“Tom White, Abuse, VOM, and the Power of the Internet”

LTRP Note: On April 27th, 2012, Lighthouse Trails posted an article titled, “Heartfelt” Letter from Voice of the Martyrs Neglects Concern for 10-Year-Old Molested Child . We received some positive responses, but we also received a few that stated we were wrong to post the article because it simply couldn’t be true that Tom White of VOM molested a ten year old girl. It’s true that charges were dropped after he committed suicide because a dead person cannot be charged for a crime. So there never will be a trial against Tom White in a court of law. But that doesn’t mean the truth won’t at some point come out. The article below is written by a pastor in Oklahoma who wrote an open letter to the little girl and posted it on the Internet. This resulted in him receiving a phone call from the girl’s father. While we realize some will say this isn’t proof, we are posting this article by Mr. Burleson as we believe it will be helpful for our readers in their efforts to dicipher what is true. If you have comments, you can leave them on the blog where this article originates. (Posting this on our website is not an endorsement of the blog; but as we often do, we are posting an out of house article for informational and research purposes.)

“Tom White, Abuse, VOM, and the Power of the Internet”

By Wade Burleson

Last Thursday afternoon I received a call while in my office at Emmanuel Enid. One of our secretaries buzzed in and said, “I have a man on the phone who claims to be the father of the young girl abused by Tom White and he wishes to speak to you.” My heart skipped a beat. Earlier in the week I had felt impressed to write an open letter on the Internet to the unnamed and unknown girl allegedly abused by Tom White, the Executive Director of Voice of the Martyrs. The police and press had both reported that Tom White had committed suicide while under investigation for possible abuse of this young girl. When I first heard of Tom’s suicide, my immediate thoughts went to his victim. I was not sure if she would ever read the open letter, but I asked the Lord, if possible, to use the letter to bring healing to the girl and her family. For her to understand how important she was to me (and others), I wrote these words: “The first person I thought about when I read the story of your abuser’s death was you. I do not view his death as something more tragic than his abuse of you. Let me say that again in a different way. The abuse perpetrated on you is far more tragic than your abuser’s death. I did not think of his ministry, his reputation, or even his family when I first heard of his death. I thought about you.  Your abuser’s sin and shame and his lack of personal responsibility and courage are the direct causes of his death. Your abuser took his own life and you had nothing to do with it.” Click here to continue reading.

Related Information:

Voice of Martyrs, Tom White, Dies Under Tragic Circumstances

Police close case on Bartlesville ministry leader – “Suspect [ Tom White of VOM] is dead,” say police.

Feedback on Article about Calvary Chapel and Child Sex Abuse Case

Child Sex Abuse – Can We Ignore It?

“Teg Haggard Story Will Raise Serious Questions For All”

Mental Health Group Looks to Remove Stigma From Pedophilia – American Psychological Association’s Role in These Efforts

Letter to Tom White of Voice of the Martyrs (September 2011 by a LT reader on ecumenism)

Resources on Child Abuse from Lighthouse Trails:

Laughter Calls Me

The Color of Pain

Seducers Among Our Children