MOUNT VERNON — A witness called as an expert said on the second day of Gary “Tom” Keesee Jr.’s rape trial that the victims’ disclosures were compelling, specific and detailed.
Keesee, former media officer at Faith Life Church, is accused of 32 counts of sexual assault, including 13 counts of rape. All four alleged victims were minors with ages ranging from 5 to 15.
Mental health provider Carrie Schnirring of the Canton-based Lighthouse Family Center evaluates allegations of abuse in children. She has reviewed more than 3,000 cases in the last 23 years.
In the Keesee case, Schnirring reviewed law enforcement reports and victim statements, listened to audio recordings of interviews and phone calls, and evaluated one audio/video recording of a victim interview.
She said research shows several factors to look for when evaluating disclosures, including the quality of details, not just quantity.
According to Schnirring, there are three types of details:
•Contextual: A narrative of before or after an incident.
•Sensory motor: What the victim saw, heard, touched, thought and felt.
•Idiosyncratic: Details unique to the victim’s experience.
“They tend to be the type of detail if someone were fabricating a story, they would not tend to add that,” Schnirring said.
She said the victims’ statements contained such details and corroborated one another. Several described the basement in Keesee’s Sharp Road home. One recalled feeling a couch, and several described pain. She concluded the disclosures were compelling.
Reasons for adult disclosure
All four victims are now adults.
About 60% of children abused wait until they are an adult to disclose, Schnirring said.
“The number one reason whether a child discloses and does not recant is based on their primary caregiver, which is usually their mother,” she said.
Sometimes the victim is related to the groomer. Other children fear being shamed or are threatened or bribed, she said.
“Sometimes the perpetrator has groomed them so well the child does not realize it’s abuse until there’s pretty significant incident of abuse,” Schnirring said.
Adults may disclose once they feel safe from repercussions, when mental health issues escalate, or out of concern for other victims.
When abuse repeats over time, she said, memories “mesh in the brain.” This makes exact episodes, times, places and sequences harder to pin down. Victims tend to share the parts that stand out.
Schnirring referenced the close-knit relationship between the alleged victims, their families and Keesee’s family. All four had ties to Faith Life Church, attended events together and spent time at each other’s homes.
This “family environment” often leads to victims who disclose as a child being told to forgive and forget because the perpetrator is a “family member.”
Several alleged victims said they were told to forgive and forget.
On cross-examination by defense attorney Donald Regensburger, Schnirring acknowledged she did not review a civil action involving monetary damages, mental health or school records and had no direct interviews with the alleged victims.
First victim to come forward testifies
The first alleged victim testified Keesee started abusing her at the age of 5 or 6. The abuse continued until age 16.
Incidents occurred at Keesee’s Sharp Road home, another Knox County location and two Licking County locations.
The alleged victim said the incidents started with exposure and escalated over the years.
“It became a habit,” she said.
Throughout that time, the family continued attending Faith Life Church. The alleged victim participated in youth activities and a play that Keesee directed.
The alleged victim testified that after she told her father, nothing changed. She said her parents told her Keesee is part of the family and she needed to forgive and forget.
The woman said she came forward after becoming concerned that what happened to her might be happening to others.
Defense attorney Samuel Shamansky questioned her about statements she made in a lawsuit she filed against Keesee, his parents, and Faith Life Church.
He also asked about a phone call between her and another alleged victim, who encouraged her to contact the other alleged victim, and a sequence of Reddit posts.
The woman said the alleged victims never spoke about each others testimony.
A former Faith Life Church employee testified she often babysat for the Keesee family at home and at church. She also babysat other children at the church.
She said if issues arose in the church, team leaders would try to resolve them. Serious issues went to the pastors. Gary Sr. and Drenda Keesee co-pastor Faith Life Church.
Knox Pages is not revealing names or specific testimony details to protect the identity of the victims.
The bench trial before Knox County Common Pleas Judge Richard Wetzel is scheduled to resume Friday at 9 a.m.
