Steps Toward ASI Panel Review Negotiations: #2
The Discovery of the 2003 Glenn Dryden Letter
BlackSDA.com had discussed a host of allegations,
including the Tommy Shelton child molestation allegations in West Frankfort, Illinois, and Dunn Loring, Virginia.
Yet there was one challenge with a number of the various allegations: little or no concrete documentation to support
them.
But on August 10, Panama Pete gave a detail which made it relatively simple to discover the existence of
the 2003 Glenn Dryden letter, something that had
not appeared on the internet forums before:
Retrieving some contact info from the web site Panama Pete had provided a link for, Pickle suggested to his pastor
friend that he call the Church of God church out there in Dunn Loring, Virginia, where Tommy used to pastor, and
ask them if the child molestation allegations against Tommy Ray Shelton were true. So that pastor did.
The result was that both he and Pickle consequently ended up talking to Pastor Glenn Dryden, a man who
providentially had pastored not one but two of the churches where Tommy used to pastor: Ezra Church of God in
West Frankfort, Illinois, and Community Church of God in Dunn Loring, Virginia. Dryden told them that
he had sent a letter in 2003 informing Dr. Walt Thompson that Tommy had molested six boys, and the reply
he got to that letter was a threat of legal action issued by 3ABN attorney Mike Riva writing on behalf of Tommy.
On August 14, 2006, but a day after the rerun of the August 10 broadcast, Dryden sent a transcription of his
2003 letter to Pickle. In doing so he requested that it and his name not be made public, since some
of his relatives worked at 3ABN, and he was afraid that Danny might retaliate against them if the matter was not kept
private. But Dryden authorized Pickle to forward his 2003 letter to Seventh-day Adventist church leaders, which he
proceeded to do by sending it to four pastors and administrators.
The Implications
Dryden's tale and concerns were troubling, and indicated that a severe problem was brewing. Here was someone who
had no apparent gripe at how Danny had treated Linda during the break up of their marriage in 2004, and thus someone
who was not prejudiced against Danny for that reason. Besides, he had sent his letter in 2003, a year before the
Shelton divorce. And his concern over his relatives being retaliated against by Danny seemed to confirm the
allegations on BlackSDA.com that Danny does that
very kind of thing.
To be certain, one can expect all Adventist pastors and administrators to know that allegations of sexual
misconduct of this nature don't get swept under the rug by the use of attorney's threats, for if they do,
there can be dire consequences if a future incident results in a lawsuit. And multitudes out in the business
world, especially the types of folks that tend be members of ASI, also realize the liability implications
of such intimidation tactics. Why then was Danny Shelton, a member of ASI, handling this serious matter in
such a wrong way?
Moreover, Danny had dismissed the co-founder of his ministry, Linda Shelton, over accusations that she
had had an affair with a man who lived thousands of miles away, accusations supported by evidence that to this
day Danny refuses to show, even when promised. Yet Tommy had replaced Linda as production manager, despite the
allegations of child molestation against him. If Danny cared so little about such serious allegations against Tommy,
why would he have gotten so bent out of shape over allegations that Linda had had an affair? It just didn't make
sense.
But one thing that did make sense very quickly was that the
2003 Glenn Dryden letter was about to bring another
player into the arena: Gailon Arthur Joy.
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