Under Indiana law any individual who has a reason to believe a child is a victim of abuse or neglect has the duty to make a report; therefore, each citizen of Indiana is considered a “mandated reporter.” – Indiana Department of Child Services
This article is Part 21 of an ongoing series.
Dexter Lee Hensley, born December 27, 1957, was arrested on May 21, 2019 by the Jasper Indiana Police. He was charged with three counts of child molestation (35-42-4-3) and one count of sexual battery (35-42-4-8a). These felony charges involve three young girls all under the age of ten at the time of the alleged assaults. At the time of his arrest, a fourth girl had not yet been interviewed. The assaults are alleged to have occurred during the period of January 2012 through December 2015 and at least some, if not all, happened at the United Pentecostal Church where he has been a member for years. At the time of his arrest, Hensley gave the church address as his home address. He has been employed for more than three years as a mixer at Jasper Rubber and served in the National Guard.
Dubois County Circuit Court Judge Nathan A. Verkamp signed the Probable Cause Affidavit and ordered a cash bond of $1,500 on May 24, 2019. The judge mandated that Hensley have no contact with any child under the age of 16 without supervision and was forbidden to contact the victims. All three Probable Cause Affidavits read the same and cover cases 19C01-1905-F4-00473, 19C01-1905-FC-00486 and 19C01-1905-FC-00487. There is a pending court date for June 17, 2019.
Most states require specific professions to be mandated reporters, like doctors, clergy, or school administrators. Indiana goes a step further where any individual who has reason to believe that a child is a victim of child abuse or neglect must make a report. – Indiana chapter of the National Children’s Alliance
The church in question is the Jasper Apostolic Church (listed as Apostolic UPC, Inc. in the United Pentecostal Church Directory and located at 231 Hillside Drive in Jasper) and the pastor is Howard Wayne Geck. The church operates the Jasper Christian Academy, a small school located at the church. Howard Geck also is the pastor of New Life United Pentecostal Church (104 W. 3rd Avenue in Huntingburg), an affiliated UPCI church. (Any church whose pastor is licensed by the UPCI is considered a UPCI church. They can go a step further and have a legal affiliation with the organization. The Jasper church does not have this.) Geck is also the Section 8 director of the NAM (North American Missions) for the Indiana District of the United Pentecostal Church (screen shot).
The previous pastor of the Jasper church was Judith C. Branam. She holds a general license, while Geck is ordained. Branam was listed as the pastor in the 2012-2016 editions of the UPCI yearly directory, while Geck is first listed in the 2017 edition as the Jasper pastor. That would be more indicative of him becoming the pastor at some point in 2016. It would appear from this that the assaults happened while Judith Branam was in charge, but Howard Geck was pastor when the guardian of the girls reported the abuse to him at some point in 2017. It is unknown whether Branam was ever aware of these or any other possible allegations against Hensley.
An investigation was initiated when the oldest victim, now 15, was interviewed on May 17, 2019 on an unrelated matter. She “disclosed that a man from the church she attends had touched her inappropriately when she was 8 or 9 years old” and that these happened at the Jasper Apostolic Church. She stated that approximately two years ago she learned “her sisters had also been touched and that they had then reported the incidents to their guardian.” She has three sisters and they were all scheduled for an interview at the Southwestern Indiana Child Advocacy Center Coalition on May 21, 2019. The Coalition provides forensic interviewing services to children reporting abuse.
On May 20, 2019, the guardian met with Detective Gregory Brescher of the Jasper Police and “confirmed that about two (2) years ago, she was made aware of the inappropriate touching and that she reported the abuse to the church pastor, Brother Geck.” (For those unaware, in UPCI churches the ministers and church members are usually addressed as ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ and followed by their first or last name. In this instance, she is referring to Howard Wayne Geck, who is seen in the photo to the left.) The guardian stated that it was Dexter Hensley who touched the girls and that he was a member of the church. She went on to say that she and Pastor Geck met with Hensley and “that the issue was taken care of.” It was noted that the girls were no longer around Hensley. Please take note that there is no mention of Howard Geck going to the police two years ago when he learned of these assaults.
When two of the three younger sisters were then interviewed, one disclosed that Dexter Hensley “had touched her breasts and genitals” when she was seven to nine years old. The other reported that he “had touched her once or twice” at the Jasper Apostolic Church when she was around eight to nine years of age. She shared that Hensley “asked if he could touch her and although she said ‘no,’ he did it anyway.” The youngest sister’s interview was cancelled due to time constraints and because she was quite tired.
