When Dove of Peace Lutheran Church parishioners walked out of last Sunday’s service, they were greeted by two television news crews and a newspaper reporter asking about a woman from a California-based sex abuse survivors’ organization passing out flyers about their music minister when they arrived for church that morning.
On Thursday, Nov. 7, Joelle Casteix, volunteer western regional director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, sent out a press release that she and other SNAP volunteers would be outside the 665 W. Roller Coaster Road church holding signs and childhood photos, and handing out flyers to warn church members that their music minister Eric Holtan was convicted in 2000 of first-degree and third-degree criminal sexual conduct; and that they should demand his removal and talk to their kids.
Dove of Peace member Brad Schwab told the Tucson Weekly that it’s been 13 years since Holtan pled guilty and he only has two years left on his 15-year probation. Another church member Nancy Day chimed in that many in the congregation knew about Holtan’s past and it was understood that Holtan’s probation officer checked in with the church pastor regularly.
Day added that Holtan does not work with children in the church in his duties as music minister. “He directs the adult choir,” she said, addressing the terms of Holtan’s probation in which he is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with underage females.
Schwab added that some of the information released by SNAP is wrong, specifically that Holtan served time in prison for his crimes. “That’s not true. He was only put on probation.” Although a court document provided to the Weekly does show Holtan was sentenced to 28 months confinement at the Northwest Regional Corrections Center.
Holtan has paid the price for what happened, and “while we feel for the victims, the case was brought to trial,” Schwab said.
Last week, the Weekly talked to Casteix about the press release just as she was getting ready to drive to Tucson from Orange County. Casteix said SNAP was contacted by one of Holtan’s victims, one of two female students at Duluth East High School where he worked as choir director.
Casteix said she contacted the church pastor by email before sending out the press release in an effort to “reach out,” as well as police in Duluth and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. She said she wonders if the church knows about Holtan’s past, that he remains on probation, as well as Evangelical Lutheran Church of America guidelines that discourage employment of anyone convicted of child sexual abuse.
Casteix stood outside the church wearing a large picture of herself when she was 15 years old, the age she said she was abused by her own choir teacher at the Catholic high school she attended in California. The reception she received at Dove of Peace was mixed, she said—one mother with young daughters came up to her and thanked her for the information, and others defended Holtan and told her to get off the church property. In the SNAP press release, Casteix said other volunteers would be there to talk with church members, but she was on her own, and said it is difficult to get survivors of sexual abuse to come to things like this because it is painful.
Calls made to Holtan and the Dove of Peace church pastor seeking comment about SNAP and allegations in the press release were not returned. An email sent to the church pastor was also not returned.
According to a Tucson Citizen story published in November 1999, Holtan was a 28-year-old UA doctoral student when the accusations were made, and that he had sexual contact up to 50 times with two female students from 1994 to 1998 outlined in the complaint filed then in St. Louis County District Court in Minnesota.
Casteix, standing across the street from the church, said SNAP isn’t saying that Holtan can’t go to church at Dove of Peace or sing in the choir, but she contends that being music minister of a church is a different situation that could put him in contact with underage members.
This article appears in Nov 14-20, 2013.
Something to keep in mind-
Child predators are very cunning and manipulative. They know every trick on how
to groom, threaten, lie, and put the fear of god into their victims and
sometimes even their family members.
They also appear to do a lot of goods things, they can be very charismatic and
you may think they would never harm a child. They have to be this way, in order
to not get caught and to continue to abuse
Sexual predators are often powerful and well-loved. It would be comforting if
those who preyed on the vulnerable were obvious social misfits whose appearance
would somehow set off alarm bells and give us the willies or the creeps. They
rarely do. Usually, predators are among the last people we would suspect of
sexually violating others. While they are grooming the child and even family members, they
devote lots of time and energy building trust with them by giving them money and gifts.
They tend to make the child feel that they are special and loved.
