Season 3, Episode 33: Back to School: Protecting Kids Against Predators in the Classroom

Would you believe your child if they told you that their teacher was doing something inappropriate to them? What if it was a teacher you really liked and respected, and the accuser wasn’t your child but one of their friends? Or, like in today’s case, nearly two dozen of their friends?

Our book this week is Secret Lessons: The Perfect Teacher and the Young Girls He Abused. Our guest is Angie Baughman, author, speaker, Bible study teacher, and a survivor of sexual abuse by a teacher. She’s got a lot of important information for everyone sending their kiddos back to school.

I chose the International Children’s Bible translation to share Psalm 40 verse 2 with you - very appropriate for this case. “He lifted me out of the pit of destruction, out of the sticky mud. He stood me on a rock. He made my feet steady.”

If you’ve had an authority figure take advantage of their position and the trust you gave them, I hope that the message of this scripture really encourages you that no matter what has happened, God’s desire is to lift you up out of that situation, out of the fallout and - like the heart of Angie’s ministry is founded on - He will help you be steady as you learn how to move on.

Our practical action step for this week is to tell ourselves that we are not going to be afraid to be seen as the bad guy when it means standing up for what is right. I know I can’t judge the community that chose not to believe these girls, or to believe Angie. But all of my experience as an investigator is screaming that someone knew the truth about what was going on. Probably a lot of someones. But because public opinion favored the perpetrators, very few people were willing to stand up with the victims. If you know someone who feels like they are standing alone - even if it means you will be criticized - let’s have the courage to stand with them.

Please visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com.

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Check out this Link to Angie’s website and other platforms