The consequence of ignoring harm to children

Whispers to Roars recently shared a firsthand account from an MK survivor. Please click over and read this brave MK's heartbreaking story and how Ethnos360/New Tribes Mission leadership failed to address the harm.

This MK recounts what happened at an MK school in Papua New Guinea when children, who seemingly had experienced abuse, acted out on other children. According to this account, leadership at the Ethnos360 facility, including Keith Copley, currently in leadership in Sanford, knew about this abnormal and explicit behavior as early as 2013 and refused to respond to it in any meaningful way, calling it "normal childhood development." This refusal included anger towards those asking for it to be addressed and the insistence that parents move on.

It is also alleged that leadership in Sanford was contacted with a request to respond to the situation and investigate, including the child safety director at the time, Brian Shortmeier, who reportedly also refused to respond to the abuse. The post lists several other leaders who were allegedly aware of this situation and allowed it to continue, including Joe Chell, Mitch Hoskins, and Jody Riethmiller.

This MK shares they were harmed as a result of Ethnos360/New Tribes Mission's refusal to respond to this situation when they first learned of it. It is also alleged that, because this wasn't addressed, the abuse continued and 40+ children were harmed. The timeframe stated is between 2013-2020, the initial disclosure allegedly being made in July 2013, followed by reports in 2014 and 2015.

As if that isn't enough, the family that this abuse allegedly originated with is claimed to have been sent back to their home country for a while but then intended to return to PNG. When the missionaries there threatened to leave if the family returned, Ethnos360 allegedly sent them to Papua, Indonesia, to a multi-mission school where they continue as Ethnos360 missionaries today. It is alleged that the organization suggested this location because people there wouldn't know about this past.

This is the current-day "child safety" that Ethnos360 practices. This is their definition of reducing risk, having accountability, and training members in child safety. When they say "any allegation of child abuse deserves serious attention," this is what they mean: calling it normal, getting angry, refusing to investigate, transferring people to different Ethnos360 locations, etc.