International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 3 2022 10
companies delivering coverage for churches (Denney,
Kerley, &Gross, 2018).
Andrew S. Denney, Kent R. Kerley, and Nickolas G.
Gross suggest that the probability of ongoing sexual
abuse of children in Protestant denominations is great
(Denney et. al., 2018 see also Joyce, 2017), meaning
that issues of grooming within Protestantism also
requires attention. Unlike Catholicism, Protestantism
is not subject to a centralized authority like the
Vatican nor do its religious leaders (some of whom
are women) operate under the expectation of celibacy.
Instead, globally, there exists thousands of Protestant
denominations, camps, ministries, outreach programs
and so forth thus, no umbrella authority is able to
potentially monitor, report, and amend the problems
of sexual abuse within the faith (Joyce, 2017). Indeed,
Evangelical Protestant, Boz Tchividjian, proposes that
the situation in Protestantism is likely more severe
than in Catholicism. The Executive Director of Godly
Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment
(GRACE) and grandson of renowned Evangelist
Billy Graham, Tchividjian and his organization are
calling for reform and open discussion in a faith that
is characterized by fragmentation and independence
(Pulliam Bailey, 2013). The disparate nature of Protestant
denominations stymies meaningful discussion and
progress within Protestant communities—something
that GRACE and similar organizations are trying to
rectify.
Cases of child sexual abuse in Protestant communities
appear in media coverage at times, but academic
research or extended investigative journalist accounts
are scarce. A recent investigative piece in New Republic
by Kathryn Joyce (2017) examines the decades-long
sexual abuses that children suffered at the hands of
Donn Ketchum (b. 1930) of the Association of Baptists
for World Evangelism (ABWE), a Protestant movement
that offers missionary opportunities for Baptist leaders
and congregants.
A married man whom many thought of almost as
a member of their own families, Ketchum used his
authority both as a religious figure and as a medical
doctor to groom and sexually abuse children. Indicative
of the familial environment within the ABWE, the
children knew him as “Uncle Donn” (Joyce, 2017, p.
39)—a friendly and trusted “family” member to all (see
Cartwright and Kent, 1992). Joyce’s research catalogues
Ketchum’s grooming and abuse in this conservative
religious environment. In one case, Ketchum’s
grooming progressed from touching, to unnecessary
pelvic and breast exams (which he legitimized as
a medical requirement), to raping his victim after
threatening to harm her family if she said anything
to them (Joyce, 2017). Clearly, in this case, Ketchum
moved beyond typical grooming behaviors to the use
of threats and force to silence her (see Lanning, 2018).
Given the diversity of Protestant denominations and
their various forms of governance, hierarchy, levels
of commitment and so forth, it seems likely that
grooming in Protestant settings is also diverse in its
manifestations, and, as Denney et al. (2018) argue,
more academic research is required to unearth the
extent and types of abuses that occur in Protestantism
around the globe.
4.4. Sect: Seventh-day Adventists
At age 14, Cheryl Cooney was abused by her Seventh-
day Adventist pastor. She described the pastor of
the Christian sectarian movement as a “charismatic
minister [who] used the Bible to manipulate and
control me sexually for more than ten years” (Heimlich,
2011, p. 167). Her trust in the pastor grew over time as
she saw and spent time with him in various locations
including in chapel, at school, on the train, and in his
office where she did some work for him (Heimlich,
2011). Cooney recalled that, “‘[h]e built up a really
strong friendship and spiritual connection where,
when he started to cross over the line, I had already
gained so much trust in his relationship with God
and his ‘holiness,’ if you want to call it that’” (Cheryl
Cooney, quoted in Heimlich, 2011, p. 168).
When the pastor first kissed her, she was 16, and Cooney
panicked but did not feel that she could tell anyone,
while he insisted that he “had been ‘led by God, so,
therefore, it wasn’t wrong’” (Heimlich, 2011, p. 168).
Manipulating her further, the pastor convinced her “to
go along with other types of sexual activities” (Heimlich,
2011, p. 168). Cooney was not able to extricate herself
from entanglement with the pastor until she was 26
years old, and even then, did not understand that she
had been groomed and abused until she was in therapy
two years later. Previously, Cooney had conceptualized
companies delivering coverage for churches (Denney,
Kerley, &Gross, 2018).
