Life sentence for Stanley Gerald Champ

[TruthSeeker]

It is unfortunate that there have been (and possibly still are) cases where there have been sexual improprieties, assaults, and abuses. Some of these have been covered up. It is also unfortunate that the "me too" thinking is gaining traction and some innocent folks are being accused of things. IMO, any one of us could be accused (and found "guilty") if some disgruntled person would decide to bring charges. We would like to trust the court system, but I believe all of us have heard of innocent people spending years in prison based on false accusations.

My thoughts are not aimed at you, Biblical Anabaptist. The dynamics of this and previous situations turn my mind to the Catholic sex abuse scandal. Does anyone have access to documentation on how many, if any, priests, were presumably falsely accused/unjustly prosecuted?

Here's a Wikipedia blurb on the trajectory of the Catholic sex abuse scandal:

In a 2001 apology, John Paul II called sexual abuse within the Church "a profound contradiction of the teaching and witness of Jesus Christ".[17] Benedict XVI apologised, met with victims, and spoke of his "shame" at the evil of abuse, calling for perpetrators to be brought to justice, and denouncing mishandling by church authorities.[18][19] In 2018, referring to a particular case in Chile, Pope Francis accused victims of fabricating allegations,[20] but by April, was apologizing for his "tragic error"[21] and by August, was expressing "shame and sorrow" for the tragic history.[22] He convened a four-day summit meeting with the participation of the presidents of all the episcopal conferences of the world, which was held in Vatican City from 21 to 24 February 2019, to discuss preventing sexual abuse by Catholic Church clergy.[23] In December 2019, Pope Francis made sweeping changes that allow for greater transparency.[24][25] In June 2021, a team of U.N. special rapporteurs for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have criticized the Vatican, referring to persistent allegations that the Catholic Church had obstructed and failed to cooperate with domestic judicial proceedings in order to prevent accountability for abusers and compensation for victims.[26]

[temporal1]

. . . Or the role of the perpetrator in the church hierarchy!

Thanks, temporal1, for turning our thoughts to the victims!

Thanks for your response.
The sentence is horrifying, and sickens me.

But, as one victim stated, Mr Champ unilaterally gave a life sentence to every victim, and their loved ones.
It’s not about revenge. It shouldn’t be.

It’s about PREVENTION of additional victims. In this perspective, his sentence is not excessive.
As well, he will have options to appeal, other ways of mitigating his sentence - his victims have no such options.

In prison he can find and choose God. He can choose a godly life in prison.

Yes, he can. His family and church have now also become victims of his actions.

It seems like an amazing sentence.

However, there is little I can say against it.
It will help people to understand the unbelievable destructiveness of sin and crime.

Champ claims he is innocent.
He alleges a disgruntled family that left Grays Prairie brought trumped-up charges against him.

On earth, we have fallible governments and court systems. Not 1 is perfect/without error. Injustices are done.

This sentence sickens me.
However, like mike (who is among those here who serve in prison ministries, maybe you are another, BA?) -
“there is little i can say against it.” Life can be painful and unjust.
Jesus is present in all circumstances, for everyone, no matter role.

In the U.S., we can fairly guess his attorney counseled him to plead innocent or not guilty, no matter reality. We can fairly expect appeals. We can fairly expect probation, or even early release. Possible clemency. He didn’t receive a death sentence.

(i believe) these “graces” in the legal system have resulted because of prior false rulings. some have received “grace” who were guilty, some of these have reoffended. some have died from reoffenders. (currently, Eliza Fletcher was kidnapped, raped, killed by a reoffender in Memphis). Courts make grave mistakes. Some courts have been proven corrupt.

Life on earth. It can be excruciating. sin is THE liar. sin hurts innocents, bystanders, sin does not stay contained.

Having said that ^^ -
i’m not a proponent of “Me, Too.” i’m not a proponent of organized political blocs. they beg incompetence+corruption.

In the past, the lion’s share of power was with predators. Church or elsewhere.

God alone sees+knows all. For mankind, on earth, life is a slog. No gov system or human law can “fix” it.

i just happened to see these reports, one is about a victim of egregious violence who forgave her attacker,
another is about a teen who was wrongly accused, sent to prison, whose accuser eventually admitted her guilt.
(i don’t follow Megyn Kelly, Fox, or other) i’m not sure why these older reports popped up.

2016 / “Mandy Bass: The Woman Who Forgave The Intruder Who Brutally Beat Her”


“Wrongfully Jailed For Rape As A Teen, He Now Helps Others Falsely Convicted”


(i see) no way of preventing eradicating false rulings. both guilty AND not guilty rulings! the guilty are not always found guilty.
some have been wrongly executed. the death penalty is rare.

in the U.S., great pains are taken to avoid wrongful guilty verdicts.
overall, in the U.S., i think it’s correct to believe the accused are ‘way better represented and protected than victims.
in U.S. human law, this is a huge “industry.” guilty or not, there is big money in seeing clients “walk.” $$$$

unfortunately, this imbalance has led to “Me, Too.”
(which i’m not part of.) some of my words might suggest i am. i’m not.

