We have been involved in a safeguarding investigation and now, weeks before going public, a news team has shown an interest. This is the statement we submitted to them. We will be following this, as planned, with a public statement.
STATEMENT STARTS
Statement for Channel 4 News by the trustees of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists regarding an independent investigation into allegations of non-recent sexual abuse by the late Donald Kelly.
"In late 2021 the South England Conference (SEC) of Seventh-day Adventists was shocked to receive reports of non-recent sexual abuse about a now-deceased, former member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in our region, Donald Kelly, dating back to the 1960s. Following these reports, the SEC commissioned thirtyone:eight - an independent Christian safeguarding organisation - to investigate the allegations of abuse by Donald Kelly, report their findings and advise on lessons to be learned and safeguarding procedures going forward.
Thirtyone:eight has now completed its thorough investigation and submitted its comprehensive report, which the trustees are carefully considering. We intend to share those findings with all those who participated in the investigation ahead of any wider publication.
The SEC recognises the appalling and lasting harm that Donald Kelly caused, and extends its deepest and heartfelt sympathy to all who have been affected by his abusive conduct. Families looked up to Donald Kelly because he appeared to be a pillar of the community: an inspirational Oxford University graduate. But the devastating reality, which we now know, is that he exploited the high regard that people held him in, and preyed on the awe of his admirers, to abuse the children of our parishioners. These harrowing and traumatic events occurred many years ago, and Donald Kelly died in 2022, at the age of 79.
Whilst the SEC continues to review and improve its existing safeguarding measures to make them as robust as possible, it is reflecting carefully on the lessons to be learned and will implement further measures where appropriate. We take safeguarding reports extremely seriously and continue to provide advice and guidance for our ministers and members to deal with situations, proportionately and appropriately. We will be contacting victims and sharing with them the investigation findings as soon as legally possible and would like to thank all those survivors and witnesses for their courage in coming forward to speak to the investigators.
Today, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has over 25 million members worldwide. We are appalled that this one man’s actions have caused so much suffering to so many people."
STATEMENT ENDS
If you have been affected by this story you may wish to talk it through with someone.
You might choose to contact:
Cornerstone Counselling Services Listening Line - 9:30 am - 10:00 pm - 0330 133 2495
Premier Lifeline - 9:00 am - 5:00 pm - 0300 111 0101
New Kapporet - 3:00 pm - 11:00 pm - 0808 801 0333
Or email safe@secadventist.org.uk