Detective Gregory Brescher contacted Dexter Hensley at his place of employment the same day as the interviews with the youngest sisters. Hensley went as requested to the police department and waived his Miranda Rights. The affidavit stated Hensley “confirmed several statements by the girls and admitted that he had touched them although he stated that these touches were accidental. He did deny some of the touching reported by the girls but also said that he knew what he did was wrong.” He claimed to be remorseful. How can one repeatedly “accidentally” touch that many young girls in their private areas?
‘Indiana’s mandated reporter law is broad and deep…which offers the best layer of protection for children,’ says Stark. But there’s still misconceptions about how to report suspected abuse and the need for enforcement and accountability with the law remains high. ‘If high-profile individuals and organizations aren’t held legally accountable for not following the law, it’s easy for everyday residents to think they’re not required or accountable, either,’ says Stark.
Some high-profile instances have arisen over the last year throughout Indiana. ‘In these situations, there were a couple things to look at. One, parents went to school or organization administrators thinking they were reporting. Parents have to understand their reporting responsibilities. Two, in each of those situations the organizations don’t appear to have reported in a timely manner. They investigated the reports and allegations on their own,’ says Stark. – Indiana chapter of the National Children’s Alliance
Long ago I lost count of all the unreported instances of sexual abuse in the United Pentecostal Church that I’ve heard about. Had Pastor Howard Geck reported this to the police two years ago when he learned of it from the guardian and his talk with Dexter Lee Hensley, there already would have been an investigation and legal action. Instead, justice didn’t start for these girls until this year. Too many UPCI church members have been lead to believe that when such cases occur, they are to go to the pastor and he will handle it. As the quote above shows, some assume that going to the pastor means they are reporting or that he/she will then report it. Abuse needs to first be reported to Child Protective Services or the local police. Too many of these pastors seem to believe they are qualified to investigate and handle sexual assault cases. Instead of reporting them, they choose to handle them ‘in house’ as appears to be what happened here. The affidavit states that when the guardian of these four girls went to Howard Geck, that “the issue was taken care of.”
Exactly what was done by Howard Geck to take care of it? Was Hensley simply told to stay away from these girls? Was he told to say he was sorry and apologize, thinking that settled everything? Was the entire church informed that there was a child molester among them? Did Hensley ever have the opportunity in the past two years to be alone with any child at the church? Was he told to leave and never attend services anymore, especially since some or all of the assaults happened at Jasper Apostolic Church? Were other young girls assaulted after this was made known to church leadership in 2017? Were these young girls frightened any time they attended church, worried that Hensley might still get to them? Exactly what repercussions did Hensley face from the church for molesting three or four girls, all who were not even ten years old at the time of the assaults, and how could they even start to compare to what would have happened had he been reported to police? How would Geck’s handling of this case help to protect young children outside of the church or don’t those matter? It’s a certainty that the church didn’t follow Dexter Hensley around 24/7 for two years.
These are just some of the questions and problems we face when clergy members decide that they themselves are qualified to handle crimes and fail to report them to the proper authorities.
Articles:
Victims allege molestation occurred at Jasper church
Pastor charged with failing to report child molestation
Pastor charged with failure to report
Dubois Co. pastor arrested after failing to report alleged child abuse – Includes video
Dexter Hensley Mugshot
Probable Cause Affidavit
Kentucky and Indiana have highest child abuse rates in the US, report says – 2017 figures: “Indiana had an estimated 29,198 child abuse victims in 2017, an uptick of about 34 percent from the 21,755 victims identified in 2013. …Indiana ranked third in the country in 2017 child abuse death rates, with almost five deaths per 100,000. …Nationally, the 2017 data show 74.9 percent of victims are neglected, 18.3 percent are physically abused and 8.6 percent are sexually abused.”
July 16, 2019 Update: On June 26, United Pentecostal pastor Howard Wayne Geck was charged with a Class B misdemeanor for failing to report this case of sexual assault after he learned of it.
You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.
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I know this is years later, the 6 year anniversary of this matter is coming up so I thought I would finally speak up about this article. First and foremost, I would like to personally say thank you so much for making this known. I am the oldest of the 4 girls that were molested in this article. I was the one that was initially interviewed for a completely different case. I wanted to bring some updates just in case you or others would like to know.