God knows SG Champ’s heart. Court rulings are court rulings.

[temporal1]

2016 / Mandy Bass: The Woman Who Forgave The Intruder Who Brutally Beat Her


Self-defense.
i listened to this report carefully. as a young woman, i was violently attacked by a stranger, never found. i doubt there was a search.
i got away. i wasn’t harmed nearly like M Bass. i was attacked, harmed, i got away, my mind is blank about what happened. i was deeply traumatized.

my husband took me to a doctor, he was disgusted and immediately asked, “i hope you had keys or something to defend yourself?!” - meaning, using keys to scratch his face? .. i’m pretty sure i just looked at him blankly.

it did not occur to me to hurt him.
i see this in M Bass’s account. she was afraid of being killed. that was my fear. i wanted to see my husband and baby!

she didn’t want to be killed. she wanted to get away. that was it.

not a mention of, “i wished for a gun” or other.
one might guess, “in the heat of the moment,” the first impulse would be to lash out.

maybe it’s like this for some? in some circumstances? is this what men do? are boys taught self-defense? to fight?

it’s not always “the instinct.”
if i had not experienced it, i may not have ever thought about it. i may have presumed, if attacked, i would fight back.
life shows us who we are. i don’t believe self-defense is wrong. it’s not the only possibility.

it’s a different thing to want to stop evil, stop pain, run away from, versus to harm.

the situation that eventually unfolded with M Bass and her attacker was life-altering, and life-giving.
it cannot be mandated in courts of human law. it’s part of God’s realm.

not all forgiveness will result in perpetrators coming to repentance. forgiveness can have hope, it can’t have strings.
it’s ideal when repentance happens. “ideal” is part of God’s realm.

rape is violence.
rape of children is as violent as the violence M Bass endured. whether there is physical evidence or not.
violence against souls.

[Josh]

TruthSeeker,

Do you hold a position that false accusations never happen and an accusation alone should be enough to convict?

[Sliceitup]

TruthSeeker,

Do you hold a position that false accusations never happen and an accusation alone should be enough to convict?

I wonder how often an accusation alone will be enough to convict someone. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any examples where that happened.

[Josh]

TruthSeeker,

Do you hold a position that false accusations never happen and an accusation alone should be enough to convict?

I wonder how often an accusation alone will be enough to convict someone. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any examples where that happened.

Of course it is not, in a court of law. But the zeitgeist lately has been that any accusation is enough to deem someone guilty in the court of public opinion, due to “believe victims” and “false accusations are a myth” and so on.

[Grace]

TruthSeeker,

Do you hold a position that false accusations never happen and an accusation alone should be enough to convict?

I wonder how often an accusation alone will be enough to convict someone. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any examples where that happened.

Of course it is not, in a court of law. But the zeitgeist lately has been that any accusation is enough to deem someone guilty in the court of public opinion, due to “believe victims” and “false accusations are a myth” and so on.

There are exceptions of course. Ashley Biden's claims of her Dad's showering with her when she was a young girl, gets over looked.

[TruthSeeker]

TruthSeeker,

Do you hold a position that false accusations never happen and an accusation alone should be enough to convict?

No

[temporal1]

I wonder how often an accusation alone will be enough to convict someone. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any examples where that happened.

Of course it is not, in a court of law. But the zeitgeist lately has been that any accusation is enough to deem someone guilty in the court of public opinion, due to “believe victims” and “false accusations are a myth” and so on.

There are exceptions of course. Ashley Biden's claims of her Dad's showering with her when she was a young girl, gets over looked.

in U.S. history, the Salem witch hunts, lynchings, come to mind.
“those who ignore history are destined to repeat it.” “Me, Too,” flirts with it.

mob rule (pure democracy) isn’t ideal.

there is no slam-dunk for judgments of either the accused or claimed victims. sin guarantees failures.
there is no way out of being human and fallible on earth. every human construct requires scrutiny and accountability.
and still there will be failures.

we are tasked with doing the best we can, while praying for faith and discernment.

God does not overlook victims or those wrongly judged. He provides His way. Even when we’re convinced He will not.

[steve-in-kville]

TruthSeeker,

Do you hold a position that false accusations never happen and an accusation alone should be enough to convict?

I wonder how often an accusation alone will be enough to convict someone. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any examples where that happened.

This is where good police work comes in. Get the suspect to admit to something and go from there.