Brad Tebutt, a married youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Modesto, California, consoled 14-year-old Jennifer Graves Roach after her father had died. Then he eventually kissed and fondled her. She said that, for two and a half years, he sexually abused her in his office, in his car and in his home. The pastor was never held accountable for his actions because his church leaders never informed the mother of the victim, they never went to the police and they termed it an affair.
Officials from First Baptist Church told the victim to simply forgive and forget when she came forward as a teenager. “They gave me specific directions to never speak of the events to anyone, because it would damage the reputation of the church, and of Jesus himself,” Jennifer said. “The abuse was swept under the rug.”
The pastor moved away from the town with his wife and had a 30-year career as a pastor, often travelling to different states and changing churches, without ever once being reprimanded or charged. Tebutt currently runs a ministry for senior citizens at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, and in one of his articles on church’s website he talks about how he is passionate about bringing hope to each new generation.
A few months after Tebutt left town, the girl confided in another youth pastor who told then-high school pastor Marvin Jacobo. Then Jacobo called Tebutt, and Tebutt confessed to him. Jacobo then contacted Tebbutt’s wife and his boss at the time. He recalled that the church’s response was shameful.
“They completely and entirely mishandled the situation,” Jennifer said. “At first, they didn’t believe me. At subsequent meetings they kept asking me if I wanted to take my story back. They asked if I was just doing this for attention. At one point they put me in a room with four or five adult men and they asked me to describe with specific words what had happened. And I was a 17-year-old girl. They failed to tell my mom. I was a minor and they kept it from my family. They should have reported it to police and they didn’t. They told me never to speak about this again.”
Unfortunately, Jennifer, who is now 47, will probably never see Tebutt prosecuted considering how much time has passed. Church officials are the ones to blame for this. This situation raises a question about other possible victims; maybe some of them never had the courage to come forward as Jennifer did.
Jennifer’s story fits the pattern of young people who were victimized over and over again after they opened up about the bad things that happened to them. The church officials intended to protect the image and reputation of the church at the expense of the safety of a teenage girl.
Photo Credits: Viva Media
