Google "Steven Sitler" and you'll find the tale of years of harm inflicted on a small Idaho community by a serial pedophile and his pastor. Even for those who've followed the Steven Sitler scandal closely, what they don't realize is they've only heard half the story. It actually gets worse.
For those already familiar with Doug Wilson's role in the Steven Sitler pedophilia scandal, feel free to skip to Part 2, below.
Part 1:
The little college town of Moscow, Idaho (pop. 25,146) features prominently in the Steven Sitler story. This isn't because pedophiles are rare in Moscow, or anywhere else for that matter. Child molesters exist in virtually every community. In Moscow alone there are 47 registered sex offenders, the majority of which are child molesters. Idaho State quantifies that as 1 in every 544 residents. With only one exception they've received very little local attention from bloggers and community activists. Steven Sitler, however, has received a great deal of that. This isn't because Sitler's crimes began and ended exclusively in Moscow. Nor is the spotlight on Sitler due only to the large number of children he molested. Other pedophiles in Idaho have committed the same or sometimes even worse (experts say the term "serial pedophile" is redundant).
Steven Sitler began his criminal career molesting children in his home town of Colville, Washington. After graduating from high school in May 2003 he relocated to Virginia where he molested more children. Only later did Sitler move to Moscow, Idaho where he was ultimately caught and convicted. It isn't because of Sitler's arrest there that the town of Moscow, Idaho is so tightly coupled to the name "Steven Sitler." Rather, the reason is largely because of Steven Sitler's pastor, Douglas Wilson. Apart from Doug Wilson's meddling in the Steven Sitler affair, and his self-justifications for that meddling, it's unlikely the Steven Sitler case ever would have arisen to the acrimonious scandal it became.
From the earliest days of his pastoral career Doug Wilson earned a reputation in Moscow of having a demeanor quite opposite that of "pastoral." Wilson is known to his neighbors in Moscow as being smug, arrogant, bombastic, snarky, autocratic, unaccountable, egotistical, and abrasive. Many in Moscow, and especially former "Kirk" members, refer to Christ Church as a cult and Douglas Wilson a cult leader. Like so many other cult leaders Wilson uses scripture as a weapon to assail anyone who dares challenge him. That includes fellow believers as well as unbelievers. From his pulpit and publications Wilson frequently targets his "enemies" with imprecatory Psalms and imprecatory prayers. He's dubbed this weaponized use of scripture "serrated edge theology." By it he's stumbled many believers and pushed away many unbelievers in disgust, from the Christian faith altogether.
This isn't to say, however, that Doug Wilson is unpastoral to all. As it concerns pedophiles Wilson has a reputation for, in his own words, covering up sin. "I am a pastor. And I cover up sin for a living." Given the magnitude of scandal Doug Wilson created in his mollycoddling of Steven Sitler he's well earned his reputation as Moscow's Most Hated Man. Ironic, isn't it, that a pastor would be even more disdained by a community than a serial pedophile? By his years-long advocacy and active support of Steven Silter, (not to mention his support of the convicted sex offender, Jamin Wight) Doug Wilson has forever destroyed his own reputation.
After enrolling in Wilson's New Saint Andrews College, Steven Sitler arrived in Moscow, Idaho in late August 2003. He also began attending Wilson's Christ Church. As is the case for a number of NSA students Sitler was boarded with a Christ Church family. He wasted no time preying on Christ Church children, beginning with the children of the family he was boarded with.
Wilson's church, and the confederation he founded (CREC), attracts many Quiverfull families. This could make "The Kirk" an attractive target for predators. Sitler ingratiated himself with multiple Kirk families. He sought ways of being alone with small children such as offering to babysit. Sitler's modus operandi was to target boys and girls 2-12 years of age. Sitler posted many photos on his web site of small children. In fact his web site was comprised of practically nothing but photos of small children. It's for good reason that some who saw Sitler's web site commented that it had the appearance of a "pedophile trophy site."