Also, we must stop thinking that because a man is old, that somehow he’s
automatically safe. It’s just irresponsible to endanger kids by assuming an
adult is harmless simply because he or she may be losing hair, wearing glasses,
using hearing aids or walking with a cane. These can be signs of advancing age,
but they are not signs that an individual is safe around kids.
It takes a lot of courage to come forward and take action about being sexually abused. This is not an easy thing to do, but it is extremely rare that a child predator has only one victim. Some have many. So let’s hope that anyone who may have knowledge or may have been harmed by Eric Holtan, will get help and find the courage and strength to speak up and contact law enforcement, no matter how long ago it happened. Do not report your abuse to the church officials, they are not the proper officials to be investigating child sex crimes.
Keep in mind your silence only hurts, and by speaking up there is a chance for
healing, exposing the truth, and therefore protecting others.
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511. snapjudy@gmail.com,
“SNAP (The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) We also have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, teachers, ministers, plus victims who were assaulted in institutional settings like orphanages, summer camps, day care centers, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc.
What Judy Block-Jones and groups like SNAP don’t want people to know is that very few sex offenders are either “predators” or pedophiles. Sex offender notifications and public humiliation doesn’t stop the underlying issues that led to the sex offense.
The Oregon Sexual Assault Task Force has a great website on the myths and realities of sexual offenses here http://oregonsatf.org/about/satf-membershi…
From the website:
Myth: Tough penalties and harsh punishments are the best response to sexual assault.
Reality:
– Sex offender registration, sex offender notification and increased prison sentences have not shown to be effective in reducing recidivism.
– When all sex offenders are managed the same, resources are shared and the most dangerous offenders may be supervised the same as less dangerous offenders.
Studies show that comparing sex offenders sentenced to prison versus community sentences, the recidivism rate was 7% higher for prisoners compared to those offenders kept in the community. Additionally, longer prison terms also increased risk upon release. (Smith, Goffin & Gendreau, 2002)
– Sex offender notification and registration has not been found to be significantly effective since secrecy is such a part of sexual offending. Studies show that registration and notification have little impact on stopping offending; however, when crimes were committed, apprehension was easier. (Washington State Institute for Public Policy, Leib 1996)
When sex offenders are driven underground (without supervision) because of harsh penalties, they are considerably more dangerous.
– When offenders are connected to their communities, when they are allowed to work and are intensely involved with a therapeutic community, recidivism was significantly reduced. (Wilson, Picheca & Prinzo, 2005)
– Since most individuals are offended by someone known to them (often in their family), harsh penalties can further traumatize victims. Sadly, others in the relationship realm of the victim and offender often turn against the person making the report.
– Even though punishment makes communities, legislatures, and many in the media feel vindicated, that response is not always shared by victims.
– Additionally, harsh penalties often make victims, or the caretakers of victims, reluctant to report and subject the acquaintance or family member to punishment, sometimes even making the sexual assault problem worse.
Judy Block-Jones and Joelle Casteix don’t have ANYTHING, at least anything that they’ve cared to back up, that shows Eric Holtan is a threat to anyone. In fact, he has spent more than a decade on probation without showing any sign of being a repeat offender. Block-Jones and Castiex are fearmongerers and are part of the problem, not the solution, when it comes to dealing with sex offenders. All they want is publicity. People ought to stop giving them publicity and deal with the real issues. Yes, there are sex offenders out there, but the chances that one woman driving hundreds of miles to spread fear and get some ink will have any impact on a reduction of sex offenses is ludicrous. Notice that neither cite any reputable source for their fears.
fear·mon·ger·ing
ˈfi(ə)rˌməNGəriNG/
noun
noun: fear-mongering
1. the action of deliberately arousing public fear or alarm about a particular issue.
“his campaign for re-election was based on fearmongering and deception”
Recidivism rates for sex offenders is very low, compared to other crimes. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice:
Released prisoners with the highest rearrest rates were robbers (70.2%), burglars (74.0%), larcenists (74.6%), motor vehicle thieves (78.8%), those in prison for possessing or selling stolen property (77.4%), and those in prison for possessing, using, or selling illegal weapons (70.2%).
