The story of the arrest of four members of the Grand Valley Independent Baptist Church in McDonald County on ritual sex charges including sex with underage children has gone nationwide.
After the Associated Press followed up on the groundwork laid by the Neosho Daily News, Joplin Globe, KODE and KOAM on the story, versions of the arrests appeared across the nation including the following websites:
Washington Post, MSNBC, CBS News, San Francisco Chronicle, Court TV, Fox News, New Orleans Times Picayune, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kansas City Star, Forbes, Houston Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, Newsday, Charlotte News and Observer, Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Seattle Post Intelligencer, as well as dozens of television stations.
One of my colleagues at South Middle School told me today that Springfield television stations were using KODE's Tara Brown's story, so I would imagine that story is probably being seen on other stations across the U. S., as well.
Like it or not, this area is at the center of a media onslaught. People across the U. S. (and even outside of it, I noticed a London newspaper picked up the story) are going to be watching how the courts, law enforcement, and the media handle themselves.
Everyone needs to hear about this story ....as we all know it doesn't only happen in our neck of the woods. Here's hoping the Judge and the prosecutor and all others do the right thing by these children so other children (and even adults) facing these circumstances within a church or family can feel confident of coming forward and being protected!
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