Did Reformed Baptist Leaders Cover Up Tom Chantry’s Alleged Sex Crimes & Serious Physical Injury of Children?
Posted at BrentDetwiler.com:
Tom Chantry was investigated for a year and then arrested and jailed on July 25, 2016. He posted bond on August 10 in the amount of $100,000 and was released. The story of his arrest was first reported on November 26 by The Daily Courier in Arizona. It was republished on Monday, December 5. That is when Todd Wilhelm at Thou Art the Man brought it to my attention. He wrote about it the same day and I wrote about it the next day. The news went viral in evangelical and Reformed circles having been concealed for the past four months. Thank God.
As a result, Miller Valley Baptist Church, where the alleged crimes took place, put out a statement on their website on Wednesday confirming the newspaper account that multiple families were affected. Though law enforcement was contacted, it doesn’t appear the church was told about Chantry until this week. It said in part,
Chantry’s current church in Wisconsin, did not make a statement about his arrest, but they did add this comment to his biography on Tuesday. “Mr. Chantry is currently on a leave of absence from the church.”
The Daily Courier said, “Repeated calls and emails to the Christ Reformed Baptist Church were not returned. A representative for Chantry’s attorney, John Sears, said neither Chantry nor Sears would have any comment on the case.” That implies guilt. Innocent men are not silent men especially when you are accused of sexual abuse. Furthermore, multiple families have come forward. This is not an isolated incident according to the pastor, law enforcement and newspaper accounts. Even if it were, false allegations of child sex abuse occur less than 5% of the time. It is rare.
Tom Chantry was investigated for a year and then arrested and jailed on July 25, 2016. He posted bond on August 10 in the amount of $100,000 and was released. The story of his arrest was first reported on November 26 by The Daily Courier in Arizona. It was republished on Monday, December 5. That is when Todd Wilhelm at Thou Art the Man brought it to my attention. He wrote about it the same day and I wrote about it the next day. The news went viral in evangelical and Reformed circles having been concealed for the past four months. Thank God.
As a result, Miller Valley Baptist Church, where the alleged crimes took place, put out a statement on their website on Wednesday confirming the newspaper account that multiple families were affected. Though law enforcement was contacted, it doesn’t appear the church was told about Chantry until this week. It said in part,
“For those who have seen our church’s name attached to Tom Chantry who was recently arrested for accusations of child molestation, I thought it might be helpful to make a public statement as the pastor here. Tom has not been here for 16 years. I’ve only been serving here for 7, and my associate pastor has been here for 12. We have no real involvement with him, but we have cooperated with the police in the course of the investigation. When evidence came forward, we urged that it be taken to the police (as is required by law). There is only one family still connected to our church that is involved in the case, and the rest have left before all of this came to light for unrelated reasons.”
Chantry’s current church in Wisconsin, did not make a statement about his arrest, but they did add this comment to his biography on Tuesday. “Mr. Chantry is currently on a leave of absence from the church.”
The Daily Courier said, “Repeated calls and emails to the Christ Reformed Baptist Church were not returned. A representative for Chantry’s attorney, John Sears, said neither Chantry nor Sears would have any comment on the case.” That implies guilt. Innocent men are not silent men especially when you are accused of sexual abuse. Furthermore, multiple families have come forward. This is not an isolated incident according to the pastor, law enforcement and newspaper accounts. Even if it were, false allegations of child sex abuse occur less than 5% of the time. It is rare.
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