-and, from the same source-
During 2007, a total of 1,180,469 persons on parole were at-risk of reincarceration. This includes persons under parole supervision on January 1 or those entering parole during the year. Of these parolees, about 16% were returned to incarceration in 2007.
-and-
Within 3 years, 2.5% of released rapists were arrested for another rape, and 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for homicide.
I have no connection with the Dove of Peace Lutheran Church (though I am a lifelong Lutheran) and have never met (to my knowledge) Eric Holtan. I am, though, a repurposed crime reporter who applauds Mari Herreras (whom I do know) and the Tucson Weekly (for which I’ve written) for bringing an issue like this up. I don’t like that the Weekly fell for SNAP’s publicity ploy, though, and hope Mari can follow up sometime with an insightful, non-fear-mongering article about the truths of sex offenses and talk to people who have real solutions.
To Clueless AJ Flick,
OK One question. Would you want your underage children or relatives alone with Eric Holtan??? Thinking about it ? Thinking? Thinking? BAM!!! I though so. Case closed !
Edward Lozzi, supporter of SNAP and their brave and special experienced souls like Joelle Casteix
Edward Lozzi, your taunt speaks volumes.
It was 15 years ago. I am willing to give him a second chance. I am sure if he had done anything wrong during that period of time we would be hearing about it.
Eric made some serious mistakes at 29, and I hope the victims can find help and peace in their lives.
Since then, however, Eric has given every indication he has course corrected and is moving forward. He is a good musician and excellent conductor and an asset to this community.
I believe in the rehabilitation of offenders and in their paying owed debts to society. From all reports, Eric is successfully doing so.
I as pleased to see Dove of Peace congregants acknowledging his offenses while supporting his progress.
It seemed … I don’t know… kinda Christ-like.
Brad Holland
Retired Criminal Prosecutor
And what role did these two women play in Holton’s offences? In my experience, young girls do equal damage in these relationships, and never pay the consequences.
“That’s not true [that Holtan served time for his crimes],” says the congregation member quoted in this story. “He was only put on probation.”
This is a shocking and disturbing defense on many levels, most obviously because– as the article thankfully notes– IT IS COMPLETELY WRONG. As Holtan himself could tell this congregation (but apparently hasn’t), he was locked up for what he did. The charges were first-degree and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, and he pled guilty. He is a convicted sex offender. There is no ambiguity about that.
Usually, having a history as a sex offender means that people have a right to know about that history– that’s the idea behind the sex offender registry, which is designed to protect the public. It’s a serious enough crime– particularly when it is committed against CHILDREN– that you usually don’t get to hide in plain sight, no matter how “rehabilitated” you might be. The members of Dove of Peace should be applauding SNAP here for what SNAP has done. It is perfectly reasonable for an organization like SNAP to be educating (many apparently clueless) congregation members about a person like this in their midst.
Look to “the mother with young daughters” in this story who thanked Joelle Casteix for her work. SNAP’s mission here is not fear-mongering or “protest,” it is EDUCATION. As AJ Flick notes above, “Yes, there are sex offenders out there.” And members of Dove of Peace should know about this one. It is a lifetime designation, whether the sex offender recidivates or not.
But back to that ill-formed congregation member. How could he be so wrong? He knows about the probation, but not the 28-month sentence? This signals a clear failure of church leadership. Why is it up to SNAP to educate that mother with young children about this perpetrator’s 28-month sentence, instead of her pastor or her church leadership team? What is going on over there?
Most importantly, does the ELCA in fact have policies in place about child protection when it comes to sex offenders on staff in their churches? Where is the ELCA on this one?
I commend Mari Herreras and Tucson Weekly for covering this, and bringing attention to this important story.
If SNAP’s purpose was to “educate” the congregation, then why issue a press release and then set up a one-woman protest “wearing a large picture of herself when she was 15 years old, the age she said she was abused by her own choir teacher at the Catholic high school she attended in California.” What does THAT have to do with “educating” the congregation about Holtan. NOTHING.