On March 5, 2005 the father of the family where Sitler was boarded discovered that Sitler had been in bed with one of his children. Sitler initially denied any wrongdoing, claiming he had only been "praying" for her. In reality he'd been preying on her. Upon further investigation the father determined Sitler had molested several of his own children, as well as several other children who'd been guests in his home. The father notified Sitler's parents, as well as Doug Wilson. The father filed a police report and Detective Margaret Lehmbecker also documented her interview with the father (TRIGGER WARNING: graphic descriptions of child molestation. All names have been redacted).
Wilson was notified that Sitler had molested multiple children, but he was in the dark about how long it'd been going on and with how many children he'd molested. Rather than letting the criminal justice system do their job unimpeded Wilson interposed himself under the guise of "counseling" Sitler. Sitler made confessions to Wilson and Wilson determined to interpret these confessions as "repentance." Wilson also decided that Sitler must be telling him the truth, that he was holding nothing back and making full disclosure, and that his memory was reliable. Wilson's only discipline of Sitler was to suspend him from The Lord's Table (communion) and to expel him from NSA. Sitler was free to continue attending church. The only statement made at the time was Sitler had been expelled for unspecified "criminal conduct." Thus began Wilson's coverup, but it didn't end there.
The Sheriff's office made many attempts at interviewing the parents of child victims they'd positively identified. Their investigative efforts were hampered when confronted with the fortress psyche of a sociological cult. Furthermore it seemed apparent Wilson was using the confessions he extracted from Sitler to make contact with parents of victim children and dissuade them from cooperating with the Sheriff's office. Wilson informed victim families Sitler would deny his earlier confessions and take the case to trial. Wilson conveyed that Sitler's defense attorney, Dean Wullenwaber (who was also NSA's attorney), would compel any child victims to take the stand in court and subject them to harsh cross-examination. In Wilson's words this would "re-victimize the victims." The fact is any child victims would not have been subjected to such intimidation tactics in court or anywhere else. Wilson well knew it but, as a direct result of his "Let's protect the victims" campaign, no parent, other than the father who originally reported Sitler, cooperated with the Sheriff's investigation. Phone calls to victim parents were never returned, letters were never answered, and interviews could never be conducted. Under Doug Wilson's duplicitous leadership Christ Church circled the wagons. Wilson used the victims as human shields, all under the guise of "protecting them." In reality Wilson was only protecting the child molester.
It was determined that Sitler had been molesting children at Christ Church for some 18 months. But Wilson delayed for another eight months before notifying his congregation. When Wilson did ultimately notify his church he diminished the magnitude of Sitler's offenses by equating his crimes of child molestation and child rape to breaking the 7th commandment, "You shall not commit adultery."
A morally responsible pastor would not delay in notifying his congregation. A morally responsible pastor would immediately call an emergency congregation meeting, passed out pictures of the pedophile, and given guidance, "Show this picture to your children and ask them, 'Have you ever been alone with this man?' If the answer is yes then you'll have to ask some difficult questions about inappropriate touching. But we'll be here for you. We'll get your kids the support and professional counseling they need." Wilson did none of that. He delayed 8 months, giving opportunity for memories to fade, leaving many to surmise that's exactly what he wanted. Even with his delayed announcement he offered no suggestions to his congregants in what to do for their children. Wilson's inexcusable 8 month delay only further confirmed that he'd circled the wagons and engaged in a cover up.
As part of a criminal plea bargain Sitler was required to write letters of apology to the parents of every child he'd ever molested (or at least the ones he could remember molesting and that he personally defined as "inappropriate touching"). Sitler wrote dozens of letters, perhaps as many as 100, to parents in Idaho, Washington and Virginia. In some letters he had to confess to molesting more than just one child per family. On September 25, 2005 Sitler avoided going to trial by pleading guilty to one count of "Lewd Conduct with a minor under sixteen years of age." On October 12, 2005 Judge John Stegner handed down a sentence that "defendant be committed to the custody of the Idaho State Board of Correction for a period of LIFE. Pursuant to Idaho Code 19-2513, the defendant shall serve a minimum period of confinement of not less than FIVE (5) YEARS."
Wilson interposed himself again and pleaded with Judge John Stegner for leniency. Wilson claimed that Sitler was repentant -- a changed man.
