TRIGGER WARNING: This article discusses details of horrific sexual abuse by Christian child molesters. Please do not continue reading if you are not comfortable with such content. Here are some pictures of kittens to look at instead.
“OK groomer” is a short and stupid sentence one hears whenever a conservative doesn’t have any clue how to respond to facts or minor criticism. Constant allegations that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are targeting children spew forth from seemingly everyone on the Right. But what about Christian child molesters? They surely exist. In fact, not a week seems to go by that a church pastor — or a member of the GOP for that matter — isn’t busted diddling kids.
Child sexual abuse, while you won’t hear a peep about it from Republicans unless they are smearing a group of people they hate, runs rampant in America. A disturbing 1 in 10 children are sexually abused before they turn 18 — and 93 percent of them know their abuser. Churches give predators shelter in a group of trusting, forgiving, often easily fooled people who conveniently provide them with easy access to children. This is especially true if the abuser manages to find themselves in a position of leadership within the church.
Conservatives rage endlessly over the idea that drag queens might someday read to their kids. They claim that for some unstated or nonsensical reason, these individuals are trying to position themselves to abuse kids. Yet these same people will send their children on a church camping trip with little supervision other than Youth Pastor Dave.
Our friend Dave already is more likely to sexually abuse a member of the youth group, as over 90 percent of child abuse survivors know their abuser well. Add to that the uncomfortable fact that children are more than 100 times more likely to be molested by a relative’s heterosexual partner than by someone in the LGBTQIA+ community and a Christian parent would be very curious about Dave’s activities — if, of course, they could get over their irrational hatred of humans who love or dress a way they don’t like. Nevertheless, the Right spends all their time screeching about “men in dresses” coming for their kids.
Christian Child Molesters are a Real Problem
To date, the Catholic Church has paid out over $3 billion to victims of child abuse — more than triple the GDP of Samoa. This culture of abuse is not limited to Catholicism. In the Protestant church, children are also extremely likely to be victims. Qualitative Criminology reports:
A total of 23% (9.6 million) of U.S. adolescents (10 to 19 years of age) identify as being of the Protestant Christian faith, with approximately half participating in Church youth groups (Smith et al., 2002). In addition, about 38% of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders report attending a Protestant Christian church function weekly, with 16% doing so one or two times per month (Smith et al., 2002). Considering this, it makes sense that those under 18 at Protestant churches would be the most likely victims of sexual assault, especially when one considers the general societal trends of abuse among these age groups and the relationship dynamics between offender and victim, as was confirmed in Denney et al. (2018).
Since the majority of abuse takes place on church grounds or in the home of the offender (and 93 percent of sex offenders say they are “religious”), a lot of eyes should be on Youth Pastor Dave. If a member of the church is going to molest a child, after all, it’s probably going to be Dave or his boss. Pastors account for 34.9 percent of cases, and youth ministers account for 31.4 percent.
Studies have found that, overall, Christian child molesters have more — and younger — victims. The problem is so rampant that Abuse and Molestation insurance coverage is an actual product churches buy. And since religious organizations account for 30 percent child of sexual abuse divided by industry (second only to primary and secondary schools), Christian child molesters are a very real threat.
Christian Child Molesters: Some Examples
It seems impossible to go a single day without a new Christian child molester taking over one’s social media feeds. Below are just a few examples. There is certainly no shortage of people who choose to do “God’s work” to kids.
Director of Children’s Miseries
Meet Christopher Fourcade, the now-former director of children’s ministries of the First Christian Church of Norman, Oklahoma. When he wasn’t serving in his position of responsibility for children at the church, Fourcade regularly fostered children. Sweet, right? He also told his foster kids there were “demons in his house but not in his room” so he’d sleep with them.
Unfortunately, Fourcade seems to be exactly the kind of scumbag who would use the foster care system effectively as a buffet. On December 28 of 2022, one of the children — who is under age 12 — Fourcade was fostering reported to her mother that the children’s minister had molested them. Police found multiple cameras set up inside the home. Interviews with the kids revealed that Fourcade refused their request to help fix a toy bear, but that he fondled them when they were sleeping. The children woke up but pretended to sleep because they feared for their safety. Fourcade has allegedly abused other children who have been under his care as well. Detectives found nude photos of other children who have been under Fourcade’s care on his phone. His own security cameras also provided police with some disturbing evidence.
Wants Death Penalty for Abortion, Also Likes Diddling Kids
Say hello to Steve Bratton. This Houston man subscribes to the idea that abortion is a sin — an idea that popped up in the 1980s when evangelicals needed to tug some heartstrings attached to gullible and easily-influenced people so they could better influence American politics. Bratton thinks bringing children into the world is important — so much so that he made headlines for his support of a 2017 Texas abortion bill that would have charged women with murder if they terminated a pregnancy. In Texas, murder can lead to one’s execution. Fortunately, the bill didn’t pass.
But Bratton just seems to want to bring more kids into the world so he can do unspeakable things to them. The former Grace Family Baptist put a teen relative through hell. He began abusing her when she was just 13, with the abuse intensifying over time. By the time she turned 15, the father of 7 was raping her “multiple times a day.” He eventually confessed to his wife and church leaders, who turned him in.
The Real ‘Groomer’
Maryland resident Charles Sutherland is a true patriot. Authorities arrested him in June 2022 for spraying “groomer” on a couple of libraries. His reasoning? He says the libraries were “supportive of the LGBTQ community,” according to the Washington Blade. Sutherland waived his Miranda rights and — shockingly — consented to a search of his residence following the hate-tagging incident. Nothing count prepare police for what they would find.
While searching Sutherland’s place, they found diapers, children’s dolls, and “a child sized doll” in his bed. Sutherland told police he doesn’t have any nieces or nephews and admitted to having child porn on his computer. A forensic evaluation found multiple videos of a “prepubescent female’s vagina displayed as a focal point.” Authorities also found at least one file featuring a boy. Prior to his vandalism arrest, Sutherland had been a librarian at a local middle school. Law enforcement, fortunately, caught him before he was able to victimize a child. But the child sex doll indicates that he was busted just in the nick of time.
The True Threat
Conservatives studiously ignore or excuse their fellow Christians’ transgressions, instead transferring all guilt to groups and people they hate. Trans women who want to use a women’s restroom are “groomers.” Drag queens who volunteer their time to read to children are somehow the enemy. Books that teach that either group exists, or that Jimmy has two dads, or even how seahorses mate (because it encourages gender fluidity; we promise we’re not f*cking with you), are banned.
Belonging to any group does not automatically make one dangerous. People are terrible. But if we want to talk statistics, right-wing Christians are the ones who could reasonably be called “groomers.”