Leave the lid on this

An aspect of abuse and abuse coverups in New Tribes Mission/Ethnos360 that is not often taken into account is the interconnected relationships within the organization. Everyone is friends or family, and it is a lot harder to hold people accountable when you have a close relationship with them. Although this instinct may be normal, there seems to be little to no effort to counteract it.

One documented example is Donna Beach. The Fanda report describes abuse perpetrated by Donna Beach while acting as a tutor to an MK teenager. According to the report, although this behavior was considered problematic, it was not reported to authorities. The report explains that Donna Beach was allowed to continue to be a member of Ethnos360/New Tribes Mission after a return to the organization's training facility, while the victim's family was ultimately expelled from the field.

The Fanda report describes the treatment of this situation as "kept very quiet," "confidential," "completely suppressed," and "Not only was this offense covered in secrecy, but the fact that such behavior was a crime was ignored." Donna Beach's husband was a field committee member, which could account for a portion of this stifled response, but the Fanda report also describes another leader, Paul Wyma, writing in his notes, "Donna Beach (leave the lid on this)." Paul Wyma was Donna Beach's uncle and his father-in-law, her grandfather, was the man who wrote the book, "The Story of New Tribes Mission," and was influential in the early years of New Tribes Mission/Ethnos360.

Based on churches claiming to support Donna Beach and her husband, it appears they are still members of Ethnos360/New Tribes Mission in some capacity. As with every case we can recall, no leaders seem to have had any consequences for covering up this alleged crime. Additionally, it doesn't seem like anything about this case fits the exceptions given for why Ethnos360 wouldn't add a name to their list of abusers, and yet Donna Beach's name is not included.