Damage Control, Emails Options

[sister]

This is posted on Maritime. Pastor Dryden is the author of the letter that was sent to 3ABN in regard to Tommy Shelton and his history of involvement in child molestation.
Sister


The following is from the author of the 2003 letter.
Bob

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: blacksda.com POSTING
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 19:42:46 -0500
From: Glenn Dryden

Greetings from Pastor Dryden,

I have taken the opportunity to read the postings at blacksda.com. Assuming you are the author of the message to Dr. Thompson of 26 Nov 2006 11:07:44, I would like to commend you for the logic in your plea to him.

I think Dr. Thompson must be a good and well-intentioned man and I hope he will soon take heed to your logic.

Glenn Dryden

[PeacefulBe]

This is posted on Maritime. Pastor Dryden is the author of the letter that was sent to 3ABN in regard to Tommy Shelton and his history of involvement in child molestation.
Sister
The following is from the author of the 2003 letter.
Bob

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: blacksda.com POSTING
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 19:42:46 -0500
From: Glenn Dryden

Greetings from Pastor Dryden,

I have taken the opportunity to read the postings at blacksda.com. Assuming you are the author of the message to Dr. Thompson of 26 Nov 2006 11:07:44, I would like to commend you for the logic in your plea to him.

I think Dr. Thompson must be a good and well-intentioned man and I hope he will soon take heed to your logic.

Glenn Dryden

Dear Pastor Dryden,
Since you are one who holds the information that could set much of the record straight on this matter, are you willing to state for us answers to any of the following questions:
1. How many children were alleged to be victims of Mr. T. Shelton?
2. IN what decade(s) did these incidents take place.
3. Has any district attorney considered filing charges in these matters?
4. Has any district attorney determined that charges are not appropriate in these matters?
5. Has Mr. T. Shelton asked for forgiveness from any of the alleged victims or made any apologies?
6. Has Mr. T. Shelton offered to reimburse or pay for counseling for any of his alleged victims?
7. Dr. Thompson has characterized the one incident from 30 years ago as one that did not involve touching. Is this an acurate characterization?
8. Is there a long-running feud between you and another of your church members that is behind the allegations of molestation, as Dr. Thompson suggests?

Any and all information you are willing to share with us will be appreciated.

[sister]

The following is posted on Maritime. This email was sent to the receiver in August 2006. The original document that was attached was sent to Walt Thompson, Chairman of the Board of 3ABN in May 2003. At this time permission was given for the document to be posted publically. Sister




-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: 3ABN special request
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 14:00:00 -0400
From: Glenn Dryden

Following is the text of my letter on Ezra Church of God letterhead to Dr. Thompson as well as "Action Items" suggested for Tommy Shelton by the congregation I formerly served. These were sent to Dr. Thompson by certified mail and I suppose it was his wife who signed for the letter on May 16, 2003.

Pastor Glenn Dryden
_________________________


May 14, 2003

Dr. Walter Thompson
*** *** ***
*** ***, *** *****

Dear Dr. Thompson:

Greetings in the holy name of our Lord Jesus!

It is my understanding that you serve as chairman of the board of directors of Three Angels Broadcasting Network. From 3ABN's web site it appears an invitation to minister has been extended to this congregation's former pastor, Tommy Ray Shelton.

Constrained by an ethical, if not legal, obligation, I am compelled to advise you that Tommy Ray Shelton is not in good standing with either of the two associations by which he was first presented with ministerial credentials. At least six boys in our community were sexually abused by Tommy Ray Shelton during the periods he served as pastor of this congregation.

Some of these young men and some parents are willing to corroborate the information I am giving you, if necessary. Please contact me for their phone numbers that I may alert them to a pending call. I also will put you in touch with the two associations referenced above.

Either I or members of this congregation's leadership will answer any questions you may have regarding this correspondence.

