First Apostolic Church of Maryville, Tennessee, is facing heavy criticism for not reporting that Joseph Cade Abbott is believed to have sexually abused a student to the police. The girl’s family has sued the church alleging that they didn’t adequately protect their daughter and should have known and reported the abuse. This case seems to have broken a dam of silence that has held women back from reporting abuse for years. They allege an organizational cover-up and a culture that promotes abuse by encouraging girls to date when they are very young. So children of eleven and twelve dating 18-year-olds was not unusual.
Two women have come forward alleging they were abused by men in the church when they were children. One was eleven, the other twelve. They, individually, told the pastor and his wife who offered to pray for them, but did not report the abuse to the police as required by law. In Tennessee, everyone is a mandatory reporter if they suspect abuse. This has been the law since 1965.
When one girl told the pastor and his wife that she was raped, the pastor told her nobody had to know. He advised her parents not to involved the police and told the girl who was twelve she could pray her virginity back.
The other girl was eleven when her brother began molesting her. When she told her parents they went to the pastor who had them pray about it. Her brother continued molesting her until she left home.
- Knox News: Maryville Apostolic Church did not tell police about girls’ sex abuse allegations, women say
- Ministry Watch: Women Allege That TN Apostolic Pastor Did Not Report Child Abuse as Mandated
Nashville, Tennessee · Sunday, June 04, 2023
