A
judge has ruled that Massachusetts Conference leaders acted within their
rights when they reported to authorities that a church volunteer had
admitted to sexually abusing three children.
Daniel R. Ferris had asked the Worcester Superior Court to suppress
his admission, saying it was privileged under a law protecting the confidentiality
of statements made by people seeking “spiritual comfort.”
Judge John S. McCann, however, rejected Ferris’ argument, instead finding
that church leaders had confronted Ferris after hearing of the abuse
from two of the youth; Ferris had not come to them seeking comfort.
“We were very clear from the beginning that this was not a case of spiritual
‘confession,’” said Associate Conference Minister Susan Dickerman. Dickerman
got involved in the case after two of the victims talked about the abuse
with two adults at a Conference-sponsored confirmation retreat at Craigville
in March.
Dickerman, who teaches a safe church training program aimed at protecting
children, said she feels that all clergy have a moral obligation to
report suspected abuse. And she said any church leader who works directly
with children should assume they have a legal obligation as well.
In fact, she is encouraging local churches to advocate in favor of S674,
a bill pending before the state Senate which would add clergy to the
list of “mandated reporters” who are required by law to report suspected
abuse. Twenty-nine other states have similar laws.
“This
law would free our clergy from agonizing over whether or not to report
a suspected abuser by giving them a clear, legal mandate to do so,”
Dickerman said.
The bill would not change the law that protects confessions made through
privileged communication to pastors or pastoral counselors.
Dickerman
praised confirmation retreat leader Sheri Anderson, Associate Pastor
of Central Square Congregational Church in Bridgewater, for taking immediate
action when the girls came forward about the abuse. Anderson had been
trained on how to handle such a situation through the Conference’s Education
for Effective Youth Ministry Program.
Anderson immediately took the two girls home and also sent Ferris –
who was sent by his church to chaperone – back to his central Massachusetts
church. She notified the pastor of that church, and she contacted Dickerman.
Dickerman in turn notified former Central Area Minister Richard Sparrow,
and they both traveled to the church for a meeting with Ferris, his
church’s pastor and Anderson. (The church and pastor are not being identified,
in order to protect the identity of the victims.)
Dickerman also brought her adult son, the residential supervisor for
a treatment center for sexually abused children. She and her son informed
Ferris that they would be reporting him to the Department of Social
Services, and that he would be arrested for what he had done. Even then,
Ferris continued to admit to his behavior, she said.
After the meeting, the group reported Ferris to DSS, and he was arrested
and charged with indecent assault and battery on a child, indecent assault
and battery, and posing a child in a state of nudity.
Return
to United Church News front page
Return
to Massachusetts Conference home page