In her first guest thread, CM (Cherin Marie) described @MidwestAnglican's mishandling of her daughter's sexual abuse allegations against Catechist Mark Rivera.
https://twitter.com/ACNAtoo/status/1412957114620809221
Cherin said that Christ Our Light Anglican Church (COLA) leaders pressured her not to report the abuse to civil authorities.
This is that story.
This is that story.
CM: On 5/17/19, my 9-year-old daughter told me that Mark Rivera, my godfather, church leader, spiritual mentor, former neighbor of 10 years, very close friend, and groomsman in my wedding, had been sexually abusing her. 
CM: In shock, and not knowing what else to do, I texted my priest, Fr. Rand York (who is also my great uncle, who my children & I had lived with for two years). I told Fr. Rand there was an emergency I needed to talk to him about & we agreed to meet the following morning.
CM: On 5/18/19 my husband & I met with Fr. Rand at his house & I told him what had happened. His initial response was of shock & grief. He told us that our church, Christ Our Light, would pay for my daughter's counseling & that he would support us through whatever came next.
CM: Fr. Rand also stated that he would be contacting his superior, @MidwestAnglican Canon William Beasley, who was Dean of the Greenhouse Movement at the time, to inform him of our daughter’s allegations. Fr. Rand York & Cn. William Beasley had been close friends for 20+ years.
CM: Fr. Rand then told us that he wanted to confront Mark Rivera privately & that he would be waiting until AFTER that evening’s COLA church service---where Mark would be serving as Church Catechist. We had to insist that Fr. Rand cancel the service & address this immediately.
CM: About an hour later I received a text message from Mark Rivera asking if I knew why Fr. Rand had canceled church. Shortly afterward, Mark’s wife, Melissa, texted me too, demanding to know what was going on. I did not respond to either message but I felt completely sick.
CM: A while later Fr. Rand called my husband to say that he would be meeting with Mark Rivera shortly and he asked us to pray for him. Fr. Rand explained that he was very angry at Mark. He called what Mark had done “a millstone", because Mark had caused a little one to stumble.
CM: We did not hear back from Fr. Rand for some time; by then his entire tone had changed. He had spoken with Mark Rivera, who claimed to be shocked & hurt by my daughter’s allegations. Rand said Mark wanted to talk & asked if we would be willing to meet together that evening.
CM: I went to the meeting alone while my husband stayed home with our kids. As I turned into the driveway at Rand's house Mark pulled in right behind me. I rushed inside before he had a chance to get out of his car, but the house was quiet & I couldn't find Fr. Rand anywhere.
CM: I decided to go wait in Fr. Rand's living room, where COLA held daily morning prayer services. I heard Mark enter the house just as I sat down on Rand's couch & could just make out Fr. Rand's voice greeting Mark & directing him into the room where I was waiting, alone.
CM: Mark came in & sat down in a chair to my right. We sat alone in silence for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, I left the room & waited in the hallway until Chris Lapeyre, the COLA Senior Warden, arrived & he & Fr. Rand came to join Mark & finally noticed I was there.
CM: As our meeting began, Fr. Rand sat off to the side on my left, looking down at his hands & saying nothing. Chris Lapeyre sat in front of me & took the lead directing the meeting. Chris invited Mark Rivera to speak first & Mark looked me straight in the eye & lied.
CM: With a seemingly sincere expression, Mark Rivera stared into my eyes & said, “I have never touched your daughter, my goddaughter, inappropriately”. He then went on to bemoan the fact that it was his word against hers, & that even HE would believe my daughter’s story.
CM: Mark Rivera then told us that his wife had not been surprised by my daughter's allegations because Mark's own daughter had been acting like someone had abused her too. Mark explained that he & his wife had recently had to ask her if someone had touched her inappropriately.
CM: After this shocking admission about his own daughter, Mark Rivera insinuated that he & his wife had written off both my daughter's allegations & his own daughter's alarming symptoms as a demonic attack against the church & that it was reasonable for us to do so as well.
CM: After Mark Rivera's horrifying & disorienting statements, Chris Lapeyre next turned to me & asked me to disclose, in front of Mark, all that my daughter had told me. I did not do this but I was stunned & appalled that Chris had asked me to, especially in front of Mark.
CM: After attempting to extract the details about what my daughter said Mark did to her, in front of her alleged abuser, Chris Lapeyre went on to explain that Fr. Rand York had consulted with the Diocesan Chancellor (Lawyer) Charlie Philbrick about my daughter's allegations.
CM: Chris Lapeyre said, "We have been advised by the Diocesan Chancellor that we do not need to report this to the authorities", and then Chris added, "And it sounds like you don't need to either...."
I was given no explanation; they were just refusing to report Mark.
I was given no explanation; they were just refusing to report Mark.
CM: I was aghast & could not believe what I was hearing. Chris Lapeyre's words were still spinning around in my head when he asked me, in front of Mark, whether I planned to report my daughter's abuse to the authorities. The pressure was overwhelming. I felt like throwing up.
CM: I was acutely aware of Fr. Rand's continued silence & of Mark's self-pitying frown & slumped posture. Chris looked at me pointedly, with his eyebrows raised, waiting for my response. I finally said, "I have no plans to do that at this time" & Chris nodded his approval.
CM: I left in a daze while trying hard not to look at Mark. I think Fr. Rand hugged me as I left & I know Chris Lapeyre walked me out to my car. In Fr. Rand's driveway, I hinted to Chris that my daughter's allegations were very serious, without telling him any details.
CM: In response to this, Chris Lapeyre’s eyes filled with tears & he finally admitted that I needed to report Mark. "You have to report this," he said. Chris went on to say that, in his personal experience, DCFS was fair & reasonable & that they would be so for Mark as well.
CM: Chris Lapeyre admitting to me in private that I needed to report Mark did nothing to diminish the pressure I felt not to do so. The fact that Chris had told me, in front of Mark, that he & Fr. Rand were not going to report my daughter's abuse still weighed heavily on me.
CM: I went home still in shock, confused & devastated by Fr. Rand's sudden departure from the supportive, comforting presence he had been that morning. I felt like I wasn't "allowed" to report Mark & that if I did, I would be doing so without my church’s support or approval.
CM: Years of spiritual abuse by church leaders had trained me that I needed “permission” from the church before making big decisions. Mark’s best friend (Chris Lapeyre) & Mark's spiritual mentor (Fr. Rand York) were my church leaders; it was clear they wanted to protect Mark.
CM: When I called the police, the following Monday, I was on my own with no support or help. My church leaders & close friends (all of whom were mandated reporters) failed to report my daughter's abuse & I was left to make this awful but crucial decision on my own.
Thank you for reading Cherin’s account of her church leadership’s horrendous failure of mandatory reporting and pressure not to report her 9yo daughter’s allegations of sexual abuse. There's additional context in this article: religionnews.com/2021/07/19/acn…
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