Was there really a member of the congregation who didn’t know about it? Who knows? The only person who says so was Casteix and she clearly has an agenda that goes beyond “educating” the congregation about Holtan. She claims to have “contacted” the pastor before issuing a press release, yet, she went ahead with her press release and “protest” without finding out … what is that? Oh, yes, that pesky thing called the “truth.” Did she contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, which is in charge of keeping tabs on sex offenders on the registry? Probably not. I doubt she even bothered to “contact” the people who really know about the situation. Because that doesn’t fit SNAP’s and Casteix’s agenda to spread fear.
I find that many so called Christians throw the good book out the window when it comes to promoting personal agendas. I would hope that if I made a mistake years ago, that when I paid my dues, I would be given a second chance until proven otherwise. A shame that these people have nothing better to do than be perpetual victims.
I was a victim of sexual abuse by an ELCA pastor (then ALC) from ages 14-17, and have lived with the scars of his abuse my entire life (I’m 53 now, and male). SNAP is not about fear-mongering or getting publicity for publicity’s sake – my Lord, people, we’re talking about sexual abuse of children by the church and education leaders in whose care and trust we put them, one of the most heinous crimes there is. The reason Joelle held up a picture of herself is to remind people of the vulnerability of children to people with power over them (the remark about the children having as much responsibility is ignorant and ugly). The fact is, the church did not officially inform the congregation that Eric Holtan, as this article correctly states, received a 28-month prison sentence, served for 14 months, and was given 15 years probation – not until the ELCA bishop (recently) put pressure on them did they do so. Perhaps it was “common knowledge” – but certainly incomplete knowledge, as has been pointed out. The point is, churches have a history of minimizing the experience of victims of their “employees,” and this has to stop. I know from my experience that nobody wants to hear about how someone they held in such high esteem could do such a thing – sweep it under the rug, give him “another chance,” maybe the child came on to him (!). No, we’re talking about four years of abuse in Holtan’s case, and that’s not counting the likelihood that there were other victims who were afraid to come forward.
This is not a vendetta against Holtan – though from my knowledge of the case, while he has served time, he has made no efforts whatsoever to express any remorse to any of his victims; forgiveness is a Christian virtue, for sure, but so is restorative justice. This action is chiefly about exposing the flawed decisions of the congregational leaders, who hired him very soon after he got out of prison, apparently didn’t do due diligence to discover that he had, in fact, served prison time for an extremely serious crime (the pastor calls it “inappropriate relationships” in his letter to the congregation), apparently in violation of ELCA policies about hiring sex offenders, and thus putting congregation members at potential risk. Whether Holtan has been “rehabilitated” sufficiently is not something that should be left to a pastor in need of a choir director, even with consultation with law enforcement – the congregation should have been informed, and parents should have had the right to decide whether they wanted their children exposed to a recent sex offender (I realize he was hired to conduct the adult choir, but in a small congregation, there’s no way to isolate someone from contact with children).
In short, SNAP was right to get involved, Joelle was right and very courageous to put herself in the very uncomfortable position she did, and the Tucson weekly was right to write a report that gets many of the facts correct.
Jim Hanson, St. Paul, MN
I am from Duluth and sang in the choir at the same high school Eric Holtan was later employed and later fired. I was lucky enough to sing for a choir director who was held in high esteem and changed my life for the better, so it breaks my heart that Eric changed lives for the worst and threatened such a revered program. Thank God he was caught, pled guilty and served at least some time for his crimes. I’m sure there are other victims who have been too afraid to come forward for there so often are, and I plead with those out there who are scared to muster up the courage to speak to a professional. I graduated before Eric came, but others were not so lucky. Eric took a position of trust and honor and twisted lives and hearts to his own advantage. There is no cure for this kind of sickness and whether he is a talented musician makes no difference as to whether this information about his past should be shared. He is a convicted felon and his serving in a church parish is just plain wrong–I don’t care in what capacity. If people haven’t learned anything from the thousands of stories of similar abuses in the Catholic church where priests were re-assigned and re-offended, they must be in serious denial. I’m very disappointed in the leaders at Dove of Peace for minimizing this threat to their flock.
