The Church Used "Forgive and Forget" to Handle Sexual Abuse, and Victims Were Told to Stay Silent
A closed sect in Minnesota wrote "forgive and forget" into its official guidance, letting sexual abuse be handled 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, some of it even happening 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 instead sealed the truth
Ryan had finally gotten six victims to agree to testify, the jury was selected, the trial had begun, and then the defendant suddenly pleaded guilty, and everything stopped. 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 details in court. He suspected there were more abuses 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 wrapping up. He asked the reporter: can you find out what really 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, asking another believer for forgiveness washes away the sin, as if it never happened. If the victim brings it up again, it is "not letting go" and "having an unforgiving heart," and the responsibility falls on the victim instead. 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 describes 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 knowing, but said he kept silent
The reporter obtained police video of pastor Daryl Brucklemyer. In the video he calmly admitted knowing about Massey's abuse, and when the investigator said six victims had mentioned his name, he asked "who is the other one." The investigator asked if 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 an investigator read him the state law point by point, and he said he understood. When pressed on why he didn't report, he said: "As part of the church, we keep silent." He said victims and families could go to law enforcement themselves, and 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. A church spokesman, in front of a sanctuary that can hold a thousand people, made clear that the reporter was not allowed to talk to Brucklemyer and that they would not answer questions, but they were welcome to stay for the service. Three hours later, the service ended with "asking for forgiveness": congregants stood up from their seats and turned to each other, some walked to the pastor, some turned to spouses, children, friends between the pews, and everyone asked each other for forgiveness. The reporter saw men burying their faces in each other's necks and crying. This was exactly the scene Kyla had described. The reporter looked around and noticed there were many children on the pews.
— Jessica LussenhopNot an isolated case, but a cross-state, cross-generation pattern
After the first article was published, messages poured into the reporter's inbox from Delaware, Michigan, the Dakotas and all over 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 other parts of Minnesota. The stories Andy heard were exactly the same as in Duluth: the pastor knew, the perpetrator was known to everyone, 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 contacted 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, just disembarked at the port of Halifax, with 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 why she didn't tell her father, didn't 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 there are hundreds of reports of child sexual abuse dating back to the 1950s.
— 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 Bible passage and then said: "My conscience is clear here today, washed in the blood of the Lamb." Then he turned to everyone in the courtroom and said he forgave all the witnesses "for their lies and deceit," forgave his lawyer "the worst lawyer on earth," forgave the prosecutor "for all the lies and retaliation," and told the judge "you are the one who should go to prison." The judge said: "You clearly have no remorse, you are 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 both 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 writing 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 would come in groups to support a convicted child sexual abuser. But on the victim's side there was only Kyla, plus a local friend and the reporter. The reporter said that usually it is 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 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 OALC members prosecuted that the reporter found | 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 legally required to report suspected child abuse to police, such as teachers, doctors, and clergy.
- forgive and forget
- A practice in OALC doctrine: after asking a believer for forgiveness, the sin is washed away and never mentioned again, otherwise it is seen as unwillingness 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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