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Sunday School teacher/Symphony director molests kids in Utah County


bsjkki

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This is a really disturbing story to read. How could this man be a youth sunday school teacher? He was dismissed/forced to resign from a teaching profession in Logan 35 years ago but because there was no record...he was able to be in charge of the Utah Youth Symphony. The predators are so slick at making themselves look good outwardly to fool people. They are expert manipulators and choose their victims wisely. https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900017311/6-accuse-ex-youth-symphony-director-of-sexual-misconduct.html 

"Jeff and Scott said they spent a significant amount of time together with Taylor, but were never aware of the other's alleged sexual interactions.Scott, who asked to be identified only by his first name, said Taylor was the boys' Sunday School teacher, and he often ended up at Taylor's home, where musicians would gather to play."

This man molested at least six young men...a police report in 2005 was not fully investigated. Why?

"Sandy police report filed in 2005. At the time, Jeff told a Sandy officer that he went to police because he was worried that Taylor “is doing the same things to little boys that he did to him. He wants to help put a stop to this,” the report states.

***

Neither Jeff’s nor Bartlett’s police reports were sent to Salt Lake or Utah county prosecutors, who have no record of the cases.

After he was presented with Jeff’s initial report to police, Blake Nakamura, who oversees prosecution of child sex crimes in the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, said his staff has reviewed the reports and the state code “very, very carefully” and believes the statute of limitations may not have expired yet. It’s a different conclusion than the one Sandy police reached in 2005.

"Therefore, we’re asking the agency to investigate this matter completely, which it has not done," Nakamura said. Sandy police have begun investigating again, said Sgt. Jason Nielsen, but he declined to make available a detective who closed Jeff's case almost 13 years ago."

....

We all felt like outcasts,” he said. “The fact that we had someone that not only understood us but we had a connection to, was extremely important in our growing lives.”

At the time, the relationship "didn't feel like a predator. It felt like a mother bear," he said. "All of this felt perfectly normal. He was very, very good at making it seem like this was our exploration as young adults growing up in the world."

Edited by bsjkki
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2 minutes ago, Jeanne said:

Ugh...this is so sad.  What is going on...this seems to be everywhere...present, past and future!

The saddest part to me is this guy was not thoroughly investigated in 2005 nor flagged somehow when dismissed as a teacher so many years ago. :( 

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I'm so glad that the church is really cracking down on not having youth alone with their leaders.  Parents also need to step up and not allow their kids to hang out at leaders' homes unless it's a designated church activity with more than just the leader there.  As a church I think we are way to trusting and evil people take advantage of that.

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7 hours ago, bluebell said:

I'm so glad that the church is really cracking down on not having youth alone with their leaders. 

I agree.  We have actually had a few more parents talk to us regarding wanting to be present for any of their youth's Bishopric interviews.  As I've posted before, so far, these interviews have been positive.

Edited by ALarson
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I talked to my parents today and their church building in northern Wyoming is having all of their doors replaced with ones with windows, including the bishop’s office door. I thought that was a cool idea. 

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4 hours ago, bluebell said:

I talked to my parents today and their church building in northern Wyoming is having all of their doors replaced with ones with windows, including the bishop’s office door. I thought that was a cool idea. 

Here in the UK all the church doors, including the Bishops office door, have glass  windows and have been that way for well over 20 years. It seems to have taken a long time for some areas to keep up with the change.

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9 hours ago, bluebell said:

I talked to my parents today and their church building in northern Wyoming is having all of their doors replaced with ones with windows, including the bishop’s office door. I thought that was a cool idea. 

I would love this...so much easier to check if teachers are in class without disrupting by having to open the door.

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We never know the temptations or weaknesses of others. I think it is vital any meeting with youth have at least two adults present at all times - they must be in hearing distance at least where they are visible to one another.  Those that are attracted to youth will be found working with the youth. It does not mean that we need to be suspicious of each and every individual that works with youth, but simply that we are aware of who is doing what and when and what adults will be in attendance. 

This is just as important when adults are meeting together. Adults must be in the company of multiple adults - hearing or visible - to lessen the potential for problems. 

I remember people laughing at VP Pence when he said he would not dine alone with another woman other than his wife - I still think he was correct and it is a good policy for more than just dining. 

Edited by Storm Rider
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24 minutes ago, Storm Rider said:

We never know the temptations or weaknesses of others. I think it is vital any meeting with youth have at least two adults present at all times - they must be in hearing distance at least or where they are visible to one another.  in the company of multiple adults - hearing or visible - to lessen the potential of problems. 

Yes, I’m glad the leaders spoke out and specified the “new rules” a couple months ago.  All of this has made my husband want to be with our sons in any interview and our sons want that too. We’ve briefly spoken to our bishop about it and he’s very open to that and said “Well, you’re not the only ones requesting this now since the leaders spoke about it”.  

I know it’s still a personal choice, but bishops are to allow it now and that’s good.

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5 hours ago, JulieM said:

Yes, I’m glad the leaders spoke out and specified the “new rules” a couple months ago.  All of this has made my husband want to be with our sons in any interview and our sons want that too. We’ve briefly spoken to our bishop about it and he’s very open to that and said “Well, you’re not the only ones requesting this now since the leaders spoke about it”.  

I know it’s still a personal choice, but bishops are to allow it now and that’s good.

Yeah!!! I love that your sons want their parents involved.

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On 5/1/2018 at 12:14 AM, bluebell said:

I talked to my parents today and their church building in northern Wyoming is having all of their doors replaced with ones with windows, including the bishop’s office door. I thought that was a cool idea. 