The church knows about Holtan’s past, he’s not allowed contact with minors, he’s fulfilling his probation requirements, and it appears he has not repeted his old behavior in 13 years, and he’s served his time. Unless we are going to set aside a kind of leper colony for all sexual offenders, we ought to give people like Mr. Holtan a second chance.
As someone who knew Eric Holtan fro several years from his time in Duluth, I would strongly encourage the people in his current congregation to be vigilant and protective of their children. He was, and likely still is, a charming, charismatic, AND manipulative person. I am sure he has learned much and changed since his time in Duluth when he had ongoing sexual relationships with multiple girls (his students). Many of these girl’s families liked and trusted Eric during his time in Duluth. The praise people of Tuscon have for Eric now is just like the sentiments expressed by his community while he was in Duluth, sneaking around to have sex with girls who looked up to him.
Hopefully he has put this behavior behind him, but if he has been hiding the truth, and telling partial truths about his past, there is a real reason for concern amongst the people of his current congregation. He was convicted of sexual contact with 2 women. But there were others who were not willing or able to come forward to add to that number. Guaranteed. Please be careful with your children. There is no need to expose them to this man. Hiring him without being clear about his past and sharing that background with people who may be put in compromising situations unwittingly is dangerous. Who wants to test his rehabilitation with their own daughters?
You mean the church community NOW knows about his past — thanks to SNAP. And your key word is that he “appears” to have not repeated this behavior. How do you know? How many of us have actually witnessed sexual abuse when it is occurring? Sadly we have to wait for some manipulated young person to find the courage to come forward after they’ve wrestled with demons and shame and begin to realize the abuse was not their fault.
No leper colony needed, only education and care and insistence that he not work in a church. We should all learn from the many sins of the Catholic Church (and probably other churches) where they believed that a predator priest just needed another chance or would be fine in a different position of authority and they proved to strike again and again. There are plenty of other jobs out there that Mr. Holtan can do where he isn’t working with people in a position of authority in a house of God.
I am a SNAP Leader here in Duluth and my Son was a member of the choir that Eric Holton conducted. Holton was very charismatic and also scared some of the kids with his strong arm personality. Kids knew if they didn’t do as they were told by him, they would be penalized for it.
When I learned that Holton was in Tucson at a church my concern was: 1. The safety of kids and 2. Did the Church know of his past and did the Congregation know?. Does the man deserve a second chance certainly he does. But in what position and with who?
SNAP responded as we did for the safety of kids. We all know that Church officials have a history of not always protecting kids and this fits that situation.
If there are victims of Eric Holton please contact me for support. You can go to http://www.snap.org and get my contact information or email me at Lwagsmn@yahoo.com You probably know my son Matt and I promise you everything is confidential. But I know as a survivor myself, its comforting to know your not alone. The two women who brought this to SNAP’s attention are brave and I thank you for protecting others.
I’m all for second chances, but I for one think someone should earn them by showing remorse and taking responsibility.
Nothing I see shows that Mr. Holton has taken any responsibility for his actions, taking advantage of young teenage girls that he was supposed to be teaching. He apparently was not honest with the Church, since they did not know he served jail time for his actions. He also clearly did not go out of his way to make sure the people in the congregation knew the whole truth, which seems like something that someone who accepts responsibility and wants forgiveness would do.
Since being released after a remarkably light sentence – thanks to a plea deal clearly offered to spare the victims more pain – he immediately gone back to seeking positions of authority, where he certainly has the potential to manipulate and molest more young victims. There is no evidence he has every done anything to apologize to his victims. For that matter, even for those he has informed about his past, it would certainly appear that he has downplayed his true actions, of again, molesting multiple 15 year old girls who he was entrusted to teach and lead. That certainly doesn’t seem like remorse, much less responsibility.
