Late 1990s Forced Adoption: Tina Anderson Case UPDATED

Forced domestic adoption may sound like a thing of the past when single parenthood was not socially acceptable. Unfortunately, forced, coercive domestic adoption still occurs and sometimes is tied to religious groups/cults.

Currently, there is an ongoing trial in New Hampshire that is not only about a child rape, but also is about a 1997 forced adoption that is tied to an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) church.

If you Google “Independent Fundamentalist Baptist”, you will find websites, Youtube videos, and testimonials cataloguing abuses of what many call a cult. Those that seek to expose harmful practices discuss three main issues: child sexual abuse, mental manipulation, and financial cons disguised as tithing. Forced adoption can be a result of these harmful and secretive teachings. As you will see in this case, there are documented cases where the child abuse victim is required to apologize to the congregation for her molestation.

Though independent, these churches do have ties to other churches in other states. These connections are termed “fellowships.” While these fellowships may not be organizational structures as other Christian denominations have, these ties can facilitate forced adoptions to occur and remain under the radar. In the case of Tina Anderson, she was sent from New Hampshire to Colorado by church connections where the forced adoption took place.

You can see one example of a fellowship, Global Independent Fundamental Baptist Fellowship  here . That website even has a bulletin board for “like-minded” pastors to communicate. Another is Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International   which publishes a magazine and has meetings in places like Indiana, Alaska, New York and Guam.

Before we delve further into Tina’s case, it is important to point out that IFBs run group homes (many unlicensed) as well. Adopted children may end up at these. A listing of these homes can be found at the  Freedom From Abuse site . Other organizations of IFBs can be found at that site as well.

PoundPup Legacy member Kitty has blog entries covering Tina’s case here   and here.

Additionally, an organization in Tina Anderson’s name to help others “break free” has been established here .

Tina’s Story 

Tina’s story from the organization’s website gives a good overview of this case: “According to the victim, Tina Anderson, she was only 15-years-old in 1997, when she, according to her account, was raped and impregnated by 38-year-old Ernie Willis, a wealthy businessman at Trinity Baptist Church (an Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) Church in Concord, New Hampshire) . When Tina told her pastor, Chuck Phelps (a graduate of Bob Jones University and the current pastor of Colonial Hills Baptist Church) that she had been raped, she was forced to stand in front of her church and apologize and was “church disciplined.” She was then, against her will, forced to move down to Colorado, where Pastor Matt Olson (a graduate of Bob Jones University and the current President of Northland Baptist Bible College/Northland International University) arranged for her to stay in the head deacons home at Tri-City Baptist Church (another IFB church in Westminster, CO). There she was homeschooled, isolated from kids her own age and told that the pregnancy and rape were her fault. Also, at the time of delivery, Tina was instructed not to talk to the hospital staff about what had happened to her and she was told she had to give the baby up for adoption (through anonymous surveys given to three families, orchestrated by Pastor Chuck Phelps). It wasn’t until years later that Tina found out the identity of the family who had adopted her baby.

In February of 2010, a former church member came onto the Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult Survivors group on Facebook and mentioned Tina’s situation. The police in New Hampshire were immediately called and Tina was asked if these things were true. She cooperated with the police and told them the full extent of what had happened to her. She was still a member of the Independent Fundamental Baptist cult at this time, but as of May 2010, she officially broke free of the cult and is in professional counseling and getting her life back together. Tina Anderson appeared on CBS, The Early Show in May 2010 and stated that she believed she had been ‘systematically brainwashed’ by both Pastor Chuck Phelps and Pastor Matt Olson to believe that the rape was her fault. Currently, she is married to a loving husband and has three beautiful children from this marriage. When we asked Tina what her “dream” would be, she said that she would like to move to the Portland, OR area with her family, enroll in school in Oregon and get a Masters degree in counseling and then spend her life helping other victims of abuse. We would like to help fulfill her dreams.”

Tina’s eye-opening 7-page police statement can be viewed here. She states that she had been sexually abused by her stepfather before even meeting the accused rapist Ernest Willis.

The Trial

“On cross-examination, Anderson lashed out at defense attorney Donna Brown for “badgering her” about discrepancies in her recollection of the sequence of events that summer.

