Tommy Shelton Vindicated!, I hope. Options

[PeacefulBe]

Innocent children were molested...... adults are dealing with wounds to their innocence of childhood.

And three of those innocent children have now made their identities know to all of us. They are no longer anonymous. Let us hope that more of them are encouraged to come forward and take appropriate actions.

[Johann]

And three of those innocent children have now made their identities know to all of us. They are no longer anonymous. Let us hope that more of them are encouraged to come forward and take appropriate actions.

I understand one more is appearing, one who was quite young.

[husbandoftheyear]

I understand one more is appearing, one who was quite young.

"Quite young" = "under 18"

[Johann]

"Quite young" = "under 18"

minus elleven years =

[Spike]

I was reading a post on martime by Crater how those in the know have a responsibility to report this kind of behavior to the right authorities especially as he was in charge of Kids Time. Crater also mentioned something about the board being held responsilbe . Isn't it time something was done.
I would hate to see 3abn go under, but what is more important 3abn or the safety of one child.
I think what was done to Linda was a terrible thing and I hope she will be able to have another ministry someday. But if it comes to 3abn or the safety of a child I take the childs safety any day.

God is not limited in using other ways to get the gospel out.

If I were a parent that had a child that had much contact with TS I would be having a serious talk with my child.

This post has been edited by Spike: Jan 25 2007, 06:30 PM

[Pickle]

Taken from http://www.save3abn.com/tommy-shelton-vict...amily-mom-1.htm.

Broken-Hearted Mother #1

[As alleged victims of Tommy Shelton talk to their old friends, yet more are coming forward. Just yesterday a new one came forward, one who remembers well an incident that allegedly occurred when he was eight years old.

He called his mother first and told her his story before he called us. Can you imagine what it must be like to be a mother and get a phone call like that?

Read her statement below and feel her pain as she unburdens her soul.

It should be noted that she confirms that Tommy did excuse his propositioning of around 14-year-old Brad Dunning by saying that he was trying to expose Brad's own homosexual activity.

• This was a story previously told to us by Duane Clem, which he said that he was told back in the early '80's when Brad and his family complained about what Tommy had done.
• Yet when we asked Duane whether he had heard anything about such problems with Brad prior to Tommy getting into trouble, he said that he had not.
• When we asked Pastor Brad Dunning about this story, he told us that that was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.

Thus, unfortunately, we have here evidence that Tommy Shelton was not beyond slandering someone's reputation in order to escape getting into trouble over serious allegations. We hope that this apparent tendency does not run in the family.]

Her Letter Arrives

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Discussion Yesterday
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:42:55 -0800 (PST)

Bob,

As promised yesterday, I am sending you a letter from a broken-hearted mother. To keep ******'s confidentiality at this time, I would rather you didn't use my name. ... I check the website everyday and am impressed with all the new information posted.

Thanks,

****** ******

Letter of a Mother of an Alleged Victim of Tommy Shelton

Dear ******,

I cannot begin to tell you the grief and heartache I feel right now. If I start at the beginning, I can tell you my husband and I were staunch supporters of Tommy Shelton for all the years he ministered at Ezra Church of God. My family attended there when it was a small, one room building with an outhouse. Tommy performed our wedding ceremony in that small church. We continued as part of his following into the new building across the street. That building, by the way, was built by his brothers (Shelton Construction) and is one foot shorter on one side than the other. Danny, evidently, had not found his true calling at that time.

I worked closely with Tommy for all those years, and each time allegations would arise, he would call me into his office and recite the cover-up story he had carefully planned. He personally told me about Brad Dunning and the mistake he (Tommy) admitted making by trying to meet with him alone to find out if he had indeed made advances to the other boys in school. He again called me into his office when he was caught with another student from school in a bald-faced lie. He was very convincing to be sure. As I said, I stood against his accusers because I thought there was no way any of this could be true. The students had grudges against him and other people misunderstood the situation, excuses he spoon-fed his followers and we regurgitated at appropriate times.