As far as if he actually has repeated his behavior, how would anyone know? He wasn’t convicted of anything until a good 6 years until after he started raping his first victim, and that’s just the victims we know about out. If there were 2 that came forward, it would be easy to think there were others that did not have enough courage to persue a case.
In any case, there have been plenty of cases where I have seriously doubted the motives of SNAP, but this is a case where Church leaders should be ashamed of themselves. Clearly, they hired a sexual predator, without doing a full background check, without following the very policies the ELCA has put in place to prevent abuse, and without telling churchgoers – especially parents – the true history of someone hired to be in a leadership position.
I attempted to read, ELCA Safe Place prepared by the Congregational and Synodical Mission unit of the ELCA, for myself.
But received this,’The requested document was not found’.
‘Most likely causes:
The resource you are looking for (or one of its dependencies) has been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please review the following URL and make sure that it is spelled correctly.’
Hopefully Leadership at ‘ELCA’ will view this incident as a serious wake up call to do their utmost in protecting their spiritual flock.
I am a personal friend of Joelle’s. The voice, strength and courage it takes to go against all these dirty little secrets people keep and could save just one CHILD (possibly yours) from being abused, is her gift to all parents, educators and those in serious denial on all levels. There’s no “maybe” he did it. He did it!!!! He s e x u a l l y abused CHILDREN. Why is there a question at all posed here???
The SNAP PR machine has gone into full drive, with the expected comments from people who don’t live in Tucson wailing about how much danger someone here poses. The comments also prove a complete absence of any evidence that Mr. Holtan is a threat to anyone. He did take responsibility for the crime, by pleading guilty. He was given a sentence and he is serving it. That is how the justice system works. If you don’t like the way the justice system works, then you work to change it. The way you change it is not by launching a smear campaign against anyone you hear of who has been convicted of a sex offense. I cited studies that, hm, people inside the justice system have done showing that Mr. Holtan and numerous others like him are not likely to re-offend and that fear-mongering like this does not help and, in some cases, might actually cause more harm than good. I have yet to see anything other than FEAR that SNAP followers cite. And that, as I said before, is fear-mongering.
All someone has to do to take responsibility for a horrific crime is to plead guilty to criminal charges? That’s a pretty twisted definition of responsibility.
Setting aside the fact that plenty of people accept plea deals, not because they believe they did anything wrong, but because it is just better bet to agree to spend a short 2 years in jail rather than face 20+ years in prison. But using that sort of logic, no one would ever repeat any crime if they’ve pleaded guilty, because they have “taken responsibility.”
Taking responsibility for a crime means accepting punishment, AND admitting their mistakes, AND making amends, AND taking action to avoid repeating the same behavior. Pleading guilty to a criminal charge is just one small part of that.
Anyone, regardless of the crime, who doesn’t take responsibility for their actions is more likely to repeat their crimes. Setting aside the fact that Mr. Holton is a sexual predator who raped children, at the heart of it all, he isn’t just a sexual predator, he is a con man. He used his position of authority to manipulate people into getting what he wanted – the fact that what he wanted was sex from multiple 15 year old girls just makes it more offensive, frightening, and serious.
And yes, there certainly is evidence that he has not accepted responsibility, and instead is repeating his con-man behavior, as evidence by what he has told – or perhaps more accurately not told – the people in the congregation. He convinced people within the church that his past “mistakes” were minor, “inappropriate relationships” and that he only was given probation, not that the actually spent some time in jail for having sex with his young teenage students.
And even knowing that, there may be people who are perfectly fine letting Mr. Holton back into a leadership position within the church. There may even be people who are so convinced that a sexual predator is not likely to repeat that they would be perfectly fine letting their teenage daughter look up to Mr. Holton as a mentor. But parents should have the facts so they can make that choice themselves. The church certainly failed in giving members of the flock the proper information, something that’s especially troublesome when they hired a man against the stated policies of the ELCA. It is certainly not fear-mongering for others to do the work of informing people, when the church failed in their responsibility to do so.