“You cannot remember when you are 15 years old and scared out of your mind,” Anderson told Brown. “It doesn’t mean I was lying. I felt like my life was over.”

Anderson was the prosecution’s first witness and testified for about two hours.

Anderson said she felt “complete shock” when she picked up the phone on her husband’s birthday last year and a Concord detective asked whether she wanted to discuss what happened in 1997. Her voice cracked throughout much of her first hour of testimony Monday, and she said the questions dredged up “just a lot of bad memories.”

Willis, 51, pleaded guilty last week to one count of having sex with Anderson, who was under the legal age of consent at the time. Willis denies having sex with her on more than one occasion and claims the sex was consensual.

Anderson acknowledged Monday she did go to dinner with Willis at a posh restaurant at around the time of her 16th birthday in 1997, after she said both rapes occurred.

“I needed to tell him I was pregnant,” Anderson testified. “I can’t explain some of the things I did. I was trying to be the good Christian I was supposed to be — to forgive and forget and pretend it never happened.”

Brown said in her opening statements Monday that Willis will testify. Brown asked jurors to give more weight to what Anderson said in 1997, when Brown says she told her mother and Phelps the two had sex on only one occasion and did not say Willis forced himself on her.

Anderson testified she told both her mother and Phelps the sex was not consensual.

Prosecutor Wayne Coull asked jurors to ask themselves when she leaves the witness stand whether they believe she is telling the truth.

“If the answer is yes,” Coull said, “find him guilty of a secret that’s been kept for far too long.”

The last witness Monday was Anderson’s mother, Christine Leaf, who testified that she does not support her daughter, saying, “I only support the truth, not a lie.”

Leaf has refused to comment publicly about whether she requested, or consented to, Anderson’s relocation to Colorado. She acknowledged there is a letter of support for Phelps, written by her lawyer and signed by her, that appears on Phelps’ website.

Leaf asserted that sending Anderson out of state to have her baby “was my idea.” Leaf at first testified that she wanted her daughter to move to Colorado to have a better life. Minutes later she stated, “I needed to get her out of the house because she was very mean to me.”

Leaf said Willis paid for Anderson’s airfare to Colorado.

Leaf’s testimony resumes Tuesday. The trial in Merrimack Superior Court is expected to last four days.

Willis faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison if convicted of any of the three aggravated sexual assault charges against him.”

Trial begins for NH man accused of raping teen
[Google News/Associated Press 5/23/11]

“A pastor testified Tuesday that a man charged with raping a 15-year-old girl several years ago told him there were two incidents with the girl.

Ernest Willis, 51, has admitted having sex with Tina Anderson, 29, when she was 15 years old. But he said it was consensual. He pleaded guilty to one charge of felonious sex assault but refuted Anderson’s claim that he assaulted her twice.

Charles Phelps, the former pastor of the Trinity Baptist Church, testified under subpoena and was ordered to reveal his private counseling notes he made when Anderson became pregnant in 1997.

Anderson said Phelps forced her to apologize to the congregation for becoming pregnant.

“(Willis) told me he had been involved with Tina twice,” Phelps said. “He said (it was) about a month apart.”

The defense fought hard to keep Phelps’ notes and diary out of the trial, citing a violation of pastoral privilege. But the judge ruled that the counseling notes were admissible. Referring to the notes, Phelps said Willis described himself as the “aggressor” during the encounters with Anderson.

“He said he was the aggressor,” Phelps said. “That was the word he used.”

The courtroom was packed for Phelps’ testimony by people who are no longer members of the church.

They have expressed strong, negative feelings about Phelps and were warned by prosecutors not to make any outbursts when Phelps took the stand.

“I want to point out if there is any emotional reaction or any negative presentations of any kind, that probably gets us a mistrial,” said prosecutor Wayne Coull. “That means we have to do this all over again.”

Pastor Phelps: “I’ve been thrown under the bus on this thing,” he said. “I cited for you the Concord Monitor, of how the police not only told who called them, but they didn’t tell that they never followed up. They never asked for my assistance.””

Pastor Contradicts Man’s Claim In Rape Trial
[WMUR 5/24/11]

“A man who admitted having sex with a 15-year-old member of his church testified Wednesday that the sex was consensual.

Ernest Willis, 52, has been charged with sexually assaulting Tina Anderson in 1997. He said that the two had sex once, but she said it happened twice, and she became pregnant as a result.”

