wfn.org | United Methodist camp responds to rape of girl

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

July 19, 2001 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71B{325}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- A United Methodist camp in Tennessee is
struggling to respond to the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl by a camp
counselor.

Carl Bentrup, 21, of Nashville was arrested on July 19 after he called 911
and told the dispatcher that he had raped the girl at Camp Cedar Crest,
according to the Hickman County Sheriff's Department. The camp, owned by the
United Methodist Church's Tennessee Annual (regional) Conference, is near
Centerville, a 45-minute drive southwest of Nashville. 

Police went to Cedar Crest at 3:11 a .m. and met Bentrup, who was in the
road waiting for them. 

The girl had gotten up to use the restroom, and Bentrup saw her outside and
indicated a need to speak with her, according to the sheriff's department.
He allegedly handcuffed her, gagged her, took her inside a bathhouse and
raped her. Police found her bound to the sink.

Bentrup had been a counselor at the camp for the past three years and had
the required background checks, said the Rev. Randall Ganues, director of
the conference's council on ministries. "There was nothing to alert us to
this," Ganues told United Methodist News Service. Bentrup was counselor to
seven children.

"Camp Cedar Crest is distressed over the events of the past few hours,"
Ganues said in a prepared statement. "We have been attending to the concerns
of the children in attendance at this week's camp. We are working with and
cooperating with the Hickman County Sheriff's Department and seeking to
support the needs of the many families that this event has affected."

Camp officials said this was the first crime of this type in Cedar Crest's
27-year history

Bentrup is being held in the Hickman Country jail on charges of child rape,
aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual battery and sexual battery by an
authority figure, according to Detective Larry Holman with the sheriff's
department.

"This is a deeply tragic incident," said Nashville Area Bishop William
Morris. "The authorities are working with the details of the situation, and
we are counseling with the young people and their families to provide
support and comfort. Please keep all the young people and their families in
your prayers."

To help camp officials deal with the incident, pastors from nearby churches
and the conference are at Cedar Crest, and other pastors and counselors are
en route. 

"We are shocked, grieved and disturbed by this exploitation of a child's
vulnerability and recognize this is an issue that devastates us all and
particularly the child abused," Ganues said. 

The girl, who is from Goodlettsville, will be represented by the state
district attorney's office, Holman said. 

Bond has not been set for Bentrup. He was expected to be in court either
July 19 or July 23 for a bond hearing. Since he faces felony charges, the
case with go through a grand jury and circuit court, Holman said. Bentrup
reported having a juvenile record, but Holman said he had no way of checking
that out.

Ganues said the camp is insured, "but our best assurance has been in our
seeking to get the best leadership, and we provide background checks, and
there was nothing to alert us to this."

Cedar Crest provides a camping experience for students from around Tennessee
and out of state. The camping season for elementary school-age children
lasts seven weeks, and two more weekly sessions remain. A total of 80
children, divided into three different groups, have been attending the camp.

Ganues said the campers know about the incident. "They are calm and ready to
go on with activities." It is the counselors "who are distraught," he said.
"They realize the implications." 

The assaulted child is in her mother's care and has been taken to receive
medical attention.  The camp is attempting to reach the parents and
guardians of the children at this week's camp to reassure them that their
kids are safe. A number of parents have not been reached, and officials want
to provide them with information about the children's safety. Some parents
have picked up their children from the camp session that ends July 20. 

Holman spoke with the victim on July 19. "She has some scrapes on her back
and scratches on her, some bruises," he said. "Mentally, she's visibly
upset, but she was handling it pretty well. She seems to be a very
intelligent lady and strong-willed, but these things can take effect on a
person immediately or it can take a few days before everything sinks in."

The camp is praying for guidance as it deals with the situation, Ganues
said. Camp and conference officials are committed to providing pastoral care
to those affected, he said.
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United Methodist News Service
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