Andrew S. Denney, Kent R. Kerley, and Nickolas G.
Gross suggest that the probability of ongoing sexual
abuse of children in Protestant denominations is great
(Denney et. al., 2018 see also Joyce, 2017), meaning
that issues of grooming within Protestantism also
requires attention. Unlike Catholicism, Protestantism
is not subject to a centralized authority like the
Vatican nor do its religious leaders (some of whom
are women) operate under the expectation of celibacy.
Instead, globally, there exists thousands of Protestant
denominations, camps, ministries, outreach programs
and so forth thus, no umbrella authority is able to
potentially monitor, report, and amend the problems
of sexual abuse within the faith (Joyce, 2017). Indeed,
Evangelical Protestant, Boz Tchividjian, proposes that
the situation in Protestantism is likely more severe
than in Catholicism. The Executive Director of Godly
Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment
(GRACE) and grandson of renowned Evangelist
Billy Graham, Tchividjian and his organization are
calling for reform and open discussion in a faith that
is characterized by fragmentation and independence
(Pulliam Bailey, 2013). The disparate nature of Protestant
denominations stymies meaningful discussion and
progress within Protestant communities—something
that GRACE and similar organizations are trying to
rectify.
Cases of child sexual abuse in Protestant communities
appear in media coverage at times, but academic
research or extended investigative journalist accounts
are scarce. A recent investigative piece in New Republic
by Kathryn Joyce (2017) examines the decades-long
sexual abuses that children suffered at the hands of
Donn Ketchum (b. 1930) of the Association of Baptists
for World Evangelism (ABWE), a Protestant movement
that offers missionary opportunities for Baptist leaders
and congregants.
A married man whom many thought of almost as
a member of their own families, Ketchum used his
authority both as a religious figure and as a medical
doctor to groom and sexually abuse children. Indicative
of the familial environment within the ABWE, the
children knew him as “Uncle Donn” (Joyce, 2017, p.
39)—a friendly and trusted “family” member to all (see
Cartwright and Kent, 1992). Joyce’s research catalogues
Ketchum’s grooming and abuse in this conservative
religious environment. In one case, Ketchum’s
grooming progressed from touching, to unnecessary
pelvic and breast exams (which he legitimized as
a medical requirement), to raping his victim after
threatening to harm her family if she said anything
to them (Joyce, 2017). Clearly, in this case, Ketchum
moved beyond typical grooming behaviors to the use
of threats and force to silence her (see Lanning, 2018).
Given the diversity of Protestant denominations and
their various forms of governance, hierarchy, levels
of commitment and so forth, it seems likely that
grooming in Protestant settings is also diverse in its
manifestations, and, as Denney et al. (2018) argue,
more academic research is required to unearth the
extent and types of abuses that occur in Protestantism
around the globe.
4.4. Sect: Seventh-day Adventists
At age 14, Cheryl Cooney was abused by her Seventh-
day Adventist pastor. She described the pastor of
the Christian sectarian movement as a “charismatic
minister [who] used the Bible to manipulate and
control me sexually for more than ten years” (Heimlich,
2011, p. 167). Her trust in the pastor grew over time as
she saw and spent time with him in various locations
including in chapel, at school, on the train, and in his
office where she did some work for him (Heimlich,
2011). Cooney recalled that, “‘[h]e built up a really
strong friendship and spiritual connection where,
when he started to cross over the line, I had already
gained so much trust in his relationship with God
and his ‘holiness,’ if you want to call it that’” (Cheryl
Cooney, quoted in Heimlich, 2011, p. 168).
When the pastor first kissed her, she was 16, and Cooney
panicked but did not feel that she could tell anyone,
while he insisted that he “had been ‘led by God, so,
therefore, it wasn’t wrong’” (Heimlich, 2011, p. 168).
Manipulating her further, the pastor convinced her “to
go along with other types of sexual activities” (Heimlich,
2011, p. 168). Cooney was not able to extricate herself
from entanglement with the pastor until she was 26
years old, and even then, did not understand that she
had been groomed and abused until she was in therapy
two years later. Previously, Cooney had conceptualized