Willis has pleaded guilty to one of the charges, saying he understands it was illegal to have sex with a girl too young to legally consent. But he testified that the relationship wasn’t forced. He also said their first encounter, when they were driving in his car, was not sex.

“I inappropriately touched her knee, brushed her hair back and touched her genital area,” Willis said.

Willis said they were in the car a second time when he asked the teenager from a very strict Baptist church a shocking question.

“I asked her if she’d like to join me in sexual intercourse,” he said. “She replied yes.”

The defense painted a picture of a romantic relationship between Anderson and Willis. She baby sat for the family, he took her out driving and even took her out for dinner on her 16th birthday, an event Anderson confirms happened.

“I knew that was a big deal to most children, kids when they turn 16, and I wanted to be able to take her out to treat her for her birthday,” he said.

Willis is scheduled to continue his testimony Thursday morning. The case is expected to wrap up testimony Thursday with closing arguments and jury instructions. “

Man Accused Of Raping Teen Testifies In Trial
[WMUR 5/26/11]

“There was no resistance to my overtures to her,” Willis, 52, of Gilford, testified on the third day of his trial on charges of forcible and statutory rape that resulted in a pregnancy.

“She appeared to enjoy it. She appeared to want it to happen, and there was nothing indicated to me by voice … or by any physical actions or defensiveness on her part at all that she did not want that to occur,” Willis said. ”

By the way, Tina’s police statement says: “In late June or early July of 1997 Ernie came to my house and knocked on the door. I was home alone, and I answered the door. He said he wanted to talk to me about something so I let him in the house. He locked the door behind him and pushed me over to the couch. I had a dress on and he pulled it off. I pushed my hands against his shoulders and said no, but he didn’t stop. He again raped me. When he was done, he just left. I was completely in shock, but too scared to go and tell anyone because I thought I would get blamed for what happened.”

““As I look back on it now, I can’t fathom what I was thinking; I was driven by emotion, by selfishness,” the divorced father of four said.

He apologized for the harm he caused everyone involved. Willis said he is taking responsibility by admitting to one count of felonious sexual assault, or statutory rape.

But he pleaded not guilty to the remaining charges of three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault — or forcible rape — and one count of felonious sexual assault, or statutory rape. The charges allege alternative theories of the attacks that occurred once at Anderson’s Concord apartment and once while Willis was teaching her to drive.

“Smukler said he has concerns about the indictment charging aggravated felonious sexual assault in the car because Anderson indicated had difficulties remembering what she said or did to stop the alleged attack.

Anderson testified Monday that “I believe I said ‘no’ or ‘stop,’ but I don’t remember a lot of what happened.”

“The judge said the remaining two forcible rape charges involving the alleged attack at the home and the statutory rape charge related to the alleged assault in the car will stand.

The six women and eight male jurors also learned a second anonymous report of the alleged rapes was made to the state Division of Child, Youth and Families, which forwarded it to Concord police.

Charles Phelps, who oversaw much of how the rape and pregnancy was handled as senior pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, said he notified Concord police and DCYF that a married church member had sex with an underage girl the day after he learned of it in early October 1997. Phelps reported the incident as consensual.

In a recorded interview with Willis last May, Concord Police Det. Chris DeAngelis said police received a second anonymous report alleging Willis had sexual intercourse twice with Anderson and both involved force.

In the taped recording played for the jury, Willis denied this, telling the officer he only had sex once with Anderson and it was consensual.

DeAngelis said police closed the case because they were unable to speak with the victim. He said it was reopened last year when police received new information, located Anderson in Arizona and she agreed to cooperate.

Retired Concord Police Det. Paul Gagnon testified he tried to speak with Anderson after receiving the initial report in 1997, but her mother insisted the girl “did not want to speak with me or the police department.”

Gagnon said he called Phelps after receiving the case, but Phelps never returned his calls.”

Accused testifies sexual encounters with 15-year-old were consensual
[New Hampshire Union Leader 5/25/11 by Kathryn Marchocki]

Update:  On Friday, May 27, 2011, Earl Willis was “found guilty of three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of felonious sexual assault for raping Tina Anderson twice in 1997, when she was his 15-year-old babysitter. The Merrimack County jury took a day to deliberate following four days of trial, filing into the courtroom late yesterday afternoon just as bailiffs prepared to send the crowd home for the weekend.”