During dexters arrest, I was in a mental institution, right after the interview I got sent. I was suicidal and using drugs to cope with my trauma, the molestation and also other traumatic experiences my sisters and I were going through. When I got out a week after his arrest, I was made aware that he was arrested for it. We were immediately blamed for it, we were called liars, attention seekers, broken girls that were bored, etc. all by members of the church. The public believed us, but the church pretty much turned against us, all expect for dexters wife. She believed us, she was really the only one in the church that did. She was the reason we kept going and moving forward with the situation we were dealing with.
He was only given 6 months of probation, a slap on the wrist, and a slap in our faces. A quick backstory, my 3 sisters and I were brought up and raised in this same church ever since we could remember. We always went every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. We loved Sunday school. We loved vacation bible school. We loved the people. We loved to sing and play instruments on stage. We loved the Christmas programs. We loved the youth groups. Church was our second home; until it wasn’t. After his arrest, we went back to church, and long and behold, we weren’t greeted like we always were, we weren’t spoken to, we were given looks of disgust and disappointment. The sermon that day, liars, seeking attention, seeking revenge, and ruining lives. What that had to do with God or the Bible? It wasn’t, it was a direct sermon about and to us 4 girls.
After that Sunday, we stopped going to church. We told our guardian at the time that we were done. Our relationship with the church was gone. Our relationship with God slowly diminished. All 4 of us fell into a deep depression and state of guilt, hurt, anger, sadness and grief. The church was all we knew, it was what we looked forward to. Then it turned into something we never wanted to go back to.
A few months after this all happened, I (15) turned to harder drugs, I attempted to take my life 7 times in the span of 3 months, I was self harming, I was harmful to others, I cut off my long hair that made me, me. I dyed it black, something I told myself I’d never do. I pierced my body, another thing I thought I’d never do. I couldn’t keep any relationships or friendships, I ruined my relationships with family members because I pushed everyone away, including myself. One of my sisters (13) had 2 suicide attempts, one that landed her in the hospital for weeks trying to pump her stomach, and 2 weeks in a mental hospital. She also turned to self harm. One of my sisters (14) had turned to sexual relationships as an unhealthy mechanism. She had also cut and dyed her hair. She also pierced her body. The youngest sister (12) had turned to self harm also. She shut down, she became quiet and angry. She had problems with maintaining relationships also, and began engaging in abusive relationships from boys, and stayed with them because she thought it was normal and what she “deserved”.
A year after this all happened, it was never really brought up again unless it was to anger us, or use against us. We were broken, beat down and betrayed by the people we thought we could trust and thought had unconditional love for us. Now, we are still dealing with the past that haunts us to this day. We’ve been back to the church a few times since then and every time we’ve been back, the same people who didn’t believe us or called us liars and attention seekers, tried to pretend it never happened. They would greet us and ask how we were doing, like they cared, but we always see right through it. That hurt and betrayal will forever be with us. We have learned to forgive but not to forget.
Now, I’m turning 20 years old tomorrow. I have a stable job that I love. I am going to school to work on cars and also getting my masters in social work. I have an amazing boyfriend that I love to death and has supported me the past 3 years. I am working on my relationship with God again, without church. I am 4 years sober. I’m at peace with myself and who I am. My sister, now 19, is in a committed relationship with her boyfriend of 4 years. She has guardianship of the 2 youngest girls. She has 2 huskies, her dream dogs growing up. She is happy and healthy. She also just graduated high school. My other sister, now 17 turning 18 on July 14th, is in a good stable environment. She is in the best mental state she has ever been in. She is a honor roll student, straight As and has a full ride scholarship waiting for her after she graduates. My youngest sister, now 16, has dealt with her anger and is also in a healthy mindset. She has a job that she absolutely loves. She’s now loud and proud, she’s fun and daring. She’s herself again.
We went through a terrible experience and had a terrible outcome. Even though we lost faith and hope in God, and was even angry at him for the longest time, we have begun to bully a relationship back with him. We thank you for sharing our story and showing others who are or were in that situation that it’ll be okay eventually. One bad person, one bad experience doesn’t dictate who you are and who you can become.
No child should ever have to experience this. No child should ever be treated horribly by a church because they report abuse to police. There never seems to be the right words to say to someone who has endured what you and your sisters have gone through.
I am so very sorry that these things happened to you and your sisters and that you were treated awfully by church members and the pastor, Howard Geck, who should not hold license or be a pastor anywhere.
It is wonderful that all of you are doing much better and have worked so hard to recover and be where you are today.
Your update is very much appreciated. I wish you and your sisters all the best in the years to come.
(I did break your comment up into paragraphs to make it easier for people to read.)