I plead guilty to being fearful. I fear for the safety of Tucson kids around Holtan. I fear that if Dove church officials hid Holtan’s past from their flock, what else might they be hiding? I fear that other employers will take similarly deceptive and risky and hurtful moves like putting convicted child molesters around children, thinking “Well, if Dove got by with it, I probably will too.”
David Clohessy, Director, SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, (7234 Arsenal Street, St. Louis MO 63143), 314 566 9790 cell (SNAPclohessy@aol.com)
I went to the high school in Duluth during the time “Mr. Holtan” was the “wonderful” choir instructor that everyone “loved” and he did indeed do amazing things with the choir program. On the surface he portrayed a talented charismatic choir teacher while he took the innocence and forever changed the lives of friends, sister, and daughters in our community… Forever.
He did this for years because nobody would have thought somebody with his reputation could do this and because his multiple victims were manipulated into remaining silent and not talk about what was happening. A matter of fact it didn’t come to light until years later when communication and information was finally shared.
Joelle’s so called tactics of “fear mongering” are the only way this can be prevented by happening to other peoples friends, sisters, and daughters. And “forgiveness” can only happen AFTER the truth comes out. If people in Tucson believe that “Mr Holtan” was only put on probation then he is lying to this congregation and manipulating them. If he and the congregation are keeping this information and afraid of you knowing this information, what else are they hiding?
I also recommend people read Joelle’s blog titled “Worthy Adversary” regarding her purpose and visit. I am NOT affiliated with SNAP and didn’t know about Joelle until I read this article. But I have seen how this has changed the community I grew up in and firsthand the people it has effected. Their lives have forever changed long after Eric Holtan’s probation is over, but I can guarantee everyone wants to move forward. That can only happen, though, if there is certainty that the past won’t repeat itself with someone else’s sister or daughter or friend.
OK, one more time: It’s great if SNAP wants to do something to prevent repeat offenders – without having ANY evidence that the person in question here has. WHAT SNAP IS DOING IS NOT HELPING. It’s not helping the Tucson community and it’s not helping stop sex crimes.
From my earlier post, which isn’t something I made up but has been confirmed by studies, something no one from SNAP has done to back up its claims:
– Sex offender registration, sex offender notification and increased prison sentences have not shown to be effective in reducing recidivism.
– Studies show that comparing sex offenders sentenced to prison versus community sentences, the recidivism rate was 7% higher for prisoners compared to those offenders kept in the community. Additionally, longer prison terms also increased risk upon release.
– Studies show that registration and notification have little impact on stopping offending
When sex offenders are driven underground (without supervision) because of harsh penalties, they are considerably more dangerous.
– When offenders are connected to their communities, when they are allowed to work and are intensely involved with a therapeutic community, recidivism was significantly reduced.
– Even though punishment makes communities, legislatures, and many in the media feel vindicated, that response is not always shared by victims.
Nothing that anyone from SNAP has commented here shows that SNAP has any done anything but aggravate the situation. Not just in Tucson, but anywhere. All you guys are saying is that you’ve been victimized and/or how awful sex crimes are. That doesn’t help anyone and it sounds like you might even be hurting yourselves.
If you want to do something about sex crimes, do something constructive.
AJ Flick,
What would be your constructive suggestions be for how this is handled then? Through silence. Keeping the women and girls silent because it is easier for Tucson and, in your opinion, easier for them to not relive the past.
Surprising that there are not studies regarding what happens if nothing is done and these offenders are allowed to get away with their crimes with nobody speaking up. Those studies you site reveal the likelihood of these crimes happening again… No matter what. That is why people deserve to know the past and it might be the only defense to prevent this happening again. Joelle’s purpose was only to educate and enlighten.
