A former pastor in Indiana has been officially defrocked after he covered up sexual abuse of minors in the hands of his own relative who was also a minor.
Jared Olivetti, the former pastor of Immanuel Reformed Presbyterian Church of West Lafayette in Indiana has had his ordination officially revoked last week. The former pastor was accused of mishandling allegations against his relative, who is a minor and who sexually abused several children at his congregation. Olivetti has been defrocked after an investigation and trial by the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America.
The Christian Post reported that Olivetti and three other church elders resigned from the congregation. But Olivetti was specifically removed from the "privileges of Church membership," which meant that he could no longer serve as an elder or participate in the sacrament of communion.
According to a notification sent to the Presbyteries of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, Olivetti failed to attend the trial or the verdict reading as the denomination's officials announced the unanimous decision from its national governing body.
In December 2021, the Indianapolis Star reported that Olivetti had allegedly been protecting a teenage relative from an investigation that was looking into claims of sexual abuse among up to 15 victims, all minors who were abused on and off church property from 2019 to 2020. Eight of the victims were from families who were part of the congregation. Victims said they were touched over and under their clothes, had oral-genital contact and penetration by the boy in the church.
The report found that an order in the Tippecanoe County juvenile court showed that the pastor's teenage relative was found to be delinquent on multiple felony charges of child molestation and was even sent ao a residential juvenile detention facility.
When officials found out that Olivetti was involved in the child sexual abuse cover up, the synod and regional body launched an investigation into the claims of sexual abuse at Immanuel Church. The Synod judicial commission then found Olivetti guilty of failing to conduct himself "in a way that was above reproach...resulting in distrust and disunity within the church," the report said.
Olivetti was also found guilty of "threatening dishonor in the name of Jesus Christ, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, Immanuel Reformed Presbyterian Church, and himself." In response to the allegations, Olivetti and Immanuel elders Keith Magill, Ben Larson and David Carr all resigned from their leadership positions in January.
The RPCNA's synod judicial commission also suspended Olivetti, explaining in a public letter that the suspension was not an admission of the former pastor's guilt, but an "[acknowledgement of] the gravity of the accusations against Mr. Olivetti."
The resignations came "very reluctantly," as per Immanuel's provisional moderator Ken de Jong, who added that they were done "specifically to encourage the growth and development of this congregation."
According to the ecclesiastical judicial commission's findings on Olivetti, the former pastor used his "undue, excessive, or improper" influence on the church's response while conflicts of interest were "not understood, ignored - or worse veiled." The findings also showed that the church failed "to protect and provide the safety" of those in charge and that leadership failed to respond with urgency "fitting the gravity of the circumstances."