“Willis, who admits to having sex with Anderson in her home and pleaded guilty just before the trial to one count of statutory rape, testified that he touched Anderson sexually during one driving lesson.

But he said he did not have sex with her until after a subsequent driving lesson, when he asked her “if she would like to join me in sexual intercourse.”

Anderson, he testified, “replied yes.”

Assistant County Attorney Wayne Coull pressed Willis on that version of events and later told jurors it wasn’t credible to believe that Anderson, brought up in a church where children didn’t hold hands, had indicated to Willis that she wanted to have sex with him.

But Willis’s public defender, Donna Brown, questioned the credibility of Anderson’s account, which included conflicting statements about going to dinner with Willis on her 16th birthday at the Bedford Village Inn, two months after she said Willis forcibly raped her.

Brown said Anderson had changed her story to “look more like a victim” because she didn’t receive the treatment she deserved after she became pregnant in 1997.

But Coull said Anderson never shared the full story with her mother and pastor, who Anderson said told her that “good Christians forgive and forget” when she reported being abused by her stepfather.

And when she reported her pregnancy, Coull said, she was “shamed, shunned, and silenced. Shipped away.”

“Yesterday, dozens of supporters surrounded her outside the courthouse, holding posters depicting Jesus beside a 16-year-old Anderson and the baby she gave up for adoption.”

“Willis won’t be sentenced until a hearing at a later date. His attorneys said he would wait to address the court until his sentencing.”

Willis Guilty of Rape
[Concord Monitor 5/28/11 by Maddie Hanna]

“His bond was revoked automatically on the five sexual assault convictions. He faces up to 54 years in prison. No sentencing date has been set. He was stoic as he was lead out of the courtroom.

The 12 jurors, who got the case Thursday, left without comment; the foreman said they had all agreed not to talk to the media.”

“In her victim impact statement, Anderson said she was devastated when she learned she was pregnant, then heartbroken when she had to put her daughter up for adoption. She also said the rape has had ripple effects on her marriage and the upbringing of her other three children.”

NH man convicted of raping teen church member
[Las Vegas Sun by Associated Press 5/31/11]

You can see Tina’s interview at Rape victim who gets justice 14 years later speaks out  [AZ family.com 5/30/11 by Stacey Delikat]

The Advocate

“[I]t was also a victory for the advocate who has been by Anderson’s side throughout the trial: Jocelyn Zichterman. A Portland, Ore., woman who runs a website dedicated to exposing what she calls “Independent Fundamental Baptist abuse,” Zichterman shepherded Anderson through the criminal justice system from start to finish – from making the call last year that led the Concord police to reopen their investigation into Anderson’s rape to squaring off in front of cameras outside Merrimack County Superior Court Friday afternoon, proclaiming Anderson a hero for her “incredible courage.”

“Growing up in a fundamentalist Baptist congregation, Zichterman says she was molested by family members but pressured by church members to stay silent. She has since devoted herself to advocating against abuse within the church, which she refers to as a “cult.” She calls former members “survivors.”

It was on a Facebook page for those “Independent Fundamental Baptist cult survivors” that Barnhart posted about Anderson last year. Zichterman, seeing his post, contacted him within minutes, and after Anderson – then 28 and living in Arizona – came upon the page, she contacted Zichterman, who called the Concord police.

While it was Anderson’s decision to speak to the police, “it wasn’t until she and I started talking that she realized she wasn’t guilty for this rape,” Zichterman told the Monitor last May, shortly after Willis’s arrest.

She quickly took an active role in the case, becoming a conduit for news media requests. During the trial, Anderson described Zichterman as “the family spokesperson.”

She appeared with Anderson on a 20/20 special about Independent Fundamental Baptist churches and publicized Anderson’s case online; her Freedom From Abuse Network website includes pictures of Zichterman and Anderson taken last year in Arizona and a link to another website called the Tina Anderson Foundation, which tells Anderson’s story and has a PayPal account for visitors to donate online.”

Rape Conviction a Win for Advocate
[Concord Monitor 5/29/11 by Maddie Hanna]

REFORM Puzzle Piece