In our Lord's service,

Pastor Glenn Dryden
___________


ACTION ITEMS SUGGESTED FOR TOMMY SHELTON

Expediency recommended :
Senate Bill 1035 extending statute of limitations goes into effect as soon as signed by Governor Blagojevich. This could be within the next thirty days.
Note http://www.legis.state.il.us

Tommy should retain an attorney to represent him as well as to serve him in contacting victims and their families, all at Tommy's expense.

A full disclosure of all victims and details should be made to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office (Investigator Kevin Skurat, 618-435-8187). This disclosure should include pertinent incidences in other states as well as in other jurisdictions in Illinois in addition to Franklin County.

Tommy should cooperate in the placement of his name and pertinent information on appropriate sex offenders lists, as the law may require in the state of his residence or in Illinois.

Tommy should agree to reimburse any of the victims or their family members for the expenses of counseling they have received. He should further agree to pay for any future counseling required by any of the victims or their family members. Contact should be made by his attorney with the victims through their parents if necessary. Pastor Glenn Dryden of the Ezra Church of God (***-***-****) should be consulted as to the victims of whom he is aware and as to which of these may be contacted directly. Other victims may wish to maintain anonymity. Apart from necessary contact by law enforcement personnel, their wishes should be respected.

Tommy should issue written apologies over his signature to all victims and to their parents. Again, contact with victims should be made through their parents if necessary.

Tommy also should issue written apologies over his signature for his deceit, as well as inappropriate behavior, etc., to the congregation of the Ezra Church of God, West Frankfort, Illinois, the congregation of the Community Church of God, Dunn Loring, Virginia, the state office of the General Assembly Of The Church Of God In Illinois and to the Ministerial Council of the Church of God headquartered in Virginia.

[Clay]

Please note that in the absence of an arrest and court trial, these are ALLEGED reports of molestation.......

If there was a conviction please share, otherwise let's call it what it is...... an allegation of abuse.....

[Observer]

Exactly, these are allegations of abuse.

It should be noted that people who work in this area do not require a legal conviction to move them from allegations to confirmed abuse. One event that would do such would be a confession.

In addition, the legal experts who advice SDA agencies as to how to relate to people with such allegations, advise them that steps must be taken to protect children when there is no legal trial and conviction.

Therefore, in the legal climate in which we live today, I will say that both 3-ABN may assume some legal liability, even without a trail and conviction, if they do not follow accepted standards to protect children.

I do not pass judgment on the individual involved in these allegations. However, I am deeply concerned regarding legal liability for both 3-ABN and the IL Conference.



Pastor Dryden has offered to supply contact names of people who he says can verify the facts.

As a minimum, due to the potential liability of the IL Conference, denominational officials must convene a committee that will obtain those contact names, and that committee must interview those people. That is a minimum first start. Follow-up will come after such.

Denominational authorities have done this in the past. I am personally acquainted with one Conference that paid the travel expenses for an accuser and a support person for her, to travel to the Conference and be interviewed by such a committee.

In that case, the Conference acted on the matter that satisfied the accuser.

[PrincessDrRe]

So alleged abuse and nothing done about it...yet young people allegedly abusing/found gulity and placed on registries for life now.....

What's wrong with this picture?

[sister]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: blacksda.com POSTING
Date: Sat, 02 Dec 2006 18:17:05 -0600
To: Glenn Dryden

Thank you so much for your encouragement, Pastor Dryden.

...

Many Adventists will feel skittish about meeting this thing head on, because they fear that the cause of God will have reproach brought upon it, and thus there might be a negative effect upon evangelistic efforts. Of course, I share that concern, and thus I want to deal with this very carefully. It is a delicate balance. I covet your prayers for the wisdom of God in the days ahead. I know you must have wrestled with these very same thoughts, since it certainly was not good PR for your faith.

Having said that, ... I wonder if you would allow me the privilege of quoting what you wrote below, attributing it to either yourself explicitly, or perhaps better yet to simply a pastor of another faith. For our people to read such encouraging words from a pastor of another faith would help calm their fears.

...

Thanks so much for your prayers, and we will pray for you as you work further with the situation there.

