The Church of the Brethren is supporting an independent investigation and assessment of allegations of multiple forms of abuse that may have occurred at Hillcrest School in Jos, Nigeria. The investigation is being carried out by the Zero Abuse Project.
Hillcrest was founded by the Church of the Brethren in 1942 but for many decades has been an ecumenical endeavor of a number of Christian denominations and mission agencies including the Church of the Brethren. The Church of the Brethren is one of the churches/mission agencies that are cooperating with the investigation and is contributing some $63,000 toward the total cost sharing to fund both the investigation and the provision of victim advocacy services to be carried out separately by an organization called Accord.
Anyone with relevant information pertaining to this investigation may contact Zero Abuse at Hillcrest@zeroabuseproject.org.
A detailed statement from the Zero Abuse Project follows:
Hillcrest School investigation/assessment
Zero Abuse Project has contracted with Hillcrest School of Jos, Nigeria to conduct an independent investigation and assessment of allegations of multiple forms of abuse that may have occurred at the school, including their participating hostels, and any involvement or responsibility by mission communities with respect to such allegations.
Scope of the investigation
Zero Abuse will seek information pertaining to allegations of abuse from the school’s inception in 1942 to the present day. The investigation will include whether Hillcrest School or others in authority (including the mission agencies cooperating or not cooperating with the investigation) had knowledge of abuse and, if so, how it/they responded to allegations of abuse.
Funding the investigation
In addition to entering into a contract with Hillcrest School, Zero Abuse entered into a cost sharing agreement with Hillcrest and Resonate Global Mission, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Church of the Brethren, SIM Nigeria, Pioneers UK, General Board of Ministries of the United Methodist Church, North American Baptist Conference, and Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada. As part of this agreement, Hillcrest and the mission agencies have advanced funds to Zero Abuse to support the investigation.
Hillcrest and mission agency cooperation with accessing documents
In addition to their contribution to funding the investigation, Hillcrest and the mission agencies will designate a representative to assist Zero Abuse in locating documents under the control of Hillcrest or the mission agencies that may assist in the investigation. This will include any records of allegations of abuse at Hillcrest, lists of students, missionaries or others who may have attended, worked, or otherwise served at Hillcrest, relevant dates of employment or service, and child protection policies that may be relevant to assessing past allegations of abuse and in making recommendations to better protect students and other vulnerable parties in the future.
Zero Abuse Project survey
Hillcrest and the mission agencies also agree to assist Zero Abuse in distributing a survey drafted by Zero Abuse to individuals they know who worked at or attended Hillcrest. One goal of the survey is to collect as much information as possible, from as many sources as possible. The survey can be taken anonymously, or respondents can choose to give their names. Those who provide names and contact information to Zero Abuse will be asked if they would be willing to be interviewed by the investigative team.
Witness interviews
Zero Abuse will conduct interviews with individuals willing to speak to the investigators. All interviews will be recorded and transcribed. If a party indicates they will not speak to Zero Abuse under these circumstances, alternate options—such as allowing individuals to respond to written questions—may be considered. The interview recordings and transcripts will remain the property of Zero Abuse and will not be accessible to other parties absent a court order or other legal process requiring Zero Abuse to do so. Each witness will receive a transcript of their interview and will be given a period of seven days to make clarifications or additions.
The lead investigative team
As the lead investigator, Zero Abuse has assigned Victor Vieth, Chief Program Officer for Education and Research and Director of the Center for Faith & Child Protection. Mr. Vieth is a former child abuse prosecutor who gained national recognition for his work addressing child abuse in rural communities. He is the past director of the National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse and past president of the Academy on Violence & Abuse. Mr. Vieth is the recipient of numerous awards for his work in the field of child protection including the Victim Rights Legend Award from the United States Department of Justice.
As a co-lead on this investigation, Zero Abuse has assigned Rita Farrell, Senior Director. Ms. Farrell is a founding executive director of a children’s advocacy center who has conducted several thousand forensic interviews in her 27-year child protection career. Ms. Farrell oversees ChildFirst, one of the leading forensic interview models in the United States, and has helped establish international forensic interview training programs in the nations of Nigeria, Colombia, and Japan. Ms. Farrell is a recipient of the U.S. Attorney General’s Award for “Outstanding Service to Victims of Crime,” presented by the U.S. Attorney General of Indiana, and is also the recipient of the “Lt. Bill Walsh Champion Award” from the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center.
Mr. Vieth and Ms. Farrell will be assisted in the investigation by other Zero Abuse personnel including former child abuse prosecutors, law enforcement officers, forensic interviewers, victim advocates and, if need be, outside consultants.
The final report and its contents
Once the investigation is complete, Zero Abuse will publish a final report that includes the scope of the investigation & assessment, the methodology used, the findings, an analysis of the findings, and recommendations. The content of the final report is at the sole discretion of Zero Abuse Project.
The final report will not name alleged victims or other witnesses without their permission, but may identify alleged offenders when the evidence of an offense is clear, and if doing so serves the public interest (e.g. an offender remains in public ministry and is no longer under the domain of a contracting party). Offenders not identified in the public report will be made known to the agencies who have employed them in the past or who may be currently employing them. If Zero Abuse learns of crimes that can still be prosecuted, Zero Abuse and/or the employing agency(ies) will make reports to the appropriate law enforcement and other legal representatives and fully cooperate with any criminal investigation.
Hillcrest Survivors Steering Committee
The Hillcrest Survivors Steering Committee played a significant role in selecting the independent investigator, determining the scope of the investigation, and in selecting the victim advocate. Although the Hillcrest Survivors Steering Committee is not a signatory to any of the contracts, they reviewed and provided input into the legal documents governing this investigation.
Victim advocate/support for survivors and other witnesses
To support survivors and potential witnesses, the mission agencies have partnered with Accord to provide victim advocacy services. Accord’s team includes: Dinah, Frederika, Grace and Kristin; they have extensive collective experience in trauma-informed care, services for survivors of abuse and misconduct, child protection, education, and communications. The team’s experience spans the United States, United Kingdom, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, and South Africa.
Accord will serve as a resource for survivors and others who may desire a support person or additional services during this investigation. Those wishing to contact Accord can do so at advocacy@accord.llc.
Please note that Accord’s work on this project is independent of the work of Zero Abuse.
Contacting Zero Abuse about this investigation/assessment
Anyone with relevant information pertaining to this investigation may contact Zero Abuse at Hillcrest@zeroabuseproject.org.
This statement also is posted online at https://hillcrest.zeroabuseproject.org.
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