Bob Jones U. faulted for treatment of sex-abuse victims

GREENVILLE, S.C. — A two-year investigation into the way Bob Jones University officials handled reports of sexual abuse from students has, among other reforms, recommended personnel action against Bob Jones III, the grandson of the founder of the university and former president.

The report, issued Thursday morning by GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment), says Jones was ultimately responsible for many of problems the independent watchdog group found.

"Dr. Jones, III has also repeatedly demonstrated a significant lack of understanding regarding the many painful dynamics associated with sexual abuse," the report states. "Due to the central role Dr. Jones, III played in the many issues outlined within this report, it is recommended that the university impose personnel action upon Dr. Jones, III."

Randy Page, a spokesman for BJU, said the university would be evaluating personnel recommendations and all other recommendations within 90 days. Jones remains chancellor at the evangelical Christian university founded in 1927 by his grandfather, Bob Jones Sr.

The report also says James Berg, a former dean of students, was largely responsible for failing to respond adequately to reports of sexual abuse and recommends that he no longer be allowed to teach on any issue related to sexual abuse and that he no longer be allowed to counsel students.

The BJU website lists Berg as teaching crisis counseling and says he has been teaching Christian counselors for 30 years. Berg told GRACE investigators that he had counseled 200 to 300 sexual abuse victims in his years as dean of students, from 1981 until 2010, yet had no formal training.

He said he had on-the-job training in addition to reading books and articles and attending a conference. His style of counseling was criticized by several victims, who said he asked rapid-fire and personal questions such as whether they had been drinking or had been involved with the abuser before.

The report also recommends that Berg's books and other materials no longer be sold by BJU, both online and in its bookstore.

Sermons that are hurtful should be removed as well, the report suggests.

GRACE recommended a long list of changes, including recovery assistance by an outside professional, degree completion and tuition assistance for victims, a review of files of all victims to see if law enforcement needs to be called in and bring in an independent consultant to review policies and procedures.

The report also suggests installing a memorial on campus to victims and for university personnel to sit down with victims, hear their stories and acknowledge responsibility.

Various stories of ineffective counseling are included in the 301-page report. Students said they felt re-victimized with probing questions about what they had done to cause the abuse to happen or whether they enjoyed it.

Some said they were discouraged, and in some cases told not to report abuse to authorities. One student said Bob Jones Jr. and his son Bob III asked her if she wanted to ruin the reputation of the school and a "godly man" by reporting sexual abuse.

Students reported classroom lectures and sermons during chapel services that related the idea that if they dressed immodestly they would cause problems for the men around them.

One student said a professor gave her class a list of clothing that would cause men to lust, including a skirt with a small slit on both sides, knee highs instead of hose because hose keep the backside from wiggling when women walk and the neck of a blouse that points downward because it draws a man's attention to a woman's breasts.

"Purses or bags carried crosswise call attention to the space between the breasts. ... A glimpse of bare leg skin is almost too much for a man to bear," the student told investigators. "I came away from that meeting with a slimy film of shame clinging to me."

Students said they were made to feel like "damaged goods" and that no decent man would want to marry them.

Students said they were told to "forgive and forget" and that their residual effects, such as flashbacks and nightmares, were considered a spiritual problem.

The report criticizes BJU officials for not keeping confidential information obtained through counseling. A dean of women said she had called a girl's pastor, and a dorm counselor told a girl's boyfriend she had been abused.

Known offenders were not named in the report, but information has been passed on to law enforcement, the report said.

University President Steve Pettit on Wednesday apologized to victims who felt they had been harmed by the action of university employees, but his apology was quickly criticized by some alumni who said the school needed to do more.

Jeffrey Hoffman, who spoke to GRACE investigators about abuse he suffered off campus as a child by someone who worked at BJU at the time, said it is one thing for Pettit to say officials are sorry people did not feel safe and another to acknowledge that victims weren't safe.

"It was a very carefully worded, lawyerly statement," Hoffman said. "It doesn't really own it. I would like to see them acknowledge culpability. To say we covered things up. We didn't protect children."

"Sexual abuse is horrible," Pettit said. "It is criminal."

He also acknowledged that the school failed to uphold its core values.

"We have carefully listened to your voice," he said. "We take your testimony in this report to our hearts."

Pettit said he will appoint a committee to review the report and respond within 90 days.

Former Bob Jones University President Stephen Jones asked GRACE to begin its work in late 2012. At the time, he said it was in response to allegations made on other university campuses.

At about the same time, however, alumni had become vocal about the way they were treated when they told officials they had been abused. They said they were told not to report allegations to law enforcement because it would harm family members or others. They said they were told to pray for the individuals and to forgive.

They also reported being asked by counselors what they had done to bring on the abuse.

GRACE began the investigation in January 2013.