Bob
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Note from Bob:

I will also add that Pastor Dryden has an interest in Tommy's well being. He encourages all of us to pray for him, especially that he act appropriately at this time.



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: FROM PASTOR DRYDEN
Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 21:03:14 -0500
From: Glenn Dryden

Statement of Pastor Glenn Dryden

Three instances of misconduct on the part of Tommy Shelton while he served as pastor at the Community Church of God, Dunn Loring, Virginia, have been reported to me in the brief time I have served as pastor of this congregation.

The most egregious of these instances involved a male who was a minor at the time.

Note: Pastor Dryden has served from Dec. 2, 2005 to present as Senior Pastor of the Community Church of God, Dunn Loring, VA


The following email will give you a brief chronology of Pastor Dryden's duties and where he was serving as a pastor. Please note that he and Tommy Shelton both served as Pastors of the Community Church of GOd , Dunn Loring, VA and the Ezra Church of God, West Frankfort ,IL; but at different times.
Sister


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Quick question on '80's chronology of your state of residence
Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 20:37:54 -0500
From: Glenn Dryden <glenn.dryden@gmail.com>

1974 - first associated with Community Church of God, Dunn Loring, VA, while serving in the U.S. Army, Military District of Washington

1983-1993 - Assistant Pastor of the Community Church of God (bivocational - employed in the field of court administration, Fairfax County, Virginia, Circuit Court)

1993 - 2005 briefly associate pastor to Pastor Arnold Edmondson and then pastor of the Ezra Church of God, West Frankfort, IL

Dec. 2, 2005 to present - Senior Pastor of the Community Church of God, Dunn Loring, VA

I was here in Virginia when I first met Tommy in the early or mid-1980s. Ministerial relationship (most of the time from a distance) from that time until approximately late 2000.

Hope this helps.

[sister]

------- Original Message --------
Subject: Three quick questions
Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2006 05:19:37 -0600
To: Glenn Dryden

Pastor Dryden,

I could use some clarification on these points:


1. What year did you first hear of any allegations of this nature regarding Tommy Shelton? After moving to Illinois or exactly (or about) when before?
2. When did you first hear of allegations of this nature arising from Tommy's time in Virginia? I presume prior to your 2003 letter? And can you specify, in a vague way if need be, how you heard about them while still living in Illinois?

I tried several times last night to get a hold of Roger and could not do so. You might want to give him a quick call .... I did leave a message Saturday night, and he hasn't returned my call at this point.

Thanks so much.

Bob

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Three quick questions
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 07:59:59 -0500
From: Glenn Dryden

Tommy vaguely alluded to the allegations in Illinois at times in his preaching when invited by our founding pastors to minister at the Community Church of God in the late 1980s. He did so by speaking not of the allegations but of the "persecution" he and his family suffered as a consequence. He was successful in drawing sympathy thereby as he spoke of hardship suffered by he and his family. Also in the late 1980s there was mention of "allegations" at the time of his receiving ministerial credentials from the Ministerial Council of the Church of God, Inc., but assurance was given by Council leadership that there was no substance to these allegations. No indication of their nature was given either - not to me at any rate. In the summer of 1993 as my wife and two teenage sons and I were preparing to relocate from Northern Virginia to West Frankfort, Illinois, Tommy Shelton again was visiting in Virginia and asked to meet with my wife and I. During this meeting he alerted us that we may "hear some things" when we got to Illinois. He also informed us at this meeting that he had been caught in a lie during his pastorate at the Ezra Church of God, intimated extenuating circumstances and said he had sought and received forgiveness. Indeed we did hear some things after arriving in West Frankfort, Illinois, in mid-1993, including the circumstances surrounding the lie (He was found alone with a young man in a home to which he had access and when challenged said the young man [who was out of view] was his son when in fact he was not. The individual who came upon him confirmed this by immediately driving to the church school Tommy's son attended and finding his son there.). It was not until another victim's mother spoke with me in early 1996 that I fully realized that not only was sexual abuse of adolescent boys the nature of the allegations but that there was substance to these allegations as well.

