Six Homeschool Brothers Arrested for Alleged Sex Abuse against Younger Sister

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Six brothers from a large homeschool family were arrested for allegedly sexually violating their younger sister for 10 years.  Parents, John and Nita Jackson, were also charged for failing to report. Two of the brothers were members of Scott Brown’s  (NCFIC) Hope Bible Church.

 

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Six North Carolina brothers were arrested last week for allegedly sexually molesting their younger sister for over a decade, beginning when she was 4 years old until she was 14 years old.  The names of the brothers are Eric Jackson, 27,  Jon, 25, Matthew, 23, Nathaniel, 21, Benjamin, 19, and Aaron, 18. The charges include statutory rape, sexual assault, and rape. The young girl is currently 16 years old. The young men belong to a homeschool family with 11 children. At the time of the alleged abuse, they were living in North Carolina and two of the brothers were reportedly members of Scott Brown’s church, Hope Baptist Church in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

The men’s parents – John Jackson, 65, and Nita Jackson, 54 – also were charged with felony child abuse and released after posting a $15,000 secured bond. Tilley said they were charged because they were aware of the abuse and failed to take action.  (http://hamptonroads.com/2014/05/six-nc-brothers-accused-abusing-girl-over-decade)

Scott Brown has had very close ties with the now defunct Vision Forum Ministries and recently fallen Christian Patriarchal leader, Doug Phillips. Brown also heads up National Centers for Family -Integrated Churches which was originally connected with Vision Forum’s ministry.  Church Elder Dan Horn also has similar connections with Vision Forum Ministries.

The church elder said he took Eric in December 2012 to speak with detectives and added he would have contacted investigators if Eric hadn’t agreed to do it.

“We believe their repentance is genuine,” Horn said.

 Note this book authored by both Scott Brown and Dan Horn, which was published by Vision Forum Ministries in 2007.

Eric Jackson, 27 yrs, allegedly reported the crimes to church elder, Dan Horn.  Two of the brothers were members of the church, the rest of the family is not.  My source has told me that the two brothers became convicted of their sin and felt the need to confess to church leadership.  That is when Horn acknowledged the sin and show of repentance, but also said the crimes must be reported to authorities.

PilotOnline.come interviewed with Dan Horn, an elder from Hope Baptist Church:

Horn said Eric and his brother, Jon, are both members of Hope Baptist Church. He said Jon also is cooperating with investigators.

The church elder said he took Eric in December 2012 to speak with detectives and added he would have contacted investigators if Eric hadn’t agreed to do it.

“We believe their repentance is genuine,” Horn said.

(Source)

This is an interesting story in many ways.  While there are connections with Vision Forum Ministries, it’s interesting to note how this sex abuse case was handled.  This young girl (clearly a minor) was allegedly abused around the same time as Lourdes Torres-Manteufel. She was in a large and most likely Patriarchal family. When word got out to church leaders in this case, they acted promptly. We did not see the same swift response in the Doug Phillips situation at Boerne Christian Assembly.

But there are some red flags that cannot be ignored.  When a homeschooling family is isolated from neighbors, with very little connections, abuse can go on unnoticed for years.  What a tragedy.  Please pray for this young girl who has a lifetime ahead of her trying to make sense of why her older brothers and parents allowed her body to be used in such a despicable way.

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Related article:

• Six brothers charged with abusing girl for more than a decade in N.C., WVEC.com

• 6 Brothers Charged With Sexual Assault of Sister While Parents Looked On

• 6 brothers charged in decade-long sexual abuse – this is a local station with two interviews:  one with Sheriff Tilley, the other a phone interview in which you can hear the voice of church elder, Dan Horn.

• Six brothers accused of sexually assaulting sister for years; parents allegedly knew and did nothing

When the brothers turned themselves in, most of them were emotionless.

“The first kid, it seems to be like a relief, but even when they came to turn themselves in last week, it was like, ‘We’re here.’ I don’t think they know the magnitude of what they’ve done because I don’t think they knew it was wrong,” says Sheriff Tilley, “They haven’t been taught any differently. I’m not sure when that’s going to sink in exactly what they were doing was wrong.

• Suspect confessed after hearing the gospel at Wake Forest church. “Most of the children in the family are now grown, but a younger brother remains at home, likely in Colorado, said Tilley. The victim, now 16, was placed in the custody of an older half-brother in Colorado, he added.”