Greg Colett, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who's a Republican candidate for Position A, District 11 of the Idaho State House, has 10 children in his family. While two of them are biological children, the other eight are adopted, which means he and his wife are providing a stable home environment to eight children who might otherwise be endlessly shuttled through the foster care system at additional public expense. One of the adoptions was arranged through LDS Family Services. To further reduce the expense of his family to taxpayers, he and his wife have chosen to homeschool them all, which means the estimated $60,824 which would ordinarily be spent to educate his 10 kids in the public schools per year can be diverted to educating public school students.
Yet Colett has come under fire, mostly from the progressive left but also from some libertarian sources on the right, because he publicly announced he would not sign his family up for Obamacare, citing philosophical opposition as well as the fact that it would be cheaper for him to pay the fine. Yet he's signed up all of his children for Medicaid. The Idaho Statesman, in one of their provocative headlines, claims he "hates government". NBC News published a slanted article about Colett entitled "Health care holdouts: Uninsured but resisting". He's been excoriated on left-wing websites including Gawker, BuzzFlash, Daily Kos and Americans Against the Tea Party, and online comments have labeled Collett a hypocrite, moron, mentally unstable, immoral and unethical, along with other frequently-profane epithets.
Greg Colett is fighting back. In a lengthy response on his official campaign website, he states that he does not hate government in principle, but only "evil government". His issue is that when government is used to take money from one citizen and give it to another (even for a seemingly good cause), it simply amounts to legal plunder, making government, and those that support it, the criminal. He addresses the four main accusations that have been thrown at him, to wit: (1) how dare he has a large family, (2) how dare he homeschools his kids, (3) how dare he not carry health insurance for himself, and (4) how dare he has his kids on Medicaid. He explains that when he became an independent software developer, the health plans available to him at the time were simply not affordable, given his family situation. He says he mitigates their risk as well as reduce their costs as much as possible, and finds that when he pays cash, he frequently gets discounts because it is so much more expensive for providers to bill through insurance. But what's most important is Colett's explanation as to why he has his kids on Medicaid (after the jump):
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
LDS Church Targeted With Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit In Berkeley County, West Virginia In Relation To The Christopher Michael Jensen Case
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been targeted with a lawsuit in relation to child sex abuse in Berkeley County, West Virginia. The primary plaintiffs are 12 children who were reportedly sexually abused by a now-former LDS member, twenty-two-year old Christopher Michael Jensen, who was convicted of related crimes in criminal court. Additional plaintiffs include five Jane Does and five John Does, identified as being parents, guardians, and "next friends" of the children. Representing the plaintiffs are attorneys from the Fitzsimmons Law Firm in Wheeling, WV, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP in Washington DC, and Kosnoff Fasy PLLC in Seattle (Tim Kosnoff was also involved in the Curtis case). The primary media story is the Martinsburg Journal-News, but there is also interesting discussion on the Mormon Discussions forum.
-- Read the 66-page suit document HERE
Named as defendants are the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the church; Don Fishel, who was the bishop of the Hedgesville Ward for the Martinsburg stake of the church between 2007 and 2013 and who also served as a member of the Stake High Council for Martinsburg; Steven Grow, stake president in Martinsburg; Jensen, who was a member and elder of the Hedgesville Ward of the church; Jensen's father, a high priest and member of the Stake High Council for Martinsburg between 2007 and 2010; and Jensen's mother, a member of the Hedgesville Ward and Relief Society president for the church in Martinsburg between 2006 and 2009. The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages; attorneys for the plaintiffs maintain that the Church initially tried to cover up the abuse, then reacted too slowly to mitigate it.
Summary of Events: The abuse of the 12 children suing the Church began in 2008. However, there were allegations that Christopher Michael Jensen may have abused additional children as early as 2006. These early allegations were allegedly communicated to Jensen's parents and to local Church leaders; in 2007, the Martinsburg Stake High Council, whose members included Steven Grow, Don Fishel and Jensen's father, held a meeting also attended by Jensen's mother, during which the alleged sexual abuse of two children by Christopher Michael Jensen was allegedly discussed. However, Fishel denied the allegations as hearsay, and so the High Council failed to report the allegations of abuse to authorities as required by law. Local church leaders allegedly continued to portray Jensen as a church member who could provide leadership and counsel to young church members, and even recommended Jensen as a babysitter for church families.