It was not until after Tommy Shelton left the pastorate here at the Community Church of God, Dunn Loring, Virginia, in 2000, that while vacationing my wife and I were spending some time with a former "confidant" of Tommy's in the congregation in Virginia and this individual informed us of misconduct on Tommy's part while serving at the Community Church of God. This alleged misconduct was believable but unsubstantiated and is unrelated to the three instances which have been brought to my attention in the past year.

Pastor Glenn Dryden

Note from Bob:

1. Dryden claims that Tommy claimed that he was being persecuted. This is exactly what Danny claimed was happening to him on the August 10, 2006, 3ABN Live broadcast. I find that troubling.

2. Roger Clem informed me of the very same allegation before I had a chance to read this email, namely, that a lady caught Tommy with some boy in a house other than Tommy's, that Tommy claimed it was his son, and that the woman then drove to the school and saw Tommy's son at the school.

The additional detail Clem added to the story is that the woman then returned to the house and saw a red-faced boy leaving the house, trying to cover his face.

Roger Clem gave me permission to use his name.



-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: blacksda.com POSTING
Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2006 20:25:25 -0500
From: Glenn Dryden

Dear Bob,

I am sure we share similar emotions regarding this matter. Perhaps an argument may be made for the criticism you have received regarding the e-mail postings, but I should tell you that they have served to make me comfortable communicating with both you and Mr. Joy and if they serve to put pressure on Danny and Tommy, you may carry the criticism as a badge of commendation.

You should know that I have FAXed to Mr. Joy a copy of Mr. Riva's letter to me dated June 13, 2003, along with excerpts from my reply to Mr. Riva.

As to the skittishness we all suffer, I find a remedy in a Biblical principle. That principle perhaps may be best expressed "The truth shall set you free!"

Too many for too long in too many venues have feared reproach and negative effects. The number of victims has increased as a consequence. Though a foul path, we should shod our feet appropriately and march forward and attack the issue head-on! Ultimately, less will be lost by a full disclosure and honesty than by cover-up and deceit. Not the path of least resistance, but does not this path seem more like the one Jesus would take?
...
You may make public my 2003 letter to Dr. Thompson and action items (which were compiled by the congregation of the Ezra Church of God) and may note that the action items were also sent to Mike Riva, Tommy's attorney, with my reply to his letter of June 13, 2003. You may note that I gave you my permission to do so.

In early 2003 Roger Clem first confided to me his victimization by Tommy Shelton. It was within a week or less that Tommy called me. Please give Roger the courtesy of a call and do not make public his name unless he gives you permission. If necessary, call me and I will call Roger ahead of you that he might feel comfortable speaking openly with you.

This is a divisive issue here and our Board of Trustees and I welcome your prayers in advance of our meeting tomorrow afternoon.

Pastor Glenn Dryden

This post has been edited by sister: Dec 4 2006, 09:43 PM

[sister]

This is the letter that Pastor Dryden refers to in his last posted email as having received from D. Michael Riva, Tommy Shelton's Attorney. It is interesting to note that Mr. Riva that the same D. Michael Riva listed as appearing for 3ABN in the Illinois Tax case.

Pastor Dryden recently faxed this letter to Gailon A. Joy with the following cover page:

Fax from Pastor Glenn Dryden of the Church of God to G. Arthur Joy on December 2, 2006.

The following is from the cover sheet.

Bob

_________________________

Mike Riva's letter to me dated June 13, 2003, follows. Below are the first three paragraphs and the closing paragraph of my reply dated June 20, 2003.

I received your letter dated June 13, 2003, upon my return last evening from a two week trip out of state. It is my prayer that you will assist Tommy Shelton in taking measures which will satisfy his victims, their families and the congregations involved and serve to bring some closure to him as well as them.

Your letter, particularly the next to last paragraph, serves better to incite rather than intimidate. Consider the scenario of three victims pressing charges in an environment of intense interest from news media with state-wide or national influence. Any State's Attorney anticipating re-election certainly would give serious attention to prosecution.

