Juliette 8/30/07:
We received a letter from
Lyle Schober and Craig Winquist
today, dated August 28th.
It says...
Dear Friends;
We have come to the conclusion that it would be wise to inform you of recent developments of one of the Minnesota workers. We are sending this letter to every home on our Minnesota list of friends. Many of you would not have children in your care but may be grandparents or otherwise have special concerns.
We have become aware that there is information circulating so we want to end the speculation and give you the facts as we know them.
On July 27th, Tim Severud was arrested and jailed for multiple counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Second Degree with a child under the age of 13. Criminal Sexual Assault against a child is categorized as First, Second, Third, Fourth or Fifth Degree, with First Degree being the most serious.
According to the Criminal Complaint, Tim was caught in the act of molesting a 10-year old girl, with another child in the room. The children in the case were female, age ten and under.
Tim is currently in jail under the custody of the Douglas County Sheriff's department. Legal proceedings will continue, and the process of the law will determine innocence or guilt in this case. Because of the dangerous nature of these charges, we feel that it is our responsibility to alert to you to this situation at this time.
This letter serves to inform all parents and other caregivers that you should immediately have a conversation with any child in your care who could have been alone with Tim at any time, to determine if inappropriate sexual behavior took place.
Molestation can have serious emotional, psychological and spiritual effects on a child, and this issue should be taken very seriously. We also urge you to forward a copy of this letter to the parents or caregivers of any child who may have spent time alone with Tim.
Tim spent a lot of time in the homes of families and was well liked and trusted by parents and children.
Some of the alleged crimes that Tim was arrested for took place during what could seen like innocent play to a child. If your child was molested, he or she may be confused about what happened. It's common in these situations for the child to feel that anything inappropriate that happened was somehow their own fault.
A pedophile will frequently tell the child that what he does with them is a secret and they should not tell anyone about it.
If you are aware or learn of any inappropriate sexual behavior, you should immediately call the law enforcement authorities in the area it occurred.
In regards to Tim; our concern is the welfare of his soul. He will no longer be in the work here in Minnesota or elsewhere. Tim will not be attending any of our meetings until the legal process and ensuing treatment be completed and only with the approval of those who he may be meeting with.
The enclosed page has some general information about pedophiles.
Sincerely, your brothers in Christ,
(Signed by Craig Winquist and Lyle Schober)
Click (HERE)
to read Information on
Child Sex Abuse that was sent with the
Schober and Winquist letter.
By Lyle on TMB: 9-9-07
Most of you would know that we sent out a letter with the specific request to communicate with children and to immediately report any suspected abuse to the law officials. This letter was sent to the households in our fellowship in the state (and some in surrounding states).
In addition in conversations with the lead investigator, I gave him names, addresses and phone numbers of those I felt may have been more likely involved. I assured him I welcomed him to contact any others on the list Tim gave to him that contained all those in this fellowship in the state and neighboring churches.
Should others come to our attention that might have been possible victims, I stated that I would contact him again.
I believe it was about eight hundred and fifty letters we sent out. We also encouraged any who had concerns about others they knew who may be parents of possible victims, to send them a copy of our letter. We sincerely hope parents will have the courage to do their part in helping their children in this matter.
