Eastminster Presbyterian Church investigated sexual abuse allegations against former youth minister prior to 2024

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - In a new letter sent out by Eastminster Presbyterian Church to its congregation, the church admits to knowing about past allegations of sexual misconduct prior to last year involving former student ministries director Bodie Weiss.

Weiss began working with Eastminster as the Director of Senior High School Ministries in April 1989 and resigned from his position in July 2006. He died in June 2020 at the age of 59.

The church shared earlier this week that allegations against Weiss were brought to their governing board of elders last July. It came after Tyson Stuart, a former youth group member at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, shared publicly in a blog that he experienced physical abuse from Weiss.

In response to the allegations, Eastminster’s Session hired Fact Finding Ministry to investigate these allegations.

That investigation stretched six months and found there was a total of 23 victims.

However, in the letter sent out by the church on Sunday, June 14, church leadership outlined learning about multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by Weiss prior to the July 2024 allegations.

“Although these previous allegations were investigated when they became known to Eastminster leadership, confidentiality concerns coupled with the determination that the allegations had not been substantiated meant that the allegations were not shared with Eastminster’s governing Board of Elders,” church officials said in the letter.

According to the letter, an allegation was made against Weiss in December 2020. A former student alleged in the early 1990s that Weiss had engaged in inappropriate physical contact and had sexually harassed the student. Following an investigation, it was determined that the allegations were deemed not credible.

In 2005, two men in Pennsylvania told an Eastminster pastor that Weiss had inappropriate sexual activity with them at a church in Pennsylvania in 1980. They were 16 years old, and Weiss was 18. Another internal investigation found those allegations could not be substantiated.

The letter also stated that after Weiss left his position at Eastminster and no longer worked in any ministry capacity, an attorney representing a former student sent a demand letter to the church in 2008. That letter alleged Weiss sexually abused the student when the student participated in Eastminster’s senior high youth group.

After an investigation, Eastminster’s insurance carrier agreed to a monetary settlement in 2009 with the student and his family. The settlement included a non-disclosure agreement at the request of the student’s family, according to the letter.

The church added that this is the only settlement and non-disclosure agreement that Eastminster has entered into in response to allegations of sexual abuse by any staff member.

“Looking back, the current Eastminster Session recognizes that the apparent success of Eastminster’s student ministries during Weiss’s tenure at Eastminster likely caused past Eastminster leadership to place too much trust in Weiss and to allow Weiss to lead those student ministry programs with too much autonomy and not enough accountability,” said church officials.

No current members of the church’s governing board were involved in those earlier investigations.

“The current Eastminster Session and staff are grieved by these shortcomings, by the abuse that took place during Weiss’s time at Eastminster, and by the harm that was caused to the young people who should have been safe in our care and to their families and loved ones,” the letter reads.

Church leaders now say they are committed to better safeguarding practices, including expanded training and clearer reporting procedures. They say they are working to ensure past failures are not repeated.