Transparency, Accountability, Justice

By Avaloy Lanning, MSW, Executive Director

 

The allegations reported this week involving a former elder of Green Mountain Baptist Church are horrifying.

 

According to federal court documents described by Vermont Public, Andrew Buzzell is accused of distributing images of child sexual abuse and sharing and receiving that material in online chatrooms. Prosecutors further allege that, in a conversation with an undercover agent, he discussed the possibility of meeting a 9-year-old child for sex.

 

These are allegations, and the criminal justice process must run its course. But we should be unequivocal about the conduct alleged: child sexual abuse material is not pornography. It is evidence of the exploitation and abuse of children. Behind every image is a child whose body, trust and safety have been violated. And every time that material is shared, the violation continues.

 

After a long career working alongside survivors of sexual and domestic violence, I have seen how the impact of sexual abuse can extend far beyond the abuse itself. I have sat with survivors carrying experiences from childhood into adulthood — experiences that shaped how they understood safety, trust, their own worth and their relationships with others. I have also witnessed extraordinary resilience and healing, but we should never confuse a survivor's capacity to heal with an absence of harm.

 

In fact, the harm of childhood sexual abuse rarely fits neatly within the moment in which the abuse occurred.

 

Childhood sexual abuse is recognized as an adverse childhood experience, and decades of research have demonstrated associations between childhood trauma and later mental health challenges, substance misuse and other serious health and social consequences. Research has also documented an increased risk of revictimization for some survivors of childhood maltreatment and sexual abuse.

 

The effects can, and so often does, have a profound effect on future relationships. Sexual abuse can disrupt a child's developing understanding of trust, safety, boundaries, intimacy and power. Those injuries do not simply disappear when a child turns 18. For some survivors, they can influence friendships, intimate partnerships, parenting and the ability to feel safe in relationships many years later.

 

None of this means that a child who experiences sexual abuse is destined to struggle throughout adulthood. Survivors are remarkably diverse, and with support, safety and appropriate intervention, healing is absolutely possible. But acknowledging resilience must never become an excuse for minimizing harm.

 

This is why our response to child sexual abuse matters so profoundly.

 

And it is also why another part of this story deserves our attention.

 

According to Vermont Public, when Pastor Stephen Burch learned from federal investigators about the allegations involving a man who had been part of his church for more than a decade — a man the congregation had trusted enough to elect as an elder — he and the leadership of Green Mountain Baptist Church faced a choice.

 

Institutions confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct have too often chosen silence. They have worried about reputation. They have rallied the troops around the accused. They have minimized allegations, discouraged questions, quietly moved people out of positions or waited until public pressure forced them to act.

 

Green Mountain Baptist Church chose differently.

 

According to Vermont Public, Burch and another elder met with the FBI on a Friday night. The following day, church leaders convened an emergency meeting. The congregation was told what leadership could share, and members unanimously voted to remove Buzzell as an elder and as a member of the church. The church then issued a public statement calling for “complete justice” and encouraging anyone who may have been affected to contact the FBI.

 

Pastor Burch also said something extraordinarily important: “I've seen this kind of stuff happen in churches, and a lot of times it's covered up. I want us to be transparent.”

 

That deserves recognition.

 

Praising this response does not diminish the seriousness of what is alleged. Quite the opposite. It demonstrates what taking allegations involving the sexual exploitation of children seriously actually looks like.

 

Accountability means acting even when the accused is someone we know.

 

It means acting when that person is respected.

 

It means acting when doing so may embarrass or damage an institution we love.

 

And it means recognizing that protecting children must always matter more than protecting reputations.

 

There is another troubling question raised by this case. Buzzell's work extended far beyond his own congregation. He directed the Vermont chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship and, according to Vermont Public, participated in programs and events involving children in Vermont and elsewhere. The reporting also notes that it remains unclear whether families whose children attended programs where he worked or volunteered are being contacted.

 

Those questions deserve answers.

 

Organizations entrusted with children carry an extraordinary responsibility. When credible allegations of this nature emerge involving someone who had access to children, transparency cannot stop at removing a name from a website or issuing a carefully worded statement. Families deserve information. Potential victims deserve pathways to come forward. Organizations must examine where the individual had access to children, whether safeguards worked as intended and whether additional steps are necessary to ensure children's safety.

 

The purpose of doing so is not to presume guilt. It is to take seriously the responsibility that comes with caring for children.

 

There is an important lesson here for every church, school, youth organization, nonprofit and community institution.

 

We cannot always know everything about the people in whom we place our trust. Pastor Burch acknowledged that painful reality when he described questioning what he thought he knew about someone who had been part of his church for 12 years.

 

But while institutions cannot guarantee that someone will never betray their trust, they can decide what they will do when that trust is called into question.

 

They can choose secrecy or transparency.

 

They can protect an institution or protect children.

 

They can wait for someone else to act, or they can act decisively themselves.

 

In this instance, Pastor Burch and the members of Green Mountain Baptist Church made their choice quickly and publicly. They chose transparency. They chose accountability. They called for justice.

 

That should not be remarkable.

 

It should be the standard.