As a mother, I will never forgive myself for my own absorption and mindless following of Tommy's plight that I missed clues within my own family. For that reason, it took 25 years for my own son to admit that he, also, had been abused by Tommy. The scabs that had covered his own pain for so many years were ripped away this week when new allegations arose and more of his friends broke their long, overdue silence. A dam broke when he was forced to step back to that dark place he had sealed up so long ago. His only excuse was that he knew I hadn't believed all the other boys, and he didn't think I would believe him either. Because of this simple statement, I will live with my own guilt and regret for the rest of my life.

Also, in hindsight, I blame Carol as much as Tommy. How could you, as a mother, turn a blind eye to what you knew he was doing? You were condoning it by keeping your silence. How could you rob us mothers of the opportunity to help our sons grieve and help them begin their healing? You turned your cold heart to us and allowed Tommy to continue with his sickness clear across the United States. You did him no favors by "forgiving" him, when what he needed was help to get well. Instead, he kept infecting others and you stood at his side and helped him. As far as I know, you stand there today with the same blood on your hands.

Professionally, I have a Master's degree in Social Work. When I look back at the church in those years under Tommy's leadership, I see that the black seed of his sin was at the very core. I see the many families he split in two because of his lies and cover-ups. Some of these never recovered. When I look at the lives of the boys he abused and see where each of them is today, I know that many have internalized the abuse and are still living with the guilt he placed on their heads. The guilt that forced them to face their feelings alone as they kept their silence against the man placed before them in a position of power and authority by their own parents. The boys who have never worked through the process of grieving over what they lost. There should be a special punishment for a person who abuses the trust of children and shatters their dreams; a special punishment for the man who ripped the joys and pleasures of childhood from young boys and changed their self-perceptions forever.

Moreover, can anyone imagine the guilt and regret of the mothers who failed to be there when their children needed them the most? Mothers who will always feel they failed at the job God blessed them with by not doing enough to protect their children against this evil.

Anyone still protecting him, Carol, Danny, 3ABN, or the attorney who keeps spouting about statute of limitations, your hands will also be held accountable for the evil you work to cover up. There is no "statute of limitations" on the pain and suffering these boys feel—it doesn't go away after a set number of years—it's there for the rest of their lives. Come forward now and get him the help he needs. He admits to having a "sickness" and you have failed him as we have failed our children. Help the healing begin for everyone involved before any more time goes by.

From a mother's heart.

[Richard Sherwin]

Wow. The tears of this earth will dry up someday. Even so come Lord Jesus.

Taken from http://www.save3abn.com/tommy-shelton-vict...amily-mom-1.htm.

Broken-Hearted Mother #1

[As alleged victims of Tommy Shelton talk to their old friends, yet more are coming forward. Just yesterday a new one came forward, one who remembers well an incident that allegedly occurred when he was eight years old.

He called his mother first and told her his story before he called us. Can you imagine what it must be like to be a mother and get a phone call like that?

Read her statement below and feel her pain as she unburdens her soul.

It should be noted that she confirms that Tommy did excuse his propositioning of around 14-year-old Brad Dunning by saying that he was trying to expose Brad's own homosexual activity.

• This was a story previously told to us by Duane Clem, which he said that he was told back in the early '80's when Brad and his family complained about what Tommy had done.
• Yet when we asked Duane whether he had heard anything about such problems with Brad prior to Tommy getting into trouble, he said that he had not.
• When we asked Pastor Brad Dunning about this story, he told us that that was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.

Thus, unfortunately, we have here evidence that Tommy Shelton was not beyond slandering someone's reputation in order to escape getting into trouble over serious allegations. We hope that this apparent tendency does not run in the family.]

Her Letter Arrives

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Discussion Yesterday
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:42:55 -0800 (PST)

Bob,

As promised yesterday, I am sending you a letter from a broken-hearted mother. To keep ******'s confidentiality at this time, I would rather you didn't use my name. ... I check the website everyday and am impressed with all the new information posted.

Thanks,

****** ******

Letter of a Mother of an Alleged Victim of Tommy Shelton

Dear ******,

I cannot begin to tell you the grief and heartache I feel right now. If I start at the beginning, I can tell you my husband and I were staunch supporters of Tommy Shelton for all the years he ministered at Ezra Church of God. My family attended there when it was a small, one room building with an outhouse. Tommy performed our wedding ceremony in that small church. We continued as part of his following into the new building across the street. That building, by the way, was built by his brothers (Shelton Construction) and is one foot shorter on one side than the other. Danny, evidently, had not found his true calling at that time.

