The Church Used "Forgive and Forget" to Handle Sexual Abuse, and Victims Were Told to Stay Quiet
A closed Minnesota sect wrote "forgive and forget" into its official guidance, letting sexual abuse be absorbed internally and kept out of the justice system. A prosecutor handed the case to a reporter, and only then did a systemic cover-up spanning three generations come to light.
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The prosecutor reached out to a reporter himself
Minnesota prosecutor Mike Ryan proactively contacted ProPublica reporter Jessica Lussenhop about a child sexual abuse case he was handling. The case took place in a church community called OALC (Old Apostolic Lutheran Church). Ryan said the defendant was a popular member of the church, the abuse had continued for years and was almost an open secret, and some of it even happened on the pews during services. Victims or their families had reported it to church leaders, but the church suppressed it. What disturbed him more was that some victims decided not to testify in court, and he suspected someone in the church had pressured them to "lower their stance" or not cooperate.
— Jessica LussenhopThe plea deal ended up sealing the truth
Ryan had finally gotten six victims to agree to testify; the jury was selected and the trial had begun, when the defendant suddenly pleaded guilty and everything stopped short. Ryan told Lussenhop this left him deeply uneasy: the plea deal might not be the defendant taking responsibility, but another way to avoid a public trial and prevent victims from telling the details in court. He suspected there were more sexual assaults in the church that he and the police had not discovered. But Ryan's job was done — the defendant was going to prison, and the law enforcement thread was being tied off. He asked the reporter: can you find out what actually happened in this church?
— Jessica Lussenhop"Forgive and forget" is the official process
In police records, court documents and testimony, the reporter repeatedly saw the same phrase: forgive and forget. According to church doctrine, if you ask another believer for forgiveness, the sin is washed clean, as if it never happened. If a victim brings it up again, that is "refusing to let go" and "having an unforgiving heart," and the responsibility falls back on the victim. The reporter obtained an official OALC document titled "Guidelines for the Prevention of Violence, Harassment and Sexual Abuse and the Handling of Such Incidents," which described a process of "talking with the victim alone, talking with the perpetrator alone, talking with both together," which the reporter called a "forgiveness session." The document says to respect the law and authorities, but never states "report to police under mandatory reporting law."
— Jessica LussenhopThe pastor admitted he knew, but said he kept silent
The reporter obtained police video of pastor Daryl Brucklemyer. In the video he calmly admitted knowing about Massey's sexual abuse, and when the investigator said six victims had mentioned his name, he asked, "Who's the other one?" The investigator asked whether he understood Minnesota's mandatory reporting law, and he said, "No one ever discussed it with us." But the reporter found a recording of another call three years earlier in which the investigator read him the state law point by point, and he said he understood it. When pressed on why he did not report, he said: "As part of the church, we keep silent." He said victims and families could go to law enforcement themselves, and that the church had also warned Massey to stay away from the church's children.
— Jessica LussenhopThe crying at the end of the service is the mechanism itself
The reporter attended a service at the OALC church. In front of a sanctuary that can hold a thousand people, a church spokesman made clear that the reporter would not be allowed to talk to Brucklemyer and that they would not answer questions, but that they were welcome to stay for the service. Three hours later, the service ended with "asking for forgiveness": congregants rose from their seats and turned to one another, some walking to the pastor, some turning between the pews to spouses, children, friends, and everyone asked one another for forgiveness. The reporter saw men burying their faces in each other's necks and weeping. This was exactly the scene Kyla had described. The reporter looked around and noticed there were many children in the pews.
— Jessica LussenhopNot an isolated case, but a pattern across states and generations
After the first story was published, messages poured into the reporter's inbox from Delaware, Michigan, the Dakotas and across the United States. The reporter and colleague Andy Mannix traveled to multiple places and verified with local law enforcement, finding similar cases involving OALC members in Washington state, Wyoming, Nebraska and elsewhere in Minnesota. The stories Andy heard were identical to Duluth's: the pastor knew, everyone knew the perpetrator, but it was all handled internally through "forgiveness sessions." One woman told Andy that she, her mother and her daughter had all been sexually abused by different men in the church — three generations of abuse in one family.