The first of the plaintiffs came forward in early 2008, when a then four-year-old boy told Jensen's mother that Jensen had sexually abused him. Fishel, who was also allegedly already put on notice that Jensen had been accused of sexually abusing children, was told by the mother of another alleged victim that Jensen had abused her younger son. The suit alleges that instead of reporting the abuse to authorities or taking action to warn or protect other children, the Church, through its agents, actively covered up the abuse and assisted Jensen in committing further acts by enabling him to babysit for and live with other church families with young children. The pattern allegedly continued for more than five years until Jensen was indicted in October 2012 in Berkeley County. On February 6th, 2013, Jensen was found guilty of one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse, and subsequently sentenced to 35 to 75 years in prison on July 29th. The judge also ordered that Jensen register for life as a convicted sex offender and that he be placed on 50 years of supervised release upon his release from prison. He was found not guilty of one count of first-degree sexual assault involving the youngest boy. On August 18th, the Martinsburg Stake High Council formally excommunicated Jensen.
On a related note, a February 2013 story from the Herald-Mail reveals that sexual abuse and assault charges were also filed against Jensen for allegedly assaulting a 20-year-old woman in a church parking lot in September 2012, and were pending in Berkeley County Magistrate Court at the time. However, in light of the child abuse conviction, prosecutors chose not to pursue the charges, and on March 15th, a Berkeley County magistrate granted the state's motion to discontinue the case.
The suit also alleges that emissaries from Salt Lake City instructed witnesses not to talk with attorneys representing the children suing the church, and that church leaders tried to intimidate the families of the children suing the church by trying to convince them to abandon their claims "lest they run afoul of church teachings regarding forgiveness".
Update October 30th: WHAG Channel 4 picked up the story and published reaction from local LDS leaders:
Prognosis: The LDS Church has a track record of settling these types of suits out of court. The motivation to settle will be strong here, since it appears that local Church leaders were quite reluctant to take action against Jensen initially. While the presumption of innocence is sacred, if state law requires religious leaders to report such allegations to law enforcement, then they must report it. The plaintiffs have also retained some impressive legal muscle to represent them.
The behavior of local Church leaders in this case insufficiently reflect the LDS Church's commitment to resolving child abuse when it occurs and deterring future occurrences. In this statement published a while back, the Church set forth their policy:
-- Read the 66-page suit document HERE
Named as defendants are the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the church; Don Fishel, who was the bishop of the Hedgesville Ward for the Martinsburg stake of the church between 2007 and 2013 and who also served as a member of the Stake High Council for Martinsburg; Steven Grow, stake president in Martinsburg; Jensen, who was a member and elder of the Hedgesville Ward of the church; Jensen's father, a high priest and member of the Stake High Council for Martinsburg between 2007 and 2010; and Jensen's mother, a member of the Hedgesville Ward and Relief Society president for the church in Martinsburg between 2006 and 2009. The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages; attorneys for the plaintiffs maintain that the Church initially tried to cover up the abuse, then reacted too slowly to mitigate it.
Summary of Events: The abuse of the 12 children suing the Church began in 2008. However, there were allegations that Christopher Michael Jensen may have abused additional children as early as 2006. These early allegations were allegedly communicated to Jensen's parents and to local Church leaders; in 2007, the Martinsburg Stake High Council, whose members included Steven Grow, Don Fishel and Jensen's father, held a meeting also attended by Jensen's mother, during which the alleged sexual abuse of two children by Christopher Michael Jensen was allegedly discussed. However, Fishel denied the allegations as hearsay, and so the High Council failed to report the allegations of abuse to authorities as required by law. Local church leaders allegedly continued to portray Jensen as a church member who could provide leadership and counsel to young church members, and even recommended Jensen as a babysitter for church families.
