Victim of sexual assault stands up as former pastor is sentenced
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STEUBENVILLE -- Raelin Scurry stood quietly as Prosecutor Jane Hanlin read into the record the two-page victim impact statement she'd written for the court and the man 15 years her senior who admitted Tuesday to forcing her to perform sex acts when she was just 12.
Everett Mitchell, 41, was sentenced in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court to two 12-month prison sentences, to be served consecutively -- meaning Mitchell, a husband, father and former pastor of Tower of Power on Maryland Avenue, will spend the next two years behind bars, after which he'll have to complete five years in post-release control and register every 90 days for the rest of his life as a Tier 3 sex offender.
Mitchell pleaded guilty to sexual battery and sexual imposition, and to committing both offenses while Scurry was a minor, living under his roof and while he was serving as her pastor.
The Herald-Star's policy is not to publish the names of rape victims. Scurry, however, asked that her name be used to encourage other young girls who've been victimized by sexual predators to come forward.
Scurry said it's important "for other girls to know sexual abuse is not your fault, no matter what your perpetrator has told you."
"You are not alone," she said in her victim impact statement. "I strongly encourage women to speak out, go to the police and seek justice. It is going to be hard, but it will be worth it."
In her sentencing recommendation, Hanlin told Judge Michelle Miller the abuse began in 2006, when Scurry "was just a kid in the sixth grade" living under Mitchell's roof, and continued until 2010.
"He was her pastor," Hanlin said. "She was living there because there was no place else she could live. It was the one place on the planet she should have been safe and he told her to get on her knees."
Hanlin said at one point, Mitchell made Scurry stand in front of a mirror outside his bedroom, take off her clothes and touch herself while he watched from his bed with his sleeping wife beside him and his daughter doing the same in the next room. Another time, Hanlin said Mitchell bent the teen over a desk after a church service "and tried to penetrate her," and pointed out after Scurry came forward, members of the church "flocked to (Mitchell's) defense."
"The people she went to church with rallied to him, not her. No one rallied to her," Hanlin said, telling the judge "no single prison term adequately reflects the seriousness of his misconduct."
"I wish the statutes allowed there to be more," she added.
Miller had listened intently to the prosecutor's explanation of the crime before turning to Mitchell, reminding him he was "a 41-year-old male with children of his own" and 15 years older than his victim.
"I can't put into words the reprehensibility of your actions," she told him, pointing out Scurry had offered "an articulate, authentic and thorough recitation of the full impact" of the crime.
"The court finds nothing in your behavior here so far has exhibited any drop, (not) one single iota of a sense of remorse."
In her impact statement, Scurry said she still lives with the aftershock of Mitchell's actions.
"The sexual abuse through abuse of power I endured at the hands of Everett Mitchell has affected every aspect of my life," Scurry wrote. "This man has been the cause of physical, social, emotional and mental trauma. This type of injury doesn't just go away -- especially at the hands of someone that I had trusted and considered to be family. Even after years of therapy I still relive those moments often. The moments of fear, helplessness, isolation, entrapment and abandonment. This has weighed heavily on my physical health."
Scurry told the court she suffers from headaches, muscle tension, digestive issues and other ailments, and "get(s) panic attacks because of what I went through."
"Many times I am brought back to the same place by certain smells, sounds and phrases, and I am unable to control flashbacks and my emotional responses," she wrote. "I spent years uncomfortable in my own skin and hating myself for what he put me through."
Scurry said her experiences have affected her own parenting, making her overprotective and paranoid. "In my mind, everyone is a potential predator," she said. "I have relatively no trust in others."
Her faith, which should have been her comfort, "was the place of my pain," Scurry wrote, adding that, "Under the veil of being a pastor, a man of power and an upstanding man, Everett gained access to sexually abuse me without questions, advocacy or hesitation from those that witnessed an inappropriate relationship between a child and an adult."
"The fact that he used scripture to justify his very own deviant and perverse conduct is what keeps me from establishing a religious foundation," she's added. "The times when he was supposed to be praying for me, he was assaulting me. I was forced to walk with my head down because he wanted power of my body, my will and my spirit. Through his web of lies he worked hard to control the narrative of public opinion and silence me -- labeling me as 'fast,' a 'Jezebel,' vindictive, money-hungry and 'crazy.' This controlled how others treated me and eventually controlled my own behavior. Through my silence he was able to over talk and overshadow me, mistakenly believing the volume of his voice increased the validity of his argument."
Scurry pointed out that she, not Mitchell, had been shamed by the church community.
"Videos were posted and comments made not to listen to the victim because it threatened to ruin the reputation and image of Pastor Everett Mitchell," she said. "Can you even begin to fathom how painful it is for people to blame me for tearing Everett's family apart instead of holding him accountable for his own terrible actions? It feels pretty awful to be devalued, degraded, re-victimized, victim blamed and shamed to make this man appear upstanding, disciplined and above reproach. I had to live with the shame, guilt and humiliation caused by (his) actions while he was constantly supported, lauded and esteemed, in and out of the public eye."
Scurry also wrote that educating young people about sexual abuse is a community responsibility.
"It is the responsibility of the community to become aware of the tactics of sexual predators," she wrote. "Every organization, especially churches, should address abuse of power and sexual abuse as opposed to concealing it. This 'out of sight, out of mind' policy creates an environment that fosters and conceals individuals engaging in this behavior, such as Everett Mitchell. It promotes an unhealthy power dynamic and defense for perpetrators. I encourage mandated reporters in all walks of life to report suspected child abuse and unhealthy child-adult relationships. This can save a lot of children pain and suffering in the present and long term."