Not sure I would want folks looking in the window while I was crying in a bishop’s interview.

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1 minute ago, Bernard Gui said:

Not sure I would want folks looking in the window while I was crying in a bishop’s interview.

The window and furniture will be situated so that the bishop will be visible but no one else.

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On 4/30/2018 at 1:28 PM, bsjkki said:

This is a really disturbing story to read. How could this man be a youth sunday school teacher? He was dismissed/forced to resign from a teaching profession in Logan 35 years ago but because there was no record...he was able to be in charge of the Utah Youth Symphony. 

This part of the story kinda bothers me....

Quote

But Scott said he has no ill will toward Taylor and did not come to see the behavior as inappropriate until recently. He credits his former neighbor with sparking his love of classical music and art.

"Part of me still likes him. For a long time I didn’t think of it as him molesting me," Scott said. "I look back and see that obviously it wasn’t right. I see things clearer now that I’m older."

 

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29 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

This part of the story kinda bothers me....

 

I've done extensive research on sexual assault, abuse and rape and this does not surprise me at all. The predators choose their victims wisely and are expert manipulators. What better way to get away with it then either make your victim feel it is okay and/or create shame and self blame?

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44 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

I've done extensive research on sexual assault, abuse and rape and this does not surprise me at all. The predators choose their victims wisely and are expert manipulators. What better way to get away with it then either make your victim feel it is okay and/or create shame and self blame?

Yep. It fits the pattern.

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1 hour ago, Fly Fisherman said:

I agree. While a youth, I did some things that required a tearful confession to the Bishop. That was in the 80s. Interestingly, I remember the Bishop asking me if I wanted one of his counselors present when we began to talk. I declined. Then, after the talk, the Bishop asked me if I wanted to follow up with more discussions with him and I accepted and if he wanted me to have him talk to my parents about it. Again, I declined the Bishop talking with my parents. Also, at the end of the discussion, he offered a blessing. He asked if he could get one of his counselors to assist in the blessing. I declined - I only wanted the Bishop to give me a blessing. 

 

If another adult would have been present, I never would have gone to the Bishop for help. If there was a window where others could see in, I would have avoided talking to the Bishop. The discussions I had with the Bishop were VERY helpful to me. Having to share this with another adult, and even another adult seeing me in the Bishop's office would have prevented me from having these wonderful discussions with the Bishop.

 

While I understand the need for having another adult present for some of these interviews, I think we need to realize not everybody (including youth) would benefit from another adult being present. I am disturbed that some insist that another adult be there for youth interviews. I would never under any circumstances agree to have an interview with the Bishop under these circumstances with another adult present while I was in my youth. And that would have prevented me from seeking help/counsel from my Bishop in the first place, which was so good for me.

Yep.

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2 hours ago, Fly Fisherman said:

While I understand the need for having another adult present for some of these interviews, I think we need to realize not everybody (including youth) would benefit from another adult being present. I am disturbed that some insist that another adult be there for youth interviews. I would never under any circumstances agree to have an interview with the Bishop under these circumstances with another adult present while I was in my youth. And that would have prevented me from seeking help/counsel from my Bishop in the first place, which was so good for me.

I respect how you feel and it sounds like you did what was right for you.  Many have strong feelings now (especially with all the abuse incidents happening and of course, not all by church leaders), about having another adult in the room with a child or youth. And, that's why it's a choice now (and that's good).  I do see more parents insisting on having one of them in the room during interviews with their child or youth.  I respect that as well.  I think it's something that needs to be discussed between parents and their child or teen where hopefully they can come to an agreement (I believe they should start talking about it early on and have open communication about it between them).  With every parent who has been in interviews with myself while interviewing youth in my ward, it's been really a great experience.  The Bishop I serve with feels the same way.  Bottom line is that it's now a choice and if requested, we are to respect that request.  There's no perfect solution, but that is the rule now.

Edited by ALarson
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32 minutes ago, ALarson said:

I respect how you feel and it sounds like you did what was right for you.  Many have strong feelings now (especially with all the abuse incidents happening and of course, not all by church leaders), about having another adult in the room with a child or youth. And, that's why it's a choice now (and that's good).  I do see more parents insisting on having one of them in the room during interviews with their child or youth.  I respect that as well.  I think it's something that needs to be discussed between parents and their child or teen where hopefully they can come to an agreement (I believe they should start talking about it early on and have open communication about it between them).  With every parent who has been in interviews with myself while interviewing youth in my ward, it's been really a great experience.  The Bishop I serve with feels the same way.  Bottom line is that it's now a choice and if requested, we are to respect that request.  There's no perfect solution, but that is the rule now.

I do worry that the youth are not allowed to opt out of having their parents there.  I understand that the church cannot force a parent not to be present in an interview of their minor-aged children, but given that parents are much MUCH more likely to abuse children than a church leader, I feel like we might be making life worse for a lot more children than we might be helping.  I wish there was a better solution.

But, having said that, I recognize that this issue has no perfect answers and that everyone involved has the same goal--protect the children.

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39 minutes ago, ALarson said:

Many have strong feelings now (especially with all the abuse incidents happening and of course, not all by church leaders), about having another adult in the room with a child or youth. 

Any bishops included in all those abuse stories?

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3 hours ago, bluebell said:

The window and furniture will be situated so that the bishop will be visible but no one else.

Hmmmmmmmm.......

 

Or how about a little 2 room booth connected with a little screened window for confessions. 

Edited by Bernard Gui
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54 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

Hmmmmmmmm.......

 

Or how about a little 2 room booth connected with a little screened window for confessions. 

Why would the bishop need to be kept from seeing the person he is talking to?

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