Crook County Prosecuting Attorney DaNece Day has filed criminal charges against two members of the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church (OALC) within the past two years. These actions relate to allegations of child sexual abuse within the church's communities.
"This is what I would call institutionalism of abuse of young women and children," DaNece Day said. According to local prosecutors, one man in Wyoming faced allegations of sexually abusing young girls during Sunday church services. A Wyoming preacher aware of these allegations did not notify police and instead directed the accused individual to seek therapy.
Court and police documents from at least eight cases detail allegations of child sexual abuse within the OALC. Twenty individuals reported being sexually abused in OALC communities, with the abuse almost exclusively occurring during their childhood. The church is a Scandinavian-rooted revivalist denomination with congregations in the U.S. and Canada.
Church doctrine emphasizes asking for forgiveness for sins and teaches that being forgiven by another church member washes away those sins. The church also teaches that speaking about a forgiven wrongdoing can result in accusations of harboring an unforgiving heart. U.S. and Canadian OALC representatives have acknowledged that bringing a victim to confront an abuser can be traumatic.
Swedish church representatives stated that their church guidelines are currently under review with American missionary pastors to ensure compliance. They said, "Sexual abuse should be reported to authorities and it was possible some matters have been handled improperly or without sufficient knowledge."