I worked closely with Tommy for all those years, and each time allegations would arise, he would call me into his office and recite the cover-up story he had carefully planned. He personally told me about Brad Dunning and the mistake he (Tommy) admitted making by trying to meet with him alone to find out if he had indeed made advances to the other boys in school. He again called me into his office when he was caught with another student from school in a bald-faced lie. He was very convincing to be sure. As I said, I stood against his accusers because I thought there was no way any of this could be true. The students had grudges against him and other people misunderstood the situation, excuses he spoon-fed his followers and we regurgitated at appropriate times.

As a mother, I will never forgive myself for my own absorption and mindless following of Tommy's plight that I missed clues within my own family. For that reason, it took 25 years for my own son to admit that he, also, had been abused by Tommy. The scabs that had covered his own pain for so many years were ripped away this week when new allegations arose and more of his friends broke their long, overdue silence. A dam broke when he was forced to step back to that dark place he had sealed up so long ago. His only excuse was that he knew I hadn't believed all the other boys, and he didn't think I would believe him either. Because of this simple statement, I will live with my own guilt and regret for the rest of my life.

Also, in hindsight, I blame Carol as much as Tommy. How could you, as a mother, turn a blind eye to what you knew he was doing? You were condoning it by keeping your silence. How could you rob us mothers of the opportunity to help our sons grieve and help them begin their healing? You turned your cold heart to us and allowed Tommy to continue with his sickness clear across the United States. You did him no favors by "forgiving" him, when what he needed was help to get well. Instead, he kept infecting others and you stood at his side and helped him. As far as I know, you stand there today with the same blood on your hands.

Professionally, I have a Master's degree in Social Work. When I look back at the church in those years under Tommy's leadership, I see that the black seed of his sin was at the very core. I see the many families he split in two because of his lies and cover-ups. Some of these never recovered. When I look at the lives of the boys he abused and see where each of them is today, I know that many have internalized the abuse and are still living with the guilt he placed on their heads. The guilt that forced them to face their feelings alone as they kept their silence against the man placed before them in a position of power and authority by their own parents. The boys who have never worked through the process of grieving over what they lost. There should be a special punishment for a person who abuses the trust of children and shatters their dreams; a special punishment for the man who ripped the joys and pleasures of childhood from young boys and changed their self-perceptions forever.

Moreover, can anyone imagine the guilt and regret of the mothers who failed to be there when their children needed them the most? Mothers who will always feel they failed at the job God blessed them with by not doing enough to protect their children against this evil.

Anyone still protecting him, Carol, Danny, 3ABN, or the attorney who keeps spouting about statute of limitations, your hands will also be held accountable for the evil you work to cover up. There is no "statute of limitations" on the pain and suffering these boys feel—it doesn't go away after a set number of years—it's there for the rest of their lives. Come forward now and get him the help he needs. He admits to having a "sickness" and you have failed him as we have failed our children. Help the healing begin for everyone involved before any more time goes by.

From a mother's heart.

[princessdi]

Have Mercy!!! So many damaged lives.

[Hawk]

Have Mercy!!! So many damaged lives.

Yes, and the damage is not completed. 3ABN, ASI, the Shelton family, people such as Bystander, "Eye Witness", Alethia and others will continue to pour salt into the wounds of these damaged souls and support threats to litigate against anyone who dares tell of what happened. Abuse, molestation, and malicious attack on hurting people is their "christian" witness of 3ABN and the Adventist church to the world. Maybe the news agencies would like to help clean up this mess. Maybe they should. Time for them to see the documents on save3abn.com. Time for the world to see them.

This post has been edited by Hawk: Jan 27 2007, 02:15 AM

[Pickle]

Hitler is reported to have said, "Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it."

Let's face it, this whole matter is so bizarre, the average Adventist when they first hear a bit of it, say, "That can't possibly be true." Can you blame them?

