Old Apostolic Lutheran Church Leaders Covered Up Abuse by Encouraging Forgiveness

A young girl was brought to an office building by her father and church leader Daryl Bruckelmyer to confront Clint Massie, a man who admitted to sexually abusing children in their tight-knit Old Apostolic Lutheran Church community over about 20 years.

Upon arriving, Massie asked the girl for forgiveness in front of her father and Bruckelmyer, despite the abuse beginning since kindergarten and occurring even while parents were present or in church settings.

According to court documents and Massie’s own admission, his actions were an open secret within the congregation, yet church leaders failed to report the crimes to authorities.

Instead of seeking justice through the law, church leaders instructed victims like the girl to forgive Massie, allowing him to continue his abuse.

Former victims, now adults, reported confronting church leaders including Bruckelmyer about the abuse, but Massie was merely sent to therapy without a formal police report.

Bruckelmyer and other leaders encouraged participation in forgiveness sessions, effectively shielding the abuser and enabling further harm.

Despite Massie’s denial regarding specific allegations in pending legal matters, the investigation by the Minnesota Star Tribune and ProPublica confirms his admitted abuse and the church’s failure to hold him accountable.

Source: Read the original report

Source record preserved at time of reporting.