[Vision2020] Sitler case

Thu Jun 8 11:58:25 PDT 2006

It is disingenuous for Wilson to take refuge in the literal truth that 
Sitler was not a member of Christ Church.  While he didn't, apparently, 
enter into a membership covenant with the Kirk, he worshipped there 
regularly, is in the directory as a part of the Kirk community, lived in a 
Kirk-family boarding house, attended NSA, and was considered a part of the 
ministries and fellowship of Christ Church.  That he didn't cap it all with 
a membership ceremony is irrelevant.

It's this kind of splitting of hairs that makes Wilson look less than 
sterling of reputation.  Same with saying "we" reported the offenses.  In 
truth, Wilson directed the family to report.  Good for him.  But most 
pastors would have recognized their legal, if not simply moral, obligation 
to report it for themselves.  That Sitler had a lawyer with Kirk 
connections, a pastor who was involved in counseling both victims and 
offender and who wrote a letter asking for the judge's mercy in sentencing, 
and that Wilson was the first person the family went to -- a pastor, not the 
police -- is all curious to those on the outside.  It's hardly paranoia or 
shamelessness that makes it so, at least not on the part of the questioners.

keely

From: "Art Deco" <deco at moscow.com>
To: <deveryone at potlatch.com>, <alajr at lmtribune.com>,        "'Paul Emerson'" 
<pemerson at lmtribune.com>, <cclohessy at lmtribune.com>,        "Vision 2020" 
<vision2020 at moscow.com>,        "Jim Fisher" <jfisher at lmtribune.com>,        
"Nathan Alford Daily News" <alford at dnews.com>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Sitler case
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2006 10:47:09 -0700

HTML is necessary to view the graphics in this post.

Bill,

Thank you for posting this story.  There are a number of comments that it 
invites.  I will limit myself to two.

1.    Cultmaster Wilson says: "Sitler was not a member of Christ Church."

Two graphics follow:  The first is the heading of the document from whence 
the second comes.  The document is a now dated Christ Church Membership 
Directory.  The second graphic shows the part of the page where Steven 
Sitler's membership is shown.
_________

_________

_________________

Of course, those of us familiar with Cultmaster Wilson of the Wilson & 
Family's Cult & Cash Machine know that he is a pusillanimous, but not always 
careful liar.   I suggest that readers ascribe to his public comments on 
this and the Jamin Wight case (including those he has so graciously deigned 
to rejoin V 2020 to make) the same degree of truthfulness and ingenuity as 
his above comment about Sitler's membership in his cult.

2.    What's is far more egregious for the community than Wilson's 
to-be-expected lies is the sloppy journalism, editorial placement, and story 
captioning practiced by the Lewiston Mourning Tribune.

Was it too much to ask of reporter David Johnson to check the accuracy of 
the statements of Wilson, a big-time known liar, especially statements about 
Sitler's cult membership?  Apparently, it was.  Accuracy by the Tribune with 
respect to reporting on the cult's activities and pronouncements have never 
been much of a priority when it comes to Wilson's machinations.  I guess 
that accurate, unbiased reporting is too much to ask of Johnson when it 
comes to the Cultmaster.  I hope that there nothing more than cupidity at 
work here.

Although Johnson's report notes in passing that:

"According to court records, Sitler told authorities of numerous other 
sexual assaults he committed with children here and in Stevens County,...",

the caption on the story is "Church officials say rumors about sex offender 
are 'ludicrous'".  The story it self is placed on page 4 of the Northwest 
section.

Let's put this in perspective:

A pedophile is reported by on Johnson to have "told authorities of numerous 
other sexual assaults he committed with children here and in Stevens 
County,...".  This child molester has allegedly confessed to sexually 
abusing about 120 children, including several in the cult family he boarded 
with while attending New Saint Andrews.  This is not a front page story?  
Are not the children helplessly debauched and their families the real 
victims, not Whinny Wilson and Atwood whose "sufferings" are the focus of 
the news story?

