How To Write A Terrible Registered Sex Offender Policy: A Case Study
@ChurchRez has shared their "current working policy," possibly a euphemism for "we pulled an all-nighter last week and threw this together."
Full policy here: churchrez.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Rez-Restrictive-Access-Sex-Offender-Working-Agreement-.pdf
"We want our church to be a safe place for everyone."
This is a classic "but our intentions are good" excuse. Everyone *wants* their church to be safe, but as long as child sexual abusers are allowed to attend, a church is not safe for *anyone.*
twitter.com/hlgriffin/status/1601614175155163136?s=20&t=BjxbooFCR7a_fhJ0I3LMyQ
"The following document serves as a sample agreement."
I would like to see the agreement that @ChurchRez had John Hays sign. Sample agreements are often very different from the actual signed agreement.
"...your participation in Resurrection's worship, activities, ministries, and functions"
Massive red flag: this implies that a registered sex offender can serve in a @ChurchRez ministry.
A lawyer seems to have provided some definitions here, but the misalignment of bullet points indicates a fast copy/paste job.
There's an interesting loophole in this sentence about RezGroups "under the authority and leadership" of @ChurchRez. What about groups of Rez members who gather together regularly but aren't listed as a recognized RezGroup?
Who is the @ChurchRez Supervising Pastor for convicted sex offenders? What qualifications does that pastor have? What is the process for assessing and assigning this pastor? Is this the same pastor for all RSOs or one for each?
So although there's a Supervising Pastor, the escort is doing the work of chaperoning? Is this the escort with "extensive experience in prison ministry" who is "trained to oversee the process of safely involving ex-convicts in the life of the church"?
churchrez.org/child-safety-and-rso-questions/
Now we get into the conditions of a registered sex offender's participation at @ChurchRez. Note that almost all of these conditions are unenforceable because the burden is on the offender to report their actions.
Condition 1: Communication channels with the CCO are open, but regularity is not stipulated. @ChurchRez leaders may contact the CCO at any time but it's unclear if they will.
Condition 5. @ChurchRez staff/vestry/leaders/etc: did you get a copy of this signed agreement with John Hays' picture and the rest? Did you get it in 2019? Or only recently?
Condition 7. Who is defined as @ChurchRez senior staff? Does "sole and absolute discretion" mean scrupulous oversight or just..."discernment"?
This is the second time the policy indicates that registered sex offenders *can* serve in @ChurchRez ministries. Allowing predators to serve in ministries tells unsuspecting parents that John Hays and others are safe.
Condition 11. A visit with a @ChurchRez family is supposed to include notifying the parents of RSO status. Who enforces this? How would the pastors know if John Hays visited a family or is texting a teen if he chooses not to tell them?
Which @ChurchRez pastor is verifying that John Hays is providing a concrete disclosure rather than a vague "I have a sexual addiction" or "sexual brokenness"? (Cf. Chris Lapeyre.)
Condition 12 is very very bad. As @Treebeard55 points out, it makes @ChurchRez parents complicit in potential grooming. In their ignorance, the parents might even require their child to hug or high-five the RSO to "teach their kid respect for elders."
twitter.com/Treebeard55/status/1602357763761491968?s=20&t=BjxbooFCR7a_fhJ0I3LMyQ
The @ChurchRez parent who knows nothing about this person’s past does not have the information needed to keep their child safe. They might as well be absent.
Condition 14. "You will only use the bathroom after your supervising pastor or approved escort has entered and found no children in the room. Your supervising pastor or escort will monitor the door while you use the facility."
How exactly does this work, @ChurchRez?
Does someone enter the @ChurchRez bathroom and loudly proclaim: "Are there any children in here?"
Do they peek under the stall doors to look for small feet?
Do they stand at the bathroom door and say "this bathroom is closed" and refuse to explain?
How are any of these conditions enforced? Are there documented meetings? Does the staff get regular updates? Is attendance recorded? Should John Hays leave @ChurchRez or transfer membership, what will Rez do? Will they notify the other church?
The last page is a Consent, Authorization, and Release Form which serves as a get-out-of-jail card for @ChurchRez if anything bad happens.
.@DianeLangberg says: "When the church shows “grace” in response to a few approved words and some tears, we have done added damage to the victim, risked the safety of other sheep and left the abuser with a disease that will rot his/her soul."
dianelangberg.com/2020/01/how-should-the-church-respond-to-abusers/
The consent & release form highlights that @ChurchRez is showing a cheap grace to John Hays and other sex offenders. They won't do the hard work of bringing church to him, but if something bad happens because of their inadequate policy, they'll use him as the scapegoat.
After reviewing this @ChurchRez policy, I stand by my statement from earlier this month:
twitter.com/abbinye/status/1598397455137009664?s=20&t=BjxbooFCR7a_fhJ0I3LMyQ