The first of the plaintiffs came forward in early 2008, when a then four-year-old boy told Jensen's mother that Jensen had sexually abused him. Fishel, who was also allegedly already put on notice that Jensen had been accused of sexually abusing children, was told by the mother of another alleged victim that Jensen had abused her younger son. The suit alleges that instead of reporting the abuse to authorities or taking action to warn or protect other children, the Church, through its agents, actively covered up the abuse and assisted Jensen in committing further acts by enabling him to babysit for and live with other church families with young children. The pattern allegedly continued for more than five years until Jensen was indicted in October 2012 in Berkeley County. On February 6th, 2013, Jensen was found guilty of one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse, and subsequently sentenced to 35 to 75 years in prison on July 29th. The judge also ordered that Jensen register for life as a convicted sex offender and that he be placed on 50 years of supervised release upon his release from prison. He was found not guilty of one count of first-degree sexual assault involving the youngest boy. On August 18th, the Martinsburg Stake High Council formally excommunicated Jensen.
On a related note, a February 2013 story from the Herald-Mail reveals that sexual abuse and assault charges were also filed against Jensen for allegedly assaulting a 20-year-old woman in a church parking lot in September 2012, and were pending in Berkeley County Magistrate Court at the time. However, in light of the child abuse conviction, prosecutors chose not to pursue the charges, and on March 15th, a Berkeley County magistrate granted the state's motion to discontinue the case.
The suit also alleges that emissaries from Salt Lake City instructed witnesses not to talk with attorneys representing the children suing the church, and that church leaders tried to intimidate the families of the children suing the church by trying to convince them to abandon their claims "lest they run afoul of church teachings regarding forgiveness".
Update October 30th: WHAG Channel 4 picked up the story and published reaction from local LDS leaders:
Church officials released a statement saying that they deny any allegations of a cover up. They felt they were instrumental in reporting the matter to local law enforcement officials, while imposing church discipline on the perpetrator and helping out the victims families.
Prognosis: The LDS Church has a track record of settling these types of suits out of court. The motivation to settle will be strong here, since it appears that local Church leaders were quite reluctant to take action against Jensen initially. While the presumption of innocence is sacred, if state law requires religious leaders to report such allegations to law enforcement, then they must report it. The plaintiffs have also retained some impressive legal muscle to represent them.
The behavior of local Church leaders in this case insufficiently reflect the LDS Church's commitment to resolving child abuse when it occurs and deterring future occurrences. In this statement published a while back, the Church set forth their policy:
Simply put, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to child abusers. When abuse is suspected, the Church directs its members to first contact the legal authorities and then their local bishop for counseling and support. The Church cooperates fully with law enforcement in investigating incidents of child abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice.
Members of the Church found guilty of child abuse are also subject to the laws of God. President Hinckley has said: "Our hearts reach out to the offender, but we cannot tolerate the sin of which he may be guilty. Where there has been offense, there is a penalty." Convicted child abusers are excommunicated, the highest possible discipline our faith can impose. Excommunicated members cannot take part in Church meetings or hold responsibilities of any kind within the congregation.
Can child abusers who have paid the legal price for their crimes and gone through a rigorous repentance process with local Church leaders become members of the Church again? Yes. As Christians, we believe in forgiveness. But can they ever again, in their lifetime, serve in any capacity that would put them in direct contact with children? Absolutely not. Forgiveness does not remove the consequences of sin. Protection of the family is a first principle of the Church.
Since 1995 the Church has placed a confidential annotation on the membership record of members who previously abused children. These records follow them to any congregation where they move, thereby alerting bishops not to place them in situations with children. As far as we know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the first religious institution to create such a tracking mechanism. We hold the family sacred and protect its children. This explains why the Church is one of the few denominations that imposes formal ecclesiastical discipline on mere members (as opposed to official clergy) for sexually abusive conduct.
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