What a fucking wonderful community-minded newspaper!  Perhaps it is not 
important to them to publicize this matter so as to alert the community of 
possible past and future perils, not important to try to find out how this 
rampage of debauchery resulting in insidious harm to children could have 
continued so long undetected by authorities.  Perhaps it is not important to 
them to try to at least get a hint about the possibility of other similar 
crimes incubating, hatched, and/or thriving in the same cult environment.  
Do they think those in the local criminal justice system have acted properly 
in this case?

And what about the cult's prime Grimfriar ministerial student Jamin Wight, 
who was recently convicted of having sex with a 14 year girl (10 years his 
junior) also in a cult home where he was boarding during his Grimfriar 
ministerial training in the Wilson & Family's Cult & Cash Machine?  I guess 
that's not news either.

Doesn't this splendid newspaper make you want to..., well never mind.

Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID  83843

(208) 882-7975
waf at moscow.com

----- Original Message -----
From: Bill London
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 3:37 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] Sitler case

In my recent post about the Sitler case, I incorrectly implied that no local 
media had opened this story.

In fact David Johnson of the Lewiston Tribune wrote a piece (reprinted 
below) that appeared today.

I urge anyone who has more information about this case (information that 
will help resolve these issues of Doug Wilson's reputation and decisions) to 
contact Johnson at deveryone at potlatch.com or at (208) 883-0564.

BL

------------------

Lewiston Tribune June 7, 2006

By DAVID JOHNSON
of the Tribune

MOSCOW -- Christ Church Pastor Douglas Wilson and Roy Atwood, president of 
New Saint Andrews College, Tuesday denied rumors a sex offender was harbored 
by the church and his crimes hushed up.

"Ludicrous," Wilson said of the allegations that were being spread on the 
Internet.

"He was a student," Atwood said of the convicted child molester, "and the 
instant the case came up he admitted to it and he was expelled immediately."

Steven J. Sitler, 21, is serving one year in the Latah County Jail and will 
be on probation for life after confessing last year to one felony count of 
lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 16, according to 
court records.

Sentencing Judge John Stegner of Moscow said Sitler could face life in 
prison if he violates any of the many probation conditions placed on him.

According to court records, Sitler told authorities of numerous other sexual 
assaults he committed with children here and in Stevens County, Washington. 
Stegner said Sitler's confessions are unusual among sex offenders and 
figured in the probation sentence.

And contrary to rumors, Wilson said, rather than try to protect Sitler, he 
convinced him he needed to tell the truth about, not just his sins, but the 
crimes he committed. Wilson said he is aware of numerous other potential 
victims, all children and some of them part of the Christ Church community.

"As long as justice was being done, we didn't want the victims, who were 
children, to suffer," Wilson said of his and Atwood's decision to not go 
public with the situation. He said the case is a matter of public record and 
anyone could look at the file. Many of the details, however, have been 
ordered sealed by Stegner.

Sitler was not a member of Christ Church. But the congregation, Wilson said, 
was made aware of the situation. Likewise, Atwood said, he immediately told 
NSA students that Sitler had been expelled for serious violations of the 
law.

Sitler's attorney, Dean Wullenwaber of Lewiston, declined comment about the 
situation. According to court records, he and Latah County Prosecutor 
William Thompson Jr. reached a plea agreement based, in part, on Sitler's 
willingness to tell authorities of other crimes he committed. Thompson could 
not be reached for comment.

Authorities in Stevens County, according to records, agreed to not pursue 
prosecution as long as Sitler continues to meet his probation requirements 
in Idaho.

In addition to being registered as a sex offender, Sitler must undergo 
treatment and be closely monitored by probation officers for the rest of his 
life, according to court records.

Wilson and Atwood said the Internet entries that began appearing Tuesday on 
blogs and the local Vision 2020 community bulletin board here are most 
likely from people who continue to attack the church and college on a number 
of political fronts.

"These people are taking a tragedy and using it to advance a petty political 
agenda," Wilson said.

"This is the kind of thing that they try to make political mileage out of 
and that is almost as reprehensible as the act," Atwood said.

------

Johnson may be contacted at deveryone at potlatch.com or at (208) 883-0564.

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