For decades, the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism (ABWE) tried its best to keep the sexual abuse allegations made against one of its missionaries under wraps. Recently, however, it decided to come clean and even revealed the true extent of the abuse made by Donn Ketcham, the accused missionary.
The ABWE released a 280-page report that revealed how its leaders failed to stop Ketcham from sexually abusing 22 women and girls while he served at the Memorial Christian Hospital in Malumghat, southeast Bangladesh back in 1961. He was only fired in 1989, according to the Religion News Service.
According to the report, one of his victims was an underage teenage girl who was labelled as a "willing partner."
"We're devastated by the negligence of ABWE leadership in failing to remove Ketcham from the field again and again," the family of the underage teen survivor said in the report. "We wish that ABWE leaders could comprehend the immeasurable pain that this... continues to cause her even to this day."
Most of Ketcham's victims were his patients, and some of them were even as young as eight years old. He would drug them with the anaesthetic ketamine and conduct unnecessary pelvic and breast exams on them.
"There is no amount of remorse, regret or shame that can make up for the suffering and pain this abuse has caused," said Al Cockrell, ABWE interim president. "What Donn Ketcham did was reprehensible, and ABWE's lack of oversight and action was simply inexcusable."
To make up for Ketcham's sins, the church is now providing therapy and other services to survivors. Cockrell guaranteed that the board would continue paying for these services for as long as necessary.
Meanwhile, Ketcham and his family refused to cooperate in the investigation conducted by the Professional Investigators International on behalf of ABWE. When sought for comment, Ketcham did not provide any.
