Today’s post is a difficult one for me to write.  Really, really difficult.  Why?  Because a father whose children were abused by my former husband is the one telling his story.  When I first met Dave and heard him speak at a child abuse workshop, I sat stunned as I heard the words he spoke with such sincerity and passion.

I asked Dave if he would consider sharing his story here, and he didn’t hesitate one second!  I wept as I read what he shared.  I wept as I thought about his daughters.  I wept as I was once again reminded of the evil actions that were committed against these precious innocent children.    *NOTE:  I have not changed any of the words of this father.  These words come straight from his heart.  Please read, and please become more aware of how pedophiles target young children in order to molest them.

“Hello, my name is Dave and I’m so humbled that I was asked to share my family’s story with you.  To give you a better understanding of how I came to know John Hinton I have to go back to 2009.  My wife, at that time, was arrested for felony child abuse.  Soon after I found myself divorced, lonely, and a single parent of five young children — four girls and one boy.

It didn’t take long until I became pretty overwhelmed very fast.  Having five young kids at the time was very demanding.  My oldest was only six-years-old. During this time in my life, I became severely depressed and I was also diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.  Life was beyond tough at this point.  I often thought about suicide.  I was taking care of my children, doing all of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc., and didn’t go anywhere and didn’t have a soul to call my friend.

I had no friends or family to help.  I was losing my mind.  My home became my prison.  The thought of suicide was always on my mind.  I saw no way out.  I needed so much help.  I was just surviving; I wasn’t living.  I was overstressed and had little sleep.  I was running on empty.

One day, while at my lowest, I was invited to go to church.  I hadn’t been to church in a while, so I thought if I went I could maybe get a little break from the kids and also have some much-needed interaction with other adults.

Reluctantly, I went to church.

It was during fellowship time — that time right after worship and before the message — when people of the church greet one another.  Out of the corner of my eye I could see a man making his way towards me.  He came over to me, shook my hand warmly, and introduced himself.

‘My name is John Hinton”,  and I quickly told him my name.  He quickly leaned down and picked up my second youngest daughter and started asking me a million and one questions. ‘Are you married?  Where is the mother of the kids?’ And, on and one he went with the questions.

That’s when I told him my story.  Other people surrounded me and were shaking my hand as John and I were talking.  People of the church said to me that John was a nanny.  They spoke so highly of him, telling me he was such a good man.  John told me that he himself had a very large family and he knew how stressful that could be — especially on a single dad.

‘Dave, you look very tired and in need of rest.’ And, I was.  I really, really was.  I was so excited I met John.  I truly believed he was an answer to my prayers.  So, John and I exchanged phone numbers.

A friendship had been made.

It wasn’t long after I met John that he began to call me every night on his way home from his babysitting job.  He always asked how the kids and I were doing.  We would talk about everything, and I often asked his advice on parenting.  We talked often about God and all of life.  We quickly struck up a friendship, and I was so thankful!

On one occasion John made his usual daily call and asked how the kids were doing.  I told him one of the kids was sick and I didn’t have any medicine.  John said he was on his way over to stop and watch the kids while I went to Walmart to pick up the medicine.  I got on my Harley Davidson and rode to Walmart.  John said, ‘Take your time.  Take all the time you need.  No need to hurry back.  Go get some quiet time for yourself.’

I had no reason NOT to completely trust John.  The church I was now attending spoke very highly of him. He had a babysitting job. But most of all he was a Pastor.    

John would now stop by my house every night after work.  We would sometimes stay up until 2:00 a.m. talking about God, life, and kids.  I asked him if he would be my mentor, and of course, without hesitation he said yes.

John said that the first thing as my mentor he wanted me to attend a Bible study every Saturday morning at the church.  He said he wanted me to go make some new relationships and he would gladly watch the children for me.

I loved this idea!  Again, another answered prayer!  I would get to study the Bible, have some much-needed time away from the kids, and get to form new friendships.  You would think I had won the lottery!

I really thought my broken life was on the road to healing.  Little did I know what was really happening!

Later on, through much pain and some difficult circumstances, I found out that John was molesting my children while I was at the Bible study.  You would think my kids would have been screaming and crying and trying to get away from this guy.  But, no!  I would come home and they all would be laughing and playing games.

One thing I found very odd, though.  The kids were all oily.  John called it “boo boo medicine.”  He said if the kids got a scratch, he would put the boo boo medicine on them and they got all better.

I believed him once again.  I had no reason to question this man who was so kind to me and my children. 

One day John called me very early in the morning and asked to take my girls swimming.  You see he always wanted to be with my girls and never my son.  So, I asked him why he wasn’t taking little Dave.  John had the perfect answer.  He said he couldn’t watch a special needs child because he would be running all over the place and he wouldn’t be able to keep a special eye on the girls.

Again, his answer was true.  My son does need a lot of special attention.  He has a functional form of ADHD, so I thought nothing of it when he said he couldn’t watch him.

Do you see how subtle John was?  Everything John said or did was well thought out.  He calculated every move so that he could be alone with my daughters without drawing any attention to what he was doing from me or other church members.  It all made perfect sense.  He was a fine mentor and it seemed like he was genuine and really wanted to help me!

Those who sexually abuse children are pros at manipulation!

So, John took all of my little girls swimming without me ever questioning him.  It got real late that day, and I began to worry.  I started calling his phone, but he never answered.  John finally called around 8:00 p.m. and asked if the girls could spend the night.  I told him I had been trying to call him because I was very worried.  He explained it away as always.

‘Oh, I didn’t have cell service at the park. There was no need to worry.  The girls are pretty tired.  Just let them stay with me and I’ll bring them home early in the morning.’

This went on for months.

I had no clue what was going on.  In fact, I continued to believe my prayers had been answered.  My kids were never afraid of John at any time.  In fact, they couldn’t wait to be around him!

I thought I had taught my children well.  Private parts are just that — private!  Little did I know how these predators work!

Please, from a father who has seen what can happen when a molester chooses your child, I pray that you will get educated!  A good place to start is Church Protect.

Thank you for reading my story.  I will finish the rest of the story at a later time.

Blessings, Dave”

My heart is heavy as I think about these children and their father.  Do you see how John was able to weave his way into their family?  Do you see how he used their weaknesses and their loneliness to his benefit?  Do you see how easy it was to make everything look like he was a hero coming to the rescue of a broken family?

Thank you, Dave, for your willingness to share part of your story.  We look forward to you educating us more!

Please follow Dave’s advice.  GET EDUCATED!!!!!  This isn’t a game.  It’s for real.  There are predators among us and they are after YOUR children!

We must become educated.  We must become smarter than the pedophiles.  We must never underestimate their ability to harm.

We must protect our children!

If you are interested in a workshop or learning more about what you can do to protect your children, please email me at clarahintonspeaker@gmail.com or contact Jimmy at Church Protect.  We’re here to help!

Love,

Clara