"I would urge that the civil penalties applied would be measured and limited. I have a good hope that Steven has genuinely repented, and that he will continue to deal with this to become a productive and contributing member of society."Stegner subsequently obliged Wilson, suspended Sitler's sentence, and placed Sitler on probation. Sitler served only one year in jail.
But even during that brief one year incarceration Sitler was treated far better than many other criminals who'd been convicted of far less loathsome crimes. Rather than serving time in the state penitentiary Sitler was remanded to the Latah County Jail, or what some Moscow residents call "The Latah Hilton." Sitler was also routinely let out of jail, driving himself around unsupervised to various appointments, such as "sex offender counseling," all with the active encouragement of Wilson. Even while Sitler was serving his jail sentence the residents of Moscow were on constant alert, never knowing when Sitler might be released, having to keep a vigilant eye out for their children. Now that Sitler is no longer incarcerated it's even worse for them.
Sitler's release from jail hasn't ended Doug Wilson's meddling. Wilson continues using Sitler as one of his principal causes for "covering sin." Wilson's sin covering has significantly diminished the quality of life for Moscow residents. The hostility they hold for Doug Wilson is palpable. He was already disliked as it was, but his meddling in the Steven Sitler case made him a pariah.
Were it not for Doug Wilson Steven Sitler would be where he belongs -- in the Idaho State Penitentiary locked up for the rest of his life. Contrary to Doug Wilson's flawed theology of forgiveness, Steven Sitler's sins have not been "covered," and certainly not from what comes by way of contrition, repentance and reconciliation with his victims and their parents. The only thing Wilson covered up are the just consequences for Sitler's sins -- the lengthy prison sentence his heinous crimes warrant.
Here the story gets even worse.
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Part 2:
There is an additional "pastor" who helped ensure that the victims of this church-attending child predator would never receive the justice they deserve. Some of that pastor's own children are victims. Nevertheless he covered it all up. That "pastor" is RC Sproul Jr. We find it odd that Doug Wilson has gotten all the attention in the Steven Sitler pedophilia scandal while RC Sproul Jr has escaped virtually all scrutiny. In some respects the ramifications of RC Sproul Jr's Steven Sitler fiasco may be as or even more disturbing than Wilson's. The primary difference is Wilson interposed himself as a meddling busybody and "covered up the sins" of Sitler's crimes. Sproul on the other hand "covered up" everything. But credit should also be given where it is due -- as it concerns damage control Sproul was far more shrewd in how he managed his Steven Sitler debacle than did Wilson (not that we mean that as a complement).
In early June 2003 Steven Sitler moved to Virginia to "study" at the Highlands Study Center (later renamed Highlands Ministries). As we've exposed previously HSC was a six-figure fundraising boondoggle to line RC Jr's pockets (and pay for his brewery) at the expense of naive donors. The money poured in year after year, largely due to his name, or rather his father's name. As a teenager RC Sproul Jr determined that he'd have a life of ease and prosperity. Rather than seeking an honest vocation he elected to ride dad's coattails. From the time of his birth his family and friends had always called Robert Craig Sproul "Craig," thus distinguishing him from his father Robert Charles Sproul, known to one and all as "RC Sproul." Recognizing the currency of his father's name, at age 16 Craig started calling himself "RC Sproul Jr." Having different middle names didn't qualify him for the "Jr." moniker. But when the objective is riding dad's coattails why let details get in your way?
By virtue of his purloined name "RC Sproul Jr." ultimately became a celebrity preacher, celebrity platform courtesy of his father's Ligonier Ministries, and the six-figure salary every celebrity preacher is entitled to. Unlike his father (or any of the rest of us for that matter), RC Jr never had to work for a living. Everything came easy, especially the money, much of which he literally stole. Even post-Ashley Madison and drunk driving conviction RC Jr is still riding the Ligonier Ministries gravy train.
The "study center" was RC Jr's office in his basement. The occasional "student" was boarded in a bedroom in that same basement. Several of RC Jr's children had bedrooms in the basement as well. This made his children tempting and easy prey for the pedophile(s) that RC Jr welcomed into his home. Never did RC Jr bother to vet his "students." Had he done so he would have discovered that Steven Sitler was under church discipline for molesting children in his home church of Colville, Washington.
