Rez Fails to Notify Parents of Sexual Predator
Multiple people have provided ACNAtoo with a text message that a Church of the Resurrection member sent to congregants, warning them of a convicted sex offender who has been attending Rez in Wheaton, IL for the past three years.
While we cannot independently confirm the actions of the message’s author, we can confirm the validity of the situation addressed. ACNAtoo advocate Audrey Luhmann also learned of John Hays' attendance from sources outside Rez. On Friday, Oct. 28 she reached out to Dcn. Will Chester and Pastor Meghan Robins, requesting that the church notify its congregants of Hays’ attendance. To date, we are unaware of any action on Church of the Resurrection's part to address this concern.
What follows is the full text message ACNAtoo received. We have redacted names for privacy, added clarifications in brackets, and added links to the text that match the links provided to recipients separately by the sender.
I’m reaching out to you regarding safety at Rez. I learned in May of this year that there was a Registered Sex Offender who had been attending Rez since at least 2019. [Redacted] and I brought our concerns to Rez leadership immediately. We were told that they would consider our concerns. At the meeting a few weeks ago I found out from Meghan [Robins] that John Hays is still attending Rez. I’ve included links to his registry and an article that outlines some of his offenses. It’s important to note this is not a case of an 18 year old having sex with his 16 year old girlfriend. He abused an 7 year old little boy. After that abuse was brought to light another man came forward and disclosed abuse from years earlier. I have no doubt there are other victims. I spent a lot of time researching what other churches do in this case.
Leadership feels they are doing enough because John Hays has a chaperone the entire time he is on the church property. A chaperone can have the opposite effect of indicating a warning to the congregation. It can actually lend credibility to the offender. If I saw someone sitting with friends of mine on a Sunday, and then saw him outside of church, I would assume he is a good, safe person, because my friends have implicitly “vouched” for him and because it’s not known that this man is being chaperoned. It just looks like people sitting together on a Sunday. He is also not chaperoned in the parking lot. We all know that we are a welcoming, friendly church. If you saw him in the parking lot as he’s walking in or out, there’s nothing to warn you to keep your children away from him. Pedophiles are incurable. They will always have sexual urges towards children, although certain medications can dampen them. The most important “treatment” is not allowing them access to children in any way. There is a reason why registered sex offenders are not allowed on any public parks/playgrounds/forest preserves or within 500 ft. of a school.
I understand this man needs church just like we all do. However, he lost his right to anonymity the minute he hurt a child. There are ways to support him without putting children at risk. At a minimum, parents deserve to know so they can make their own choices about how they keep their children safe. Rez could minister to him separately from Sunday services. A pastor can visit him in his home. A men’s only bible study that is clear about inviting registered sex offenders in can be set up. A separate service can be done on Sunday afternoons that is clearly advertised as allowing registered sex offenders and is only for adult men. It may also be that Rez opts out of ministering to these people.
I let leadership know that I would be sharing this information with any friends with young children, which is why I’m sharing this with you. I would want to know and I feel complicit if I withhold this information any longer. I’m happy to talk about this and also encourage you to share as you see fit.
For more information about child sex offender reoffense rates and associated dangers, please read this short, informative article by The Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interpersonal Violence.