Thank you for your coverage of First Baptist Church in Gainesville and its cover-up of child sexual abuse in the Boy Scout troop the church sponsored. As your report indicates, Scoutmaster Fleming Weaver had admitted to abusing at least five boys in Troop 56. And the church leadership did nothing.

VOICE Today, its staff, board of directors, volunteers and supporters in the legal and political arenas fought long and hard in 2015 to ensure the passage of House Bill 17, the Hidden Predator Act, which effectively ended the statute of limitations for bringing civil charges against a predator in Georgia. VOICE Today is a Marietta-based nonprofit committed to ending the cycle and violence of child sexual abuse in America through awareness, advocacy, prevention and healing.

In the Gainesville case, the silence was broken with the filing of a civil suit in Fulton County last week by an ex-Scout who claims Weaver raped him. That suit was filed because the provisions in the Hidden Predator Act allowed it to be filed.

As a survivor of child sexual abuse and an advocate for children in this country, I believe everyone who has knowledge of a child sexual abuse disclosure and does not report it to law enforcement should be charged with aiding and abetting a crime. That is not happening in this case, though the church leadership and the pastor at the time knew of the crimes.

Child sexual abuse is a pandemic in this country; 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused or exploited before they reach the age of 18. Only 1 in 10 will ever tell. In 92 percent of the incidents, the abuser is someone known and often trusted by the victim.

We are all responsible for our children’s safety. It is our duty to protect their innocence. As an expert in the field of child sexual abuse and exploitation, I feel the pain and witness the impact of child sexual abuse every day, how the abuse can have lasting effects and leave adults struggling with depression, addiction and shattered lives.

I’m asking everyone to think about what can be done, what role you can play in eliminating child sexual abuse and join us in our mission. At VOICE Today, we offer survivors hope and healing.

We train doctors to identify the signs of child sexual abuse. We speak to young lawyers about what to look for and what to ask when they’re working with victims. We have educational materials that can help children find their voices and speak up when they’re made to feel uncomfortable by any adult. We are contacted by victims around the world and we do our best to help each one of them.

I applaud The Times for its coverage of this case. We all have to shine a bright light on this darkness and call it what it is — a crime against children.

Angela Williams
Founder/CEO, VOICE Today, Marietta

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