Seventh-day Adventist Church fails to act on child sex abuse claims

Written by Jamie Roberton.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church failed to act for decades on information that a prominent member of the church was a pedophile and sexually abused young boys, according to evidence obtained by Channel 4 News.

Dr. Donald Kelly groomed and abused schoolboys from the 1960s onwards, with several victims describing how Kelly used his power and status within the church to abuse freely.

A Channel 4 News investigation has uncovered evidence that the Seventh-day Adventist Church was repeatedly warned about Kelly’s crimes over three decades.

The Metropolitan Police informed the church about allegations against Kelly in 2009, while a senior British church leader was told in 2020 that Kelly was a “predatory pedophile.”

Kelly was questioned by police at least once before dying of cancer in November 2022.

The church, under pressure from a group of victims, ordered an independent investigation into Kelly’s abuse in February 2023, but has yet to release the findings.

In a statement released through lawyers, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Britain told Channel 4 News that it was not made aware of the allegations until “late 2021,” adding that the church “had suffered the terrible and lasting damage acknowledges that Donald Kelly has caused.”

The church said it “takes reporting protection seriously” and “carefully considers the lessons we can learn,” concluding: “We are shocked that the actions of this one man have caused so much suffering to so many people.”

Channel 4 News has spoken to five men who say they were sexually assaulted by Donald Kelly. One was just seven years old when he was abused.

Two victims have waived their legal right to anonymity to speak about what they suffered at the hands of Kelly and their fight for accountability from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Michael Smith was 15 when Kelly – then a recent medical graduate from Oxford University – arrived at his family home in the late 1960s and invited him on a tour of Oxford University.

“He took me around university, showed me the operating rooms during the day and booked us into a Bed and Breakfast in the evening.”

Kelly proceeded to sexually assault Smith in the middle of the night.

“I felt ashamed,” he told Channel 4 News.

“I thought: I’m 15 and this happened to me. I haven’t told anyone else in my family. I didn’t tell my father. I didn’t tell my mother – to this day I still haven’t told my mother.”

Andrew Cadogan was 14 when Kelly used the same tactics he had used to abuse Michael Smith a decade earlier.

“The lights went out and the guy just jumped on me,” said Cadogan, describing the 1976 attack.

“It was like I was his property, ‘you belong to me, this is mine, this is mine’.”

Kelly continued to abuse Andrew over the weekend in Oxford.

“My mom came home from work and she looked at me and said ‘how was your trip?’

“The first thing I said to her was, ‘Mom, if this man takes Paul Jeffrey or Peter anywhere – they’re my younger brothers – don’t let him, don’t let him’.”

Victims said Kelly’s abuse of young boys was common knowledge within the church at the time, while another prominent church figure close to Kelly called a meeting with young boys as the rumors grew.

“At the end of this meeting, when everyone had spoken, he said, ‘If I hear any of you say this… you’re going to have to deal with me,’” Michael Smith recalled.

Kelly would continue to follow Andrew Cadogan even after his ordeal.

“One of my friends said to me, ‘Andrew, that man is looking at you.’ He (Donald Kelly) stood there watching me play football with a big grin on his face.

“After we played football, I went home and my mother said, ‘He came to the house looking for you and asking for you’.”

“Oh boy, I was scared.”

Donald Kelly subsequently worked extensively around the world from 1972, working in Adventist-affiliated institutions in Papua New Guinea, Jamaica, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Australia.

He also worked in medical mission programs in parts of Africa, including Lesotho, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone.

Michael Smith spoke to police in 2009 after hearing more stories from other victims, fearing Kelly was “still sexually abusing male youths.”

No further action was taken against Kelly, but the Metropolitan Police told Channel 4 News that officers had contacted the church to inform it of the allegations.

Andrew Cadogan reported his assault to police in February 2022 after suffering a serious stroke.

Donald Kelly took part in a “voluntary interview” with Hertfordshire Police, but officers later said there was not enough evidence to pursue the case.

Kelly died in November, later that year.

Despite the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s position that they were not made aware of the allegations until 2021, Channel 4 News has seen evidence that the church was informed of Kelly’s abuse a number of times over decades:

In 1994, a senior official within the Seventh-day Adventist Church was informed that Kelly had been removed from his position at Montemorelos University School of Medicine in Mexico for “acts contrary to the ethics of the medical profession.”
In 2009, the Metropolitan Police informed “representatives of the Seventh-day Adventist Church” of serious allegations following a conversation with Michael Smith.
In 2020, a senior pastor in Britain was told Kelly was a “predatory pedophile” after another victim came forward.
In 2022, ministers in Sierra Leone raised the abuse claims directly with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but were told the church was “unaware of the allegations against Donald Kelly.”

The most recent statistics, published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, indicate a membership of 25 million people worldwide. An estimated 38,000 are based in Britain.

The church operates 9,489 schools, 15 children’s homes or orphanages and 227 hospitals worldwide.

Michael Smith joined other victims in filing a formal complaint with the Seventh-day Adventist Church over its handling of Kelly’s abuse in 2022 – before Kelly died.

The church ultimately agreed to an independent investigation in February 2023, which has reportedly now been completed.

Victims have yet to see the findings, despite repeated written appeals to the church’s leadership, who have now been accused of ‘slowplaying’ those who gave evidence.

The South of England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (SEC) told Channel 4 News in a statement that its administrators were “carefully considering” the report and that they will contact victims about the findings when “legally possible” .

“You get called the N-word, you get spit at school, so you go to church for a solution, for comfort,” Smith said.

“But then you see the church – the people in charge – conspiring to protect the honest name of the church instead of practicing what they preach.”

Andrew Cadogan said: “I am angry with them (the church). I didn’t even read the report on me. I need the report, but the church is holding on to it. Where is my righteousness?”

Full statement from the trustees of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (SEC):

“In late 2021, the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (SEC) was shocked to receive reports of non-recent sexual abuse involving a now deceased, former member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in our region, Donald Kelly, who was dating was back to the sixties.

In response to these reports, the SEC commissioned thirtyone:eight – an independent Christian advocacy organization – to investigate the allegations of abuse by Donald Kelly, report their findings and provide advice on lessons to be learned and safeguarding procedures for the future.

Thirtyone:eight has now completed its thorough investigation and submitted its comprehensive report, which curators are carefully considering. We plan to share these findings with everyone who participated in the study prior to any wider publication.

The SEC recognizes the terrible and lasting harm caused by Donald Kelly and extends its deepest and sincere condolences to all those affected by his abusive conduct.

Families looked up to Donald Kelly because he seemed to be a pillar of the community: an inspiring graduate of the University of Oxford. But the devastating reality we now know is that he exploited the high regard people held for him, and preyed on the awe of his admirers, to abuse the children of our parishioners.

These harrowing and traumatic events took place many years ago and Donald Kelly died in 2022 at the age of 79.

As the SEC continues to review and enhance its existing safeguards to make them as robust as possible, it is carefully considering lessons learned and will implement further measures as appropriate.

We take security reports very seriously and continue to advise and guide our ministers and members to deal with situations in a proportionate and appropriate manner.

We will contact the victims as soon as legally possible and share the investigation results with them. We would like to thank all those survivors and witnesses for their courage in coming forward to speak to investigators.

Today, Seventh-day Adventism has more than 25 million followers worldwide. We are shocked that the actions of this one man have caused so much suffering to so many people.”