Who would ever believe that Danny Shelton, according to his own 3ABN board chairman, would tell him that the Tommy Shelton child molestation allegations are 30 years old, when he must have known that there had been problems in Virginia just a few years before, and when an eye witness was in Danny's house with Danny around late 1985 when Tommy was beside himself as an alleged victim and his parents were returning a car Tommy had given the boy?

Who ever would imagine that a 3ABN attorney would threaten a non-Adventist pastor in 2003 and a non-Adventist church in 2007 in order to silence these child molestation allegations, and that Danny would refuse to answer whether 3ABN had paid the attorney to do that in 2003 when the letter written by that attorney was only on behalf of Tommy, and that that 2003 letter would base its threats of legal action solely on the logic that, "Even if the actions did occur," the statue of limitations has run out?

Regarding the statute of limitations, the one who came forward this week may still be able to press charges or sue, since he says he was about 8 at the time. Perhaps Riva can think of another way to silence the fellow.

But back to the main point: This is so bizarre, Adventists have a hard time swallowing this, since it is so contrary to everything they believe in. And I for one can't blame anyone who is in utter shock or denial.

[Clay]

only adventists who refuse to see the truth.... before they were adventist, they were people, and people can and will do evil things to other people.... add to the mix limited education and lots of money.... you have a hot mess....

[PeacefulBe]

Yes, and the damage is not completed. 3ABN, ASI, the Shelton family, people such as Bystander, "Eye Witness", Alethia and others will continue to pour salt into the wounds of these damaged souls and support threats to litigate against anyone who dares tell of what happened. Abuse, molestation, and malicious attack on hurting people is their "christian" witness of 3ABN and the Adventist church to the world. Maybe the news agencies would like to help clean up this mess. Maybe they should. Time for them to see the documents on save3abn.com. Time for the world to see them.

Hawk, the majority here on the 3abn forum want to do all in our power to stop the salt on the wounds! Yes, there are those with eyes and judgement clouded by the sick system that appears to be in control at 3abn. They come here with their desperate lies and fiery darts inspired by the father of lies but can see them for what they are.

As more and more Seventh-day Adventists become aware of the dispicable victimization of so many young people, the robbing of their innocence, the devastating impact on their lives and the lies and cover ups by those claiming to be followers of Christ, as more SDAs read the poignant account from the mother of one of these victims, I believe you will see an outcry by true Christians that will begin to set things right!

[husbandoftheyear]

before they were adventist, they were people, and people can and will do evil things to other people....

Adventist, Catholic, Jewish, Atheist...as far as I know, there are child molesters in all categories. However, the most vicious are those who hide behind a robe of religion.

[Salli]

Broken-hearted Mother

So sorry for you.

As I live in West Frankfort and once worked at 3ABN where I learned not to trust anyone in power. If the leadership of 3ABN is a picture of God then God is unfair.

We are taught as I was to trust preachers, teachers, and police they are here to help you. The worst offenders comes from those who children trust. Until that attitude changes they will be taken advantage of.

Until we learn to teach our children only to trust God and not those who rule over them. There are the Hitlers in power who will take advantage of the weaker. We need to teach our children to think before they obey anyone. If a few parents, school & church boards, superiers, and and protectors of the offenders were punished along with the offenders maybe things would change.

S

This post has been edited by Salli: Jan 27 2007, 04:48 PM

[PeacefulBe]

Broken-hearted Mother

So sorry for your lost.

As I live in West Frankfort and once worked at 3ABN where I learned not to trust anyone in power. If the leadership of 3ABN is a picture of God then God is unfair.

We are taught as I was to trust trust preachers, teachers, and police they are here to help you. The worst offenders comes from those who children trust. Until that attitude changes they will be taken advantage of.

Until we learn to teach our children only to trust God and not those who rule over them. There are the Hitlers in power who will take advantage of the weaker. We need to teach our children to think before they obey anyone. If a few parents, school & church boards, superiers, and and protectors of the offenders were punished along with the offenders maybe things would change.

S

Salli, welcome to the 3abn forum on BSDA!

I hope you know that God is not represented by those who would victimize young people while wearing the robes of religion. Those who would do such things are the followers of a far different being! How sad that our children and even our selves are sometimes not safe from those who portray themselves as trustworthy men of God.