Where should I begin with this...
I must address this as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse (within the religious circle) FIRST.
This picture is Bishop Larry Trotter, pastor and founder of Sweet Holy Spirit Church in Chicago and his 4 year old granddaughter ... taking a bath together.
Now, while none of us know if Trotter has on trunks underneath that water, we have to conclude that this photo was, at the very least, HIGHLY inappropriate to take, it was HIGHLY inappropriate for Trotter to be in the tub with his granddaughter in the first place, and then it is GROSSLY unwise to post this picture on Instagram!
The question of whether or not this is child pornography has come up.
It has always been my understanding that child porn is taking pictures of children simulating or actually performing sexual acts.
According to the Center of Missing and Exploited Children's website, http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?PageId=1504, this is what child pornography is under federal law:
"What Is Child Pornography?"
Under federal law (18 U.S.C. 2256), child pornography is defined as any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, picture or computer or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct, where
- the production of the visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in seuxlaly explicit conduct; or
- the visual depiction is a digital image, computer image, or computer-generated image that is, or is indistinguishable from, that of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or
- the visual depiction has been created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct."
Since Trotter is not engaging in a sexual act with this baby, neither is she, then this particular photograph does not fit into the category of child porn.....
BUT...
Who is to say what happened BEFORE or AFTER this photo was taken?
It's the IMPLICATIONS of what may have been going on that is SO disturbing!
And since this post was put out here publicly, then ALL implications behind this photo should be dealt with...publicly...as well!
And since this post was put out here publicly, then ALL implications behind this photo should be dealt with...publicly...as well!
I have come across a few stories where parents were arrested JUST for taking pics of the kids-ALONE-in the bathtub.
Swedish Mother Arrested Over Taking Pics of Kids in Tub
Texas Parents Arrested Over Bathtub Photos
Are Bathtime Pictures Pornographic?
These parents were arrested for taking pictures of their kids in the tub....they were NOT in the tub with the kids. One mother was breastfeeding her child....but if a mother can breastfeed her child in PUBLIC and not get arrested for it...how is it ok that she was arrested for doing it IN PRIVATE?
(That's another blog, for another day!)
I am going to tell you why these parents were arrested, lost custody of their kids and went through hell and high water to regain custody of their kids....
Because these acts did not take place inside of a church or within the confines of a religious system!
Because they were not leaders in a church or a religious organization!
Sad to say, within the religious system, child abuse and exploitation is not only acceptable, but if it is ever discovered or even suspected, it is MOST likely to be swept under the rug, dismissed, and allegations and obvious warning signs are blatantly ignored!
We all remember 20 years ago when it first started coming out about the priests molesting altar boys? These altar boys were grown men by then and just couldn't go on without sharing what they went through at the hands of perverted priests. I am sure that at some time during their childhood, these altar boys reached out to someone for help.
But their cries for help were ignored. The allegations went uninvestigated, ignored, filed away for no one to search further. People were undoubtedly bought off in exchange for their silence when allegations went public.
This makes me think about former christian gospel artist Tonex now known as B. Slade. Anthony Williams grew up in the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World denomination and went on to become one of the most popular, most talented singers in the industry.
That's until he came out of the closet.
Once Anthony went public with his gay lifestyle, he was shunned and pretty much blacklisted by his christian compadres and the industry. He did take on the pastorship of his father's church in the Spring Valley area. But I haven't heard of him preaching lately...it is my understanding that even after coming out of the closet, he was still allowed to pastor Truth Apostolic Community Church. And he was even invited to preach at other gay-accepting, gay-affirming churches....
But....
I don't want to focus so much on Anthony's turn of lifestyle, but on WHY this happened...
I want you to watch this video. Anthony is now known as B. Slade. Slade is an openly gay performer who performs at various venues. This video explains a LOT of what Anthony went through...that brought him to this point where he is right now:
In this video, Anthony shares that he was molested as a child in the P.A.W (@3:12 into the video).
What most religious people see in this video is an embittered, wounded, hurting young man who is lashing out at the religious institutions.
Well, HOW DID HE GET THERE????
THAT is the question we need to ask.
He was not just expressing his hurt and anger over how the industry shunned him after his coming out, or the breakup of his marriage, or the death of his parents-and the insensitive way that religious people supported him (or didn't support him) afterwards.
He was not just expressing disappointment and bitterness over losing popularity and fame he had worked so hard to attain within the gospel music industry...
This was a young man who grew up in a coveted popular pentecostal denomination, one where 'holiness' was supposedly preached and taught. I went to another popular pentecostal denomination for almost 5 years.
If you listen closely 3 minutes and 12 seconds into the video, he utters these lines:
"...the irony is I was introduced to this by you.
so I'm a product of a double standard institute.
Homey, bitter ain't the word for it, that's an understatement.
That's why I had to take a vacation..."
Introduced to WHAT?
Homosexuality! Sexual perversion! Within the religious circles!
It seems to me that within religious organizations, there is a tendency to ignore signs of child abuse. When I was in ministry, I was told that ministers are mandated child abuse reporters.
But it is within the institution of church where abuse happens the most and is reported THE LEAST!
If anyone sees anything that may constitute child abuse (within the church setting, or committed by church leaders or workers), it is highly likely that that abuse WILL continue, go unchallenged, unreported and will serve to destroy the innocence of children entrapped within the religious institutions.
Trotter's grandbaby is smiling in this picture with her granddad. Undoubtedly, she loves her pawpaw implicitly. In her mind, she is just having fun with pawpaw.
But the sick thing is in his mind, they are having fun, too!
But WHAT IF he is abusing that baby? Exploiting her?
I challenge you if you're a church leader, or even if you go to church and you stay in the Chicago area, maybe you go to Sweet Holy Spirit....PLEASE don't be blinded by the charisma of this man. SOMEONE needs to report this man ASAP to the local authorities so that that household can be investigated.
At the very worst, if nothing is going on, then at least those around them will sleep a little better at night.
There is no worse feeling than to have witness possible abuse (of a child or a woman-of anyone), having had the power to put a stop to it...but because you didn't want to get involved, or because you love your pastor, or because you don't want to make the church 'look bad,' you kept silent.
Then it comes out later on that that WAS in fact abuse....
Who is going to look out for the children?????
No one looked out for Anthony Williams/Tonex/B. Slade. And look what's happened to him now.
Ten or twenty years down the line, what if this baby IS being abused? And she ends up being whorish? Or lesbian or bisexual? Or she abuses chidren herself?
It all began right here, folks. With her grandfather taking inappropriate pictures with her in the tub....
That's how it started with me.
My uncle would tongue kiss me every night. Then he fondled me...I was maybe 10. Then he took the Polaroid and took nude pictures of me. He would compare me to models in porno magazines.
Then the sex began...
It's only by the grace of God that I've been healed of it all. And I experienced GREAT shunning and persecution within the church I grew up after I reported my uncle to the police. I didn't report it til I was like 14 years old....I couldn't muster up the courage to do it before then.
I am speaking for every child right now...and from the heart.
Church folks...I know I'm hard on you. But you got to do better than this...by these babies!!!
DO NOT ALLOW YOUR LEADERS TO EXPLOIT, MOLEST, RAPE AND ABUSE YOUR BABIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. REPORT THEM. DO NOT BE AFRAID.
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