While "studying" at HSC Sitler attended Sproul's St. Peter Presbyterian Church. Like Christ Church, St. Peter is comprised of mostly homeschool families, many of which are large "Quiverfull" families. Little boys and girls were abundant and easily accessible. Sitler ingratiated himself with St. Peter families, offering to watch their children. Sitler remained from early June until August 2003. He then moved to Moscow, Idaho to be a student at New Saint Andrews College.
In spring 2005 Sproul was notified by the Latah County Idaho Prosecutor that children under Sproul's charge had been molested by Sitler in the summer of 2003. As a requirement of Sitler's plea deal in Idaho, RC Sproul Jr had already received a personal letter of apology from Sitler, naming which of his children he'd molested. The implication was made even more clear by the repeated attempts of the Latah County Prosecutor to contact Sproul that Sitler hadn't just molested Sproul's children. Very likely Silter had also molested other St. Peter children. The Latah County Prosecutor attempted on multiple occasions to contact RC Jr and inform him, both in writing and via phone messages, that he could bring criminal charges against Sitler in Virginia. Sitler's plea deal was only binding in Idaho and had no bearing on crimes he'd committed in other states. Much to the dismay of the Latah County Prosecutor Sproul never responded to any of the Prosecutor's communiques.
By October 2005 things were heating up at St. Peter Presbyterian Church. Allegations of spiritual abuse, identity theft, tax fraud, financial malfeasance, theft of church funds, drunkenness, church keggers, plying young children with hard liquor, and much more, began piling up against RC Sproul Jr and his session of elders. In November formal written charges were submitted to Presbytery against RC Sproul Jr by St. Peter member Peter Kershaw. Word of those charges quickly spread to multiple former St. Peter members. A number in turn requested to submit their own charges, which they did. As evidence and testimony of RC Jr's abuses mounted against he and his session RC Jr pleaded to avoid an impending ecclesiastical trial by offering to Presbytery a letter of confession and repentance. Based on their plea of "guilty" RC Sproul Jr, Laurence Windham, Wayne Hays, and Jay Barfield were defrocked on January 26, 2006 from the ministry by the Westminster Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Assembly (RPCGA) by Declaratory Judgement.
Even weeks prior to Sproul's defrocking Doug Wilson and his CREC had rolled out the red carpet to RC Jr. After conducting a sham "investigation" in which they interviewed not a single witness, Wilson and the CREC declared that Sproul, though defrocked from the ministry, "is recognized as ordained in the CREC." Only in Douglas Wilson's Alternate Universe would such a thing ever be possible.
In May 2006 it was brought to Kershaw's attention for the first time that Sitler had for several months in 2003 been a "student" at Highlands Study Center and attended St. Peter Presbyterian Church where he'd molested Sproul's children and, in all probability, other children in his church. Kershaw was also informed that Sproul well knew of it but had done nothing about it. Kershaw immediately began making attempts at contacting Sproul to explain Sproul's moral and legal obligations, including Sproul's obligation to inform all St. Peter church families, current and former, who'd been attending during June-August 2003. Sproul failed to respond. On June 30, 2006 *Kershaw mailed a letter to Sproul. In it he explained that if Sproul continued evading his legal and moral obligations Kershaw would have no option but to inform St. Peter families directly himself. Again Sproul didn't respond. However, Kershaw did receive a brief reply from *CREC Pastor Randy Booth. Much like Doug Wilson RC Sproul Jr had circled the wagons.
Accordingly, *Kershaw sent a letter on July 12, 2006 to every St. Peter family he could identify that had been members of St. Peter Presbyterian Church during the summer of 2003, and whose children fell within Sitler's M.O. (boys and girls 2-12). Kershaw's letter sent shock waves through St. Peter church. Multiple families had already left St. Peter in the aftermath of the defrocking. Kershaw's disclosures about Sitler resulted in even more families leaving. As was RC Jr's custom to punish anyone who left without his permission, Sproul excommunicated them and ordered everyone to shun them in retaliation. This form of spiritual abuse had been one of the more significant charges that resulted in Sproul's defrocking in the first place (St. Peter Presbyterian Church was known in SW Virginia as "The Hotel California of churches." You can check in any time you want, but you can never leave.)
