CHURCH BOARD GUIDE TO A CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION POLICY


should not be retained without the express advice of compe- tent legal counsel.


3. The employee does not confess. If the accused does not confess, then the church needs to proceed carefully, since it can be sued for


“wrongful termination” if it dismisses the accused on the basis of insufficient evidence. If there is clear and convincing evidence of guilt, then the church is free to dismiss the employee with little fear of legal retaliation. The dismissed employee may sue the church, but such a case would be very unlikely to succeed if the church in fact has clear and convincing evidence of guilt. Further, note that juries will view the church sympathetically in such a case. After all, the church was acting to protect children or its members, and any doubt concerning the propriety of its conduct ordinarily will be decided in favor of the church rather than the alleged perpetrator.


4. The accused is prosecuted and found guilty, and is incarcerated. The church under no circumstances should allow the person to resume any position involving contact with minors following his or her release from prison.


5. The accused is prosecuted and found guilty, but not incarcerated, or pleads guilty to a lessor offense. If the individual is not incarcer- ated, he or she should not be allowed to resume any position involving contact with minors.


6. The accused is prosecuted and found innocent. The church may or may not retain the employee. For example, a person may be found not guilty based on criminal standards of evidence (guilt beyond a reasonable doubt), but later found at fault in a civil trial with a different standard of evidence (preponderance of the evi- dence). Church leaders must carefully weigh all the evidence and make a decision concerning the accused worker’s future position with the church that reflects the evidence and the best interests of the church and its members. Three basic options exist: (1) the individual resumes duties exactly as before; (2) the individual resumes duties with new restrictions and boundar- ies; or (3) the individual resigns or is terminated. The option selected will vary from one situation to another based upon the individual circumstances in each case.


49


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74