I urge you to counsel Tommy to take the initiative by making a full disclosure of all victims and details to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and by pursuing the additional “Action Items” enclosed. Doing so would put him in a far better light and more advantageous position than would circumstances similar to the scenario contemplated above.

...

Finally, Mr. Riva, I am disappointed that you did not exercise due diligence to obtain the name and address of the chairman of our board of trustees or other board member. Sending a copy of your letter to one of our parishioners was entirely inappropriate.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. MICHAEL RIVA
ATTORNEY AT LAW
226 E. Main Street
WEST FRANKFORT, ILLINOIS 62896
(618) 937-2404 • FAX: (618) 937-2405

June 13, 2003


Pastor Dryden
1345 Ezra Street
West Frankfort IL 62896

Dear Pastor Dryden:

Please be advised that I represent Tommy Ray Shelton and have been directed to contact you concerning actions you have taken against him which are slanderous and libelous and calculated to deprive him of his right to earn a living. We are aware that you have been talking to and sending letters to various individuals in which you state with certainty that he has committed certain felonious acts.

You are putting yourself and the Ezra Church of God in a position of legal jeopardy by your actions as you have used church letterhead in your attacks on my client.

Even if the actions occurred, there is no criminal jeopardy as the statute of limitations has long since passed. Senate Bill 1035 does not, nor could it constitutionally if it actually stated so, place a person in legal jeopardy after a statute of limitation had already run. The courts of Illinois have addressed this question. A few of those cases are: People of the State of Illinois v. Coleman, 1993 5th District, 245 Ill.App.3d 592, 615 N.E.2d 53, 185 Ill.Dec. 758; People v. Berg, 277 Ill.App.3d 549, 660 N.E.2d 1003, 214 Ill.Dec. 296; People v. Massarella, 80 Ill.App.3d 549, 660 N.E.2d 436, 36 Ill.Dec. 16.

These cases are enclosed for your review and to prove to you that no State's Attorney will charge my client with any criminal offense because the statute of limitations had already run and any new legislative bill cannot put him back in a position of criminal jeopardy.

I have discussed this legal point and cases with an attorney in the State of Illinois Appellate Prosecutor's office and an Illinois State's Attorney. There is no disagreement on this legal point.

Any action to encourage an individual to discuss any of the alleged acts with the State's Attorney's office will never result in a criminal prosecution for the alleged offense and will put the Ezra Church of God and yourself in further jeopardy.

You are best advised to cease all of your activity regarding Tommy Ray Shelton. To continue, will place your church, Ezra Church of God, and yourself in legal jeopardy for no good reason.

Very truly yours,

D.Michael Riva

DMR:pys
xc: ________ _________
Board Member

A note from Bob:

Three points may be considered:

1) He ended the letter with "Very truly yours," which sounds sort of friendly like.

2) The threat of legal action found in paragraphs 1, 2, 6, and 7 appear to my untrained, non-attorney brain to be based solely on:


Quote:
"Even if the actions occurred, there is no criminal jeopardy as the statute of limitations has long since passed."

Even if the actions occurred ...

Even if the actions occurred ...

Even if the actions occurred ...

Even if the actions occurred ...

I just question the wisdom of the attorney of the network that preaches the undiluted three angels' messages using this logic to threaten a non-Adventist minister with legal action in order to shut him up regarding his concerns over alleged child molestation.

3) I think a legitimate question is whether Mr. Riva performed his services for Tommy Shelton pro bono, or whether Tommy paid for them out of his own pocket, or whether Danny paid for them out of his own pocket, or whether 3ABN covered the cost.

This post has been edited by sister: Dec 4 2006, 10:13 PM

[Clay]

If the statue of limitations has passed, then the point is moot.... who cares how the attorney was paid.... current events please or this thread will be closed....

[PeacefulBe]

If the statue of limitations has passed, then the point is moot.... who cares how the attorney was paid.... current events please or this thread will be closed....

It is possible that the statute of limitations has passed on the earliest allegation referenced by Mike Riva but are we certain that this is the case with any of the other allegations?