We quote here this instructive statement Mr. Kershaw directed to St. Peter members:
RC Jr was himself one of those parents who took no action against Steven Sitler, criminal or otherwise, though he was still well within Virginia's statute of limitations to do so. He also had the full support of the Latah County Prosecutor's office to have Sitler extradited. As head pastor of St. Peter Presbyterian Church he was legally obligated to notify both his congregants and the police. But he did nothing. His own children were forced to suffer in silence. We can't help but think they must feel deeply betrayed by a father who valued them so little that he refused to seek justice on their behalf."Another problem that victim children suffer from is if they come to later understand that their parents haven’t done everything possible on their behalf to guard them and to punish the perpetrator. Anger and resentment against parents is the inevitable result. Most acts of child molestation go unreported. Many acts of predation go unreported even when the perpetrator is caught in the act. It’s not uncommon that parents don’t press criminal charges, motivated by desires to keep the details a secret. Parents often think that by not reporting it to the authorities they’re 'protecting the child' from additional shame and embarrassment. While their intentions may be good, not reporting often has devastating results later in life for the child. At some point they’ll come to understand that their parents did little or nothing to see that the pedophile was punished for his crimes, thereby giving the pedophile more opportunities to prey on other children. Such children carry the double-burden of having been molested, and feeling betrayed by parents who didn’t care enough about their child to punish the perpetrator. Please don’t make that mistake. If you discover that any of your children were Sitler’s victims take it to the authorities."
The obvious question is why? There had to be a reason why RC Sproul Jr evaded pressing criminal charges against Steven Sitler. There also had to be a reason why he refused to notify his church members of the likelihood that some of their children had been molested. Why did RC Jr also evade the Latah County Prosecutor, refusing to take his calls and ignoring his correspondence? Some might say it was because RC Jr feared the loss of his reputation should it be exposed that he'd failed in protecting his children and church members. Yes, he certainly did fail in this, and he failed miserably so. However, we believe the real reason goes well beyond mere concern for loss of reputation. We believe the answer comes by way of analyzing Doug Wilson's motivations in his advocacy for Steven Sitler.
Wilson's support for Sitler lies in stark contrast to his advocacy for another Christ Church sex offender, Jamin Wight. Whereas Sitler is known to have molested dozens of 2-12 year old boys and girls, Jamin Wight molested one 14 year old girl. In comparing Wilson's efforts expended on behalf of Sitler, his support for Wight was rather anemic. Why the disparity of treatment? It appears to come down to an issue of family wealth and influence, something Steven Sitler had a great deal of and Jamin Wight had none.
It's known that Steven Sitler comes from a very wealthy family. The Sitlers had also been benefactors to New Saint Andrews College. Some in Moscow speculate the reason Doug Wilson was proactive in defending Sitler is he may have solicited and received a payoff for his services. If that were true then it wouldn't be unreasonable to suspect that Doug Wilson might have also arranged a payoff for RC Sproul Jr to buy his silence. Those of us who know RC Jr well know him to be a greedy and unscrupulous man. Would RC Jr accept a bribe, even if it meant selling out his own children? We wouldn't put it past him.
Just as the extent of Sitler's predations at Christ Church weren't limited to the one family who caught and reported Sitler, it's improbable his predations at St. Peter were limited to just RC Sproul Jr's children. Doug Wilson managed to intimidate any subsequent reporting and cooperation with law enforcement, even though it was known based on Sitler's own confessions there were many other victims. We believe it likely that RC Jr followed Doug Wilson's narrative of "Don't re-victimize the victims," effectively using St. Peter's child victims as human shields to protect their "pastor's" reputation. This is classic cult behavior.
Whether or not RC Sproul Jr accepted a bribe he sent a message loud and clear to his children that, at the very least, his personal reputation comes before anything else, including them. He sent exactly the same message to St. Peter church, thereby proving he's anything but a spiritual shepherd. Shepherds protect their sheep from wolves. Sproul welcomed a wolf into their midst to ravage their most vulnerable, the lambs. Once he found out about it he refused to pursue justice on their behalf. Like the cowardly "hireling" Jesus spoke of (John 10:12-13), RC Sproul Jr ran away.
