It has been alleged in a Channel 4 News report that The Seventh-day Adventist Church failed to act on information that a prominent member of the church was a paedophile and sexually abusing young boys.
In evidence seen by Channel 4 News the late Dr Donald Kelly groomed and sexually assaulted schoolboys from the 1960s onwards, with multiple victims who say how he used his power and position within the church to abuse boys. He has been described as a church leader, doctor and Adventist.
Background: The Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, its emphasis on the imminent Second Coming (advent) of Jesus Christ. The world church is governed by a General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, with smaller regions administered by divisions, unions, local conferences, and local missions. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is as of 2016 “one of the fastest-growing and most widespread churches worldwide”,with a worldwide baptized membership of over 22 million people. As of May 2007, it was the twelfth-largest Protestant religious body in the world and the sixth-largest highly international religious body. It is ethnically and culturally diverse and maintains a missionary presence in over 215 countries and territories. The church operates over 7,500 schools including over 100 post-secondary institutions, numerous hospitals, and publishing houses worldwide, a humanitarian aid organization known as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and tax-exempt businesses such as Sanitarium,the proceeds of which contribute to the church’s charitable and religious activities.
Timeline of Warnings
According to the Channel 4 News investigation it has seen evidence that the Seventh-day Adventist Church was warned repeatedly about Kelly’s crimes over the course of three decades.
The Metropolitan Police informed the church in 2009 about allegations against Kelly, while a senior UK church leader was told in 2020 that Kelly was a “predatory paedophile.”
Kelly was questioned at least once by police before he died in November 2022.
The church, under pressure from a group of victims, commissioned an independent investigation into Kelly’s abuse in February 2023 but is still to release the findings. In a statement released through lawyers, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the UK told Channel 4 News that it was only informed of allegations “in late 2021” adding that the church “recognises the appalling and lasting harm that Donald Kelly caused.” The church said that it takes “safeguarding reports seriously” and was “reflecting carefully on the lessons to be learned”, concluding: “We are appalled that this one man’s actions have caused so much suffering to so many people.”
The full statement published by its South England Conference says:
“In late 2021 the South England Conference (SEC) of Seventh-day Adventists was shocked to receive reports of non-recent sexual abuse about a now-deceased, former member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in our region, Donald Kelly, dating back to the 1960s. Following these reports, the SEC commissioned thirtyone:eight – an independent Christian safeguarding organisation – to investigate the allegations of abuse by Donald Kelly, report their findings and advise on lessons to be learned and safeguarding procedures going forward.
Thirtyone:eight has now completed its thorough investigation and submitted its comprehensive report, which the trustees are carefully considering. We intend to share those findings with all those who participated in the investigation ahead of any wider publication.The SEC recognises the appalling and lasting harm that Donald Kelly caused, and extends its deepest and heartfelt sympathy to all who have been affected by his abusive conduct. Families looked up to Donald Kelly because he appeared to be a pillar of the community: an inspirational Oxford University graduate. But the devastating reality, which we now know, is that he exploited the high regard that people held him in, and preyed on the awe of his admirers, to abuse the children of our parishioners. These harrowing and traumatic events occurred many years ago, and Donald Kelly died in 2022, at the age of 79.
Whilst the SEC continues to review and improve its existing safeguarding measures to make them as robust as possible, it is reflecting carefully on the lessons to be learned and will implement further measures where appropriate. We take safeguarding reports extremely seriously and continue to provide advice and guidance for our ministers and members to deal with situations, proportionately and appropriately. We will be contacting victims and sharing with them the investigation findings as soon as legally possible and would like to thank all those survivors and witnesses for their courage in coming forward to speak to the investigators.
Today, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has over 25 million members worldwide. We are appalled that this one man’s actions have caused so much suffering to so many people.”
Kelly’s Global Reach
Apparently Kelly subsequently worked extensively across the world from 1972, working in Adventist-linked institutions in Papua New Guinea, Jamaica, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Australia.
He also worked in medical missionary programmes across parts of Africa, including Lesotho, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone.
Police Investigation
No further action was taken against Kelly but the Metropolitan Police told Channel 4 News that officers did contact the church to inform it of the allegations. It is said that he took part in a “voluntary interview” with Hertfordshire Police but officers later said there was not enough evidence to proceed with the case.
A critical aspect of the investigation and report is that according to Channel 4 News that despite the Seventh-day Adventist’s position that it only became aware of allegations in 2021, it says has seen evidence that the church was told about Kelly’s abuse on a number of occasions dating back decades:
- In 1994, a senior figure inside the Seventh Day Adventist Church was told that Kelly was removed from his post at the Montemorelos University School of Medicine in Mexico for “deeds that were against the ethics of the medical profession.”
- In 2009, the Metropolitan Police informed “representatives of the Seventh Day Adventist Church” of serious allegations after speaking to Michael Smith.
- In 2020, a senior pastor in the UK was told that Kelly was a “predatory paedophile” after another victim came forward.
- In 2022, government ministers in Sierra Leone raised the abuse claims directly with Seventh Day Adventist only to be told that the church was “unaware of allegations against Donald Kelly.”
Church Response
The church eventually agreed as result of pressure from the victims (or alleged victims) to an independent investigation in February 2023, which is understood as noted above from the statement released by the South England Conference to have since been completed. The victims of course want and need to see the findings. This is not unfamiliar territory because we are regularly instructed in such cases where there is a long history of sexual abuse or at least allegations which have not always been acted upon with the necessary diligence. These cases underline why there should be a mandatory reporting law to make it legally necessary to report child abuse to the police. The cases also underline how challenging it is for victims and survivors to achieve accountability let alone some sense of belated justice.
Support Available
Under the Victims’Code survivors and victims of abuse of power should be informed of their legal rights such as access to professional legal advice but sadly this is often overlooked. For specialist legal advice and assistance please contact our Sexual abuse compensation solicitors.
