FOX4 debate moderator John Holt pressed Kansas Democrat Adam Hamilton on Wednesday about why his church did not report allegations of inappropriate touching to police in 2005 and allowed the volunteer to return as a camp leader the following year.
Holt asked Hamilton about the church’s decision to conduct an internal investigation rather than immediately turn the charges over to law enforcement. Hamilton, the founding pastor of Resurrection Church in Leawood, is challenging Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS).
“Parents entrust your church to care for their children,” Holt said.
Holt then cited Hamilton’s admission to CNN about the church’s handling of complaints.
“We should have called the police immediately, but that was not our policy 21 years ago,” Hamilton said in remarks played back during Holt’s questioning.
The host noted that the volunteer returned as a camp leader in 2006 and faced further charges. Church officials contacted authorities that year.
“Obviously, it’s your responsibility to take care of these kids,” Holt said. “Why not overturn the policy from 2005, when you had to know that police or law enforcement were better at investigating this type of thing than staff?”
Hamilton did not explain why he did not overturn the church’s 2005 policy, instead pointing to changes made later.
“The fact is, we did change our policy after that,” Hamilton responded.
The church contacted authorities the next year after volunteers returned and more accusations emerged. Hamilton cited subsequent findings.
“They found the same thing. It was inconclusive. There was uncertainty and therefore, they also declined to press charges,” he said.
The charges involve church volunteer Scott Preston Moore. According to court review records kansas city star, Two teenage boys reported that a man entered their bedroom and touched them inappropriately during a church retreat in November 2005. The church investigated but did not notify police or social services. Darkness and light fell on the boys’ faces, preventing them from clearly identifying the man, records said.
Moore returned as captain in 2006 and was accused of entering a camper’s room at night. Church officials later reported the two-year-old allegations to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office. this Star According to the report, court records did not confirm that Moore sexually assaulted anyone at the retreat in 2006.
Moore was later convicted in 2013 of a misdemeanor charge of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy in 2010 at his Overland Park home. He was sentenced to one year in prison in the case, separate from church retreats, according to a Star Tribune fact-finding investigation. The newspaper also reported that existing records did not confirm Hamilton personally decided to return Moore to training camp in 2006.