes in his church basement rectory apartment over two years.
Butler worked as a youth minister at the New Jerusalem temple on the far South Side. The church is relatively small with about 100 members. But the girl's parents say they felt comfortable encouraging their children to spend time there rather than the streets. That, they say, turned out to be a mistake, as the 22-year-old youth pastor began taking a special interest in their daughter - an interest they say that turned sexual.Did you read the story? Good. Here is what blows my mind.
Read more: Youth minister charged with sex assault of teen
The parents of the victim thought their child would be safe in the church because it is a house of God. Why? After numerous stories of clergy sexual abuse, why would her parents think their daughter would be safe at a church. Children still need your care. Do not give up your parental duties simply because believe a church is safe.
Youth pastor Seth Butler is 22. Doing the math, that puts him at 20 when the abuse is supposed to have started. How does someone get a youth pastor gig at the age of 20, and one with a church provided rectory apartment too? What are his qualifications? What university degree does he hold? I’m betting he is uneducated and untrained, which means he family, a friend, or somehow connected to the leadership of the church. Who would hire an unqualified youth pastor except for reckless church leadership?
The parents knew of the alleged abuse and went to the church before well in advance of going to the police. The youth pastor was raping their daughter. Instead of going to the police, they went to the church. The sexual assaults continued. What did they think would happen? They gave their daughter to a holy pedophile.
The youth pastor had unsupervised time with the victim. I can point to a hundred cases where this alone lead to abuse. Leading a child alone with a youth pastor is irresponsible and should never happen. It should be common sense by now. Would a reasonable person leave a child alone with a priest? Only a fool would do so now. I’m not just harping on the parents here. The church opened itself up to bankruptcy. It owns the abuse now. The court will side with the victim. They almost always do.