By current events do you mean allegations that occured since the forming of 3abn or do you mean events that are happening at this present time?

I believe that the posts that sister is providing are establishing a time line that is consistant with alleged events occuring during the period 3abn has been in operation. It is my understanding that this is the time frame we are to be working with on the 3abn forum, correct?

This post has been edited by PeacefullyBewildered: Dec 5 2006, 08:51 AM

[Clay]

Allegations need to meet the following guidelines per the state of Illinois statutes.....

Illinois has a special statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. As amended in 2003, Illinois Statutes § 13--202.2(B) provides:

An action for damages for personal injury based on childhood sexual abuse must be commenced within 10 years of the date the person abused discovers or through the use of reasonable diligence should discover that the act of childhood sexual abuse occurred and that the injury was caused by the childhood sexual abuse.

The limitations period of section 13-202.2(B ) does not begin to run until the alleged victim has attained the age of 18 years. The previous version of the statute has been applied to perpetrators and non-perpetrators. Hobert v. Covenant Children's Home, 309 Ill. App. 3d 640, 723 N.E.2d 384; 243 Ill. Dec. 352 (Ill. App. 3d 2000).

The statute is a statutory codification of a judicially created common law rule. D.P. v. M.J.O., 266 Ill. App. 2d 1029, 1032 (1994). The common law discovery rule required both knowledge of the injury and of its wrongful cause before the statute of limitations began to run. Witherell v. Weimer, 85 Ill. 2d 146, 155-56 (1981). "Knowledge" means sufficient information to put the victim on notice and does not have to be actual or full knowledge.

Several Illinois courts have held that the discovery rule applies to childhood sexual abuse cases where the plaintiff repressed her memory of the abuse. See, for example, Pedigo v. Pedigo, 292 Ill. App. 3d 831, 839 (1997); D.P. v. M.J.O., 266 Ill. App. 3d 1029, 1033-34 (1994); Phillips v. Johnson, 231 Ill. App. 3d 890, 893 (1992). While the Clay court recognized that the validity of repressed memories has been found to be "controversial and of suspect nature," Doe v. McKay, 286 Ill. App. 3d 1020, 1025 (1997); it nonetheless remanded the case for further proceedings, leaving it for the trial court to determine the legal and scientific sufficiency of the plaintiff's claims.

Although by its language the statute appears to be a "realization" discovery type where the statute of limitation does not begin to accrue (run) until the victim realizes the connection between the abuse and the injury, the Illinois Supreme Court has not accepted a pure realization approach in the past. In a case where the victim was aware of the abuse but failed to make a connection between the abuse and her injuries and therefore failed to bring a timely action, the Supreme Court was unwilling to toll (extend) the statute of limitations. Clay v. Kuhl, 2000 Ill. LEXIS 6, *; 189 Ill. 2d 603;727 N.E.2d 217; 244 Ill. Dec. 91 (Ill. 2000). See also Benton v. Vonnahmen, 679 N.E.2d 1270 (Ill. App. [5 Dist.] 1997).

In an eloquent decision, the Fifth District Appellate Court applied the doctrine of estoppel and legal disability to a childhood sexual abuse victim to extend the statute of limitations under a a compelling set of facts. Parks v. Kownacki, 305 Ill. App. 3d 449, 711 N.E.2d 1208; 238 Ill. Dec. 547 (Ill. App. 5th Dist. 1999)

http://www.smith-lawfirm.com/sol_Illinois.html

Additionally, if no criminal charges were ever filed, we need not discuss the allegations since there was no criminal prosecution....

[simplysaved]

Thank you Steve for adding that....

Please note that in the absence of an arrest and court trial, these are ALLEGED reports of molestation.......

If there was a conviction please share, otherwise let's call it what it is...... an allegation of abuse.....

Allegations need to meet the following guidelines per the state of Illinois statutes.....
http://www.smith-lawfirm.com/sol_Illinois.html

Additionally, if no criminal charges were ever filed, we need not discuss the allegations since there was no criminal prosecution....