— Jessica LussenhopThe girl who disembarked in 1951 already carried the wounds
Andy reached a former church member, Terry Lee Martinin, whose grandfather brought the first OALC church from Finland to Canada in 1951. Terry Lee studies gender violence in OALC. She showed the reporter a 1951 newspaper clipping: about 18 people in Finnish sailor suits, having just disembarked at the port of Halifax with their suitcases. In the photo you can see her mother, Aja, then nine years old, smiling happily. But Aja told Andy that by then she had already been sexually abused. The reporter asked her why she did not tell her father, why she did not tell anyone, and Aja said the consequence would be that she had to "forgive and forget." Andy later confirmed that related branch churches across Scandinavia also practice "forgive and forget," and that reports of child sexual abuse there dating back to the 1950s number in the hundreds.
— Jessica LussenhopThe man sentenced to life said his conscience was clear
The reporter found a recording of a 2017 sentencing hearing in Washington state. Convicted OALC perpetrator Carsey Tika was sentenced for raping a nine-year-old boy. Before the judge pronounced sentence, he read a passage from the Bible and then said: "My conscience is clear here today, washed in the blood of the Lamb." He then turned to everyone in the courtroom and said he forgave all the witnesses "for their lies and deceit," forgave his lawyer "for being the worst lawyer on earth," forgave the prosecutor "for all the lies and retaliation," and told the judge, "You're the one who should go to prison." The judge said: "You clearly have no remorse, you're blaming everyone." Tika replied: "I take responsibility for what I did wrong, but you know what? My sins have already been forgiven. Have yours?" The judge then sentenced him to life in prison.
— Jessica LussenhopThe supporters on the two sides of the courtroom were completely reversed
The day before Massey's sentencing, the reporter and Andy drove to Duluth, unsure whether Kyla would come. Kyla had not planned to go, but bought a plane ticket the night before. They met outside the courthouse and walked in together. The courtroom on Massey's side was packed, with friends and family having written more than a dozen letters of support, repeatedly saying he had already been forgiven. Usually at this stage of a criminal case, the defendant's support system has shrunk, and no one shows up in crowds to support a convicted child sexual abuser. On the victim's side there was only Kyla, plus one local friend and the reporters. The reporter said the usual situation is exactly the opposite — the victim's side is full of supporters and the perpetrator's side is empty. This time it was completely reversed.
— Jessica LussenhopIn their own words · checked verbatim
This was like a fucking machine that was basically trying to roll over these girls. And I think they were afraid of exactly that.
Mike Ryan4:12
We forgive and forget. Forgive and forget. And then I began seeing that term everywhere. In police reports, in court documents, in testimony.
Jessica Lussenhop18:56
And if you bring it up, it's like you're not letting it go. You know, this thing kind of falls to you. You have an unforgiving heart. So that's kind of on you now.
Jessica Lussenhop19:57
Well, we felt, and this has changed, as part of the church, that we keep silent.
Daryl Brucklemyer22:59
My conscience here today is clean, washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Carsey Tika37:33
A conviction doesn't always mean full accountability. And even a life sentence for a single person might not prevent future abuse from happening in a system like forgive and forget.
Jessica Lussenhop38:34
Your Honor, this case is not just about one predator. It is about an entire system that he used against the survivors and has enabled abuse, silence victims and created a cycle of trauma that continues to destroy lives in its wake.
Mike Ryan41:43
Figures
| OALC church membership size | Tens of thousands, mostly in the Midwest | 1:01 |
| Number of victims in the Massey case | 9 | 15:48 |
| Year police first learned of the Massey sexual abuse allegations | 2017 | 14:46 |
| Massey's final sentence | 7 and a half years | 42:45 |
| Year the first OALC church in Canada was established | 1951 | 32:23 |
| Number of child sexual abuse reports traceable in Scandinavian branches | Hundreds, dating back to the 1950s | 33:26 |
| Number of cases involving prosecuted OALC members found by the reporter | More than six | 35:32 |
| Seating capacity of the Duluth church sanctuary | 1000 | 27:08 |
Glossary
- OALC / Old Apostolic Lutheran Church
- A conservative sect originating in 1800s Sweden, unrelated to mainstream Lutheranism.
- mandated reporter
- Professionals such as teachers, doctors and clergy who are legally required to report suspected child abuse to police.
- forgive and forget
- A practice in OALC doctrine: once forgiveness is sought from a believer, the sin is washed clean and must not be brought up again, otherwise it is seen as refusing to forgive.
How to listen
Journalists, public-interest lawyers and researchers focused on religious institutional accountability, investigative reporting methods, or child protection issues.
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