Church's apology to victims of abuse

The Methodist Church’s internal inquiry into US national Keith Morton’s abuse of boys in the North-East and Staffordshire has led to leaders concluding the church “simply must do things better”.

Church leaders are in the process of putting in place new procedures and policies after admitting failing to prevent the abuse, carried out over nine years by the 44-year-old.

The inquiry opened in November last year, five months after Morton, who worked at Elm Ridge Methodist Church, in Darlington, was given an indeterminate sentence – effectively life in prison.

Morton targeted church youth groups to abuse three boys in Staffordshire and a teenager in County Durham, when he moved from Litchfield to Darlington.

The abuse included dressing one of the boys in women’s clothes and taking photos of another naked youngster. One victim tried to commit suicide.

Last night, The Reverend Will Morrey, chairman of the inquiry group, said that the church was shocked and saddened by Morton’s crimes.

He said: “Mr Morton carries sole responsibility for these crimes. It is true that he groomed not only his victims but youth leaders, parents, ministers and management group members, so that they in turn became unable to respond properly to warning signs that emerged.

“However, this is no excuse – we are profoundly sorry for our failure to prevent this abuse from occurring.

“The church takes the safety and wellbeing of children and young people very seriously and has stringent safeguarding procedures, but in this case we must recognise that the practice proved insufficient to prevent the abuse from taking place.

“Although we know that the damage caused by these crimes can never be undone, the presidential inquiry was launched to ensure that the lessons learnt will be reflected on, taken seriously and used to improve future practice.”

The inquiry panel identified that what mostly enabled Morton to implement and transfer his pattern of behaviour were “systematic failings within the church at every level”.

More worrying, the report adds, is that the panel found little evidence to reassure them the system is working any better now.

It said church leaders are now responsible for responding with an “active programme of change and increased commitment”.

Mr Morrey added: “In some instances the procedures were not followed as they should have been.

“In others people had not received sufficient training and therefore had not been prepared to handle situations appropriately.

We have identified a number of specific areas of concern from which we seek to learn and on which we will act.

“Part of the way forward is a need to recognise the fact that safeguarding children and young people is the responsibility of the whole church, not just those for whom it is a part of their job description.

“We simply must do things better and we are committed to making all our churches a safer environment for children, young people and vulnerable adults.”

Issues highlighted in the report include:

􀁥 Lack of understanding issues which may have prevented later abuse included a lack of understanding of confidentiality regarding information sharing problems in recognising behaviour as concerning and joining together smaller pieces of information, a disbelief that abuse was happening and a failure to realise adults, as well as children, can be groomed;

􀁥 None of the circuits or churches involved had participated in safegurding training. Now two levels of training are being made available to all working in the church;

􀁥 Church structures were not working effectively, with “flawed communication at all levels” and risk assessment procedure not followed correctly. Resources were stretched. The new structure should be supported by active awareness and implementation;

􀁥 Where necessary, districts must employ an executive officer for safeguarding;

􀁥 Electronic records should be considered when people transfer between districts, and cross-referenced, to help identify patterns of behaviour;

􀁥 Following safer recruitment practices may have helped prevent later abuse, particularly if the perpetrator had not been allowed to start work until the criminal records bureau disclosure had been received.

Other issues included understanding protecting children was a fundamental role of ministers, making children the centre of the church’s process for protecting them and recognising people outside a church can bring clarity when dealing with charismatic individuals.

It also recognised the church had a key role in protecting children and that the inquiry should have been launched when Morton entered his guilty plea.