My added thought is if the families are willing to cooperate in collaboration of their testimony here, why have they not pressed formal charges on behalf of their allegedly victimized children?

[sister]

Internal evidence as well as Mr. Clem's recollection has this undated letter being written around the spring of 2004. Mr. Clem's mother was a staunch defender of Tommy, and it was only after she died in late 2001 that he felt he could come forward.

Tommy's ordination was revoked about 1985, but his defenders would not relent, and that portion of the congregation that sided with him left their denomination, the Church of God, Anderson, in consequence. Tommy remained their pastor until maybe 1990 or 1991, with a one-year absence to Kentucky, according to the recollections of several individuals.

Since Mr. Clem says that he was abused at the age of 16, he is placing the abuse around 1988, which would be after Tommy's ordination was revoked for similar allegations involving perhaps three alleged victims. In other words, according to Mr. Clem's account and chronology, it was because so many believed Tommy rather than the alleged victims and those who had caught him doing his misdeeds that Mr.Clem himself became an alleged victim.

Mr. Clem's testimony that Tommy Shelton's brother made threatening phone calls in order to hush things up is particularly disturbing.

Bob

_________________

Mr. Shelton,

I am writing this letter in regards to last year's phone conversation. I told you then I was confronting you about what you did to me so I could deal with my feelings about it. I did not then, nor will I now, make any apologies [to] anyone who might be upset with me. My attitude has changed towards this situation. I thought I could just handle this and go on with my life, but now I realize I cannot. You ruined the better part of 15 years of my life. I was afraid to date anyone, I let people walk all over me, and I felt lower than dirt. The years you destroyed should have been some of the best years of my life. While everyone was out doing what they enjoyed, I was constantly working to try to take my mind off what happened. You destroyed my self-esteem and that I'm still battling today. I have no confidence in myself to accomplish major tasks in life. It kind of makes me wonder about the other guys that you abused. All of the ones that I know about have had failed marriages. Doesn't it make YOU wonder what they are going through, or do you even care? You were supposed to be someone people could put their trust in and look up to, and here you were doing some of the most disgusting and immoral things you could do. While you were preaching to everyone how they should honor their marriage vows, you were cheating on your own wife, and with who, teenage boys. We had our whole lives ahead of us and you put us through hell on earth. I don't know how you could look yourself in the mirror, let alone get up and preach to people about how they ought to live. When someone would confront you about what you did, you would try to take the attention off of what you did by having some sort of health problem (loss of memory, heart problems, nervous breakdown). It seemed odd to me that you recovered quick when you realized that you were in the clear. You really disgust me. It makes me sick to realize how many lives you damaged and the only time that you feel the need to apologize is when it all comes back up again. Then you put on this POOR PITIFUL ME act (how you wish it didn't happen, the reason you do this is because you were abused as a child, you would take it all back if you could, and the all-time favorite, please don't put my family through this again). What about what you put all of us through? Then what makes me mad is when your brother calls to try to scare people into not saying anything or when the church receives a letter from Mike Riva telling us to stop saying anything. I heard (I don't know for sure) that the reason for the letter was to protect your livelihood. What about my livelihood? I feel like I don't have the confidence to achieve the things that I want to in life. I know this letter seems hateful, I Don't Care. I'm tired of not saying anything just so I won't upset people. Guess what, it gets better. I have been checking the laws on reporting sexual abuse. There was a new law passed that extends the age that you can report abuse to age 38, I'm 32. So here is what I'm going to do. I'm going to let you decide what you should do to make amends for what you did. I will tell you up front, if I get a letter or phone call from your brother or an attorney that in any way appears threatening, I will immediately go to the sheriff's office and file charges against you. This has gone on long enough with nothing being done. This is Not a threat. It all rests on you Tommy, let your conscience be your guide. I will not wait long before I will decide what action is best to resolve this.

Roger W. Clem

[Clay]

I am not liking this... not sure if these letters are legit.... closed for the moment....