I realize for the vast majority of us that go through life without these terrible pasts, it is easier and better for is to go through life with rose colored glasses thinking these kind of crimes don’t occur and people are mainly harmless. But for the people that are forever changed because of another persons reckless and terrible actions, they can’t turn a blind eye in fear it would happen to someone else. You would realize this if you looked at it with a human empathetic point of view and not try to rationalize SNAPs work through scientific research.
If a convicted drunk driver is drinking again after driving to a bar, is it not helpful to alert the public? There’s no proof that he’s actually planning to get back in a car. If a convicted killer or mentally unstable person is caught stocking up on weapons, should people not be alerted, even if there is no proof he’s planning to use them? If a convicted arsonist was playing with gasoline and matches outside your home, wouldn’t you like to know, even if you can’t prove he was going to set your house on fire?
If a convicted sex offender and obvious con-man was caught lying to an entire community, and covering up his past, then why should that community not be informed about the truth?
The facts here are pretty straightforward.
Mr. Holtan admitted to having sex with multiple teenage students, while he was in a position of authority as their teacher. In the process, he repeatedly lied to the entire community about who is was and what he was doing.
He was convicted of the crimes, and served a couple years in jail, for essentially being a con-man who used lies and his position of authority to get sex from young girls.
Now, we know for a fact that he is again lying to an entire community, in an attempt to cover up his past crimes.
He has told people within a church that he did not go to jail for his crimes. He downplayed his crimes as minor “inappropriate relationships” for which he was only given probation.
In fact, it gets worse, while looking into this story, I’ve discovered Mr. Holtan was actually interviewed by the AZ Republic a few years ago (Tucson ‘leader’ a convicted sex offender, 1/30/08). You have to be a subscriber to view the article, but in it, he actually denied that he had sex with anyone underage. He claimed he was punished for touching the shoulders of his victims, and on top of it all, it HE PROCLAIMED HIMSELF TO BE THE VICTIM. Again, this is all despite admitting to police that he in fact had repeatedly had sex with multiple underage students!
This clearly is the same story he has been telling to members of this church. And just as he was, for years, able to convince people in Minnesota that he was a great guy who had their daughter’s best interests at heart, all while raping several of them, he has again been able to convince members of this Tucson church community he is a great guy, who has been wronged in the past, and has nothing but their best interests at heart. He’s done such a good job of covering up his past, that he actually got the church to ignore their own stated policies when it comes to sex offenders.
No, there is no proof that he has taken the next step and actually molested more young girls, but there is plenty of proof that he doesn’t feel his actions in the past were wrong, and has no problems lying to cover them up. If that doesn’t make him a danger, and if informing the public about that danger is not “constructive” what would be?
I am not in any way shape or form affiliated with SNAP, in fact I have been harshly critical of some of their other actions and behaviors. To the best of my knowledge, I have never met Mr. Holtan. I have never been abused myself. But I can see when there is EVIL in the world, I have seen the impact that EVIL can have on people for the rest of their lives. I find it frightening when people think the best way to deal with EVIL is to cover it up, pretend it doesn’t exist, and hide behind generic studies that ignore the facts of a specific case.
I am a mother to a young daughter and a member of an ELCA church. I was forwarded this article from a friend and am truly shocked. I have always been proud to be a member of the ELCA but am very disappointed in the leader of this church. This type of information–hiring a registered sex offender into a leadership position–needs to be shared with the entire congregation. It is up to them whether or not they remain a member of this church and whether or not they choose to interact with this individual. By hiding it the way the church did shows there was something wrong with the situation.
I am also shocked and incredibly disturbed at some of the comments made. Throwing out citations on recidivism (or his ability as a musician) is completely ignoring the feelings and experiences that these young women had as victims. Have some compassion! It may be that this man never rapes another child again… but that isn’t the point. The point is that he DID do this and ruined the lives of many people.
I looked up the story and he was a teacher that molested at least two girls. One article I read said “he thought they were 16.” That was his defense. It’s sick. He used his power and authority to manipulate them and the entire community. Whatever the church decides to do, I as a parent would never let my daughter near this person and would question anyone that trusts him around young women.