One of the biblical requirements for being a pastor is, "He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. For if anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?" (1 Timothy 3:4-5) It should surprise no one that RC Sproul Jr managed his church in very much the same manner as he managed his family -- autocratically, neglectfully, and with reckless disregard for anyone's spiritual, emotional and physical safety and well being. Sproul has always put his personal interests ahead of everyone else's.
Year after year RC Sproul Jr has heaped scandal upon scandal, consistently proving he's unfit for any form of Christian ministry. Yet this has in no way dissuaded him from scheming his way back into ministry, making merchandise off his moral failures and the alleged "forgiveness" of his scandalous sins (sans any evidence of repentance, and much evidence to the contrary). This he uses as justification for his self-restoration and self-appointment back into ministry. He's even given himself the titles "Pastor" and "Rev." It's all too obvious RC Sproul Jr is taking his cues from his new friend, fellow defrocked Presbyterian and unrepentant serial adulterer Tullian Tchividjian. Tullian also wrote the Foreward for Sproul's latest book (a book that Sproul's adult children actively boycott). Carl Trueman targeted these two men in a recent podcast:
"We’ve had a couple of these recently -- high profile guys who've been caught in pretty catastrophic sin, and then have used their sin, they've parlayed that into their Great Restoration Narrative. They’re now available for public speaking. I want to say to those guys: sit down, shut up, and go away. Get yourself a proper job, pay taxes; we don’t want to hear from you again. Be a good member of your local church. Serve on the toilet cleaning roster or something. We don’t want you as a public speaker, and we don’t want you parlaying your adultery or your drunkenness or whatever into the greatest comeback since the resurrection. We don’t want that. We don’t need that. And you call into question by doing that the genuineness of your repentance, because it doesn’t seem that you understand quite how far you fell... I absolutely believe in grace. But I do not believe that restoration to fellowship is the same as restoration to office or authority. They’re two distinct things. They’re distinct in Scripture. They’re distinct in the church today. Yes, the adulterer, the murderer, can be restored to fellowship in the church. But whether the adulterer should ever stand in a pulpit, or stand in any position of de facto teaching authority, is an entirely different question."
Carl Trueman, Mortification of Spin podcast, June 19, 2019 (@ 23:02)
Though Carl Trueman doesn't specifically mention the names RC Sproul Jr and Tullian Tchividjian, it's obvious that's who he's targeting. We fully agree with Carl Trueman that RC Jr (and Tullian) need to sit down, shut up, and go away. We believe there is no greater evidence of RC Sproul Jr's biblical disqualification from Christian ministry than his cover up of Steven Sitler's crimes.
RC Sproul Jr has a lot of explaining to do to his children, and the children of St. Peter church, for his cover up of the dastardly crimes committed against them. Though on a smaller scale, there is little difference between Sproul's coverup and the Roman Catholic church's pedophile coverups. Based on his conduct at Christ Church it's not unreasonable to assume Douglas Wilson played the part of Catholic Bishop with RC Sproul Jr, colluding to ensure Steven Sitler would never receive the punishment his crimes warranted.
RC Sproul Jr's inexcusable conduct meant that a serial pedophile was effectively let off the hook for his crimes committed in Virginia. Had Sproul sought justice Sitler would very likely be locked up in the Virginia State Penitentiary to this day. Had that happened it would have also served toward bringing some closure to victim families in Idaho, as well. To see Sitler escape justice not just once but twice must be a very bitter pill for every victim and the victims' parents to swallow. As it is every one of those Christ Church families, as well as St. Peter families, feels deeply betrayed and cheated. Worst of all they were betrayed by their own "pastors."
St. Peter children, and RC Jr's own children too, are now adults. It's reasonable to assume that few of them have any genuine sense of closure about what happened to them as children. An apology from RC Sproul Jr might help considerably in their healing.
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*Letters made available courtesy of Peter Kershaw.
This post first appeared on Spinderella Sproul: Lessons In Spin With Spinmeist, please read the originial post: here
