Who are you?
Justice for Sankey is a group of individuals concerned about the allegations of sexual abuse that came to light in late 2013 at Sankey Samaritan children’s home in Lucena, Quezon, Philippines.
Why are you airing this publicly?
For the past five years, many individuals have tried to follow the Matthew 18 process and speak directly to Christ Community Chapel pastors, elders, and staff. Each attempt has been rebuffed. Unfortunately, the church has chosen not to share significant information with their congregation and instead presented a highly misleading narrative.
This website exists so that those whose money is supporting Christ Community Chapel and Tom Randall have access to the facts about:
- The events up to and including the raid by the Philippines NBI.
- The sworn statements of abuse that occurred within Sankey towards minors.
- The actions taken by Christ Community Chapel that may have affected the judicial process in the Philippines.
- The misleading statements made in the aftermath by pastors Tom Randall, Joe Coffey, and others.
We hope this will help others make informed decisions on whether or not to support Christ Community Chapel’s actions in this matter.
What are you hoping to achieve?
Our primary goals are for past victims of abuse to receive the support and counseling they need to heal, and for the perpetrators of abuse to be prevented from creating more victims. To that end, we are pleading for the following:
- An unbiased third-party investigation that is not controlled or administered by Christ Community Chapel (CCC) in Hudson, Ohio.
- A deep financial audit of both CCC and World Harvest Ministries, specifically including those funds distributed after World Harvest was rolled under CCC guardianship.
If the investigation should warrant it, we are also asking for:
- Confession and repentance from CCC leadership for leveraging position, government authorities, and funds in defense of alleged abusers, thus dismissing victims’ stories before fully investigating their merits in an unbiased manner.
- Paid counseling and support for those that suffered abuses which were improperly dismissed by CCC.
- Efforts to ensure the safety of those directly or indirectly involved, including supporting legal prosecution if warranted.
Why can’t you just do an investigation yourself?
Organizations that specialize in third-party abuse investigations generally require the institution to request the investigation. These organizations step in when law enforcement cannot, such as because the abuse happened in another jurisdiction, or because the statute of limitations has passed, or other factors prevented prosecution.
Because they are not official law enforcement, they rely on the institution to cooperate in turning over records and conducting interviews. Thus, we are requesting that Christ Community Chapel choose to engage a third-party investigation so that the many unanswered questions can be resolved. If there is truly nothing to hide, then the investigation will show that to be the case.
Isn’t Christ Community Chapel already doing an investigation?
While CCC staff at first said they were having an “independent investigation” by a qualified “team” done, they announced six months later that a church member, Suzanne Lewis-Johnson, had been doing a “review” of documents pertaining to the abuse allegations. CCC has at times called this review an “investigation”.
Based on Ms. Lewis-Johnson’s responses to inquiries, the scope of Ms. Lewis-Johnson’s review is extremely limited. She has not contacted a number of individuals who experienced troubling responses from the church over the past five years. Her investigation does not appear to include the allegations of inappropriate behavior toward minor girls by Tom Randall. It is not clear whether finances pertaining to Sankey are being audited or whether church emails are being reviewed.
While Ms. Lewis-Johnson may have the best of intentions, her review cannot be considered independent, as she is both a member of CCC and her nonprofit organization has close ties with the church.
As such, we continue to request the church engage with an outside party to do a thorough, independent investigation.
I visited Sankey and the staff seemed like incredible people! How can this be possible?
Everyone wants to believe they would know a child abuser if they saw one. But the truth is they appear just like anybody else. In fact, in order to get away with their criminal actions, they must cultivate a cover persona that appears virtuous. Orphanages are unfortunately a prime target for such people. This is why we must listen if someone reports that they have been abused, no matter who the alleged abuser is or how trustworthy they may seem. Church culture must be safe for disclosure, so that matters of abuse can be safely handled and investigated.
For more information, please read Anna Salter’s book, Predators, or see www.jimmyhinton.org.