Blue Springs man and alleged child molester Paul J. Cool has ignored a judge's order to stay away from the underage girls that he's accused of sexually abusing, according to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Readers might remember our first report on the 49-year-old Cool. Police reports say Cool, baptized and ordained as an elder in the Vermont Mormon Church, used his status as a civilian holy man to lay hands on teenage girls and preteen relatives. He allegedly told at least one that God knew she'd done things to make an evil spirit enter her pubic area, and he had to put his own hands there to pray the beast out.
Cool was arrested for child sexual abuse on November 16 in Dekalb County, Missouri. After his arrest, Cool made his way back to Vermont, where a White River Junction district court judge freed him on December 4, providing he have no contact with his alleged victim or any girl younger than 19.
Then this week witnesses reported seeing him in St. Joseph, not far from his alleged victim. Though law enforcement was notified, Cool has not been arrested. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests claims it's sent e-mails to Vermont law enforcement about the situation, but prosecutors and police have not addressed why Cool remains free.
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I remember living behind a church were Brian Lamb, and a bunch of these
CNN guys used too have a wood shop. At that place of residence someone
thought I needed an exorcist, after playing in the mud the way very young
children will sometimes with my uncle who mixed a glass of this red clay
in water and told me it was chocolate milk. After doing so I broke out
with ring worm all over my body and my mom told me it was writing that
could not be understood so she had a priest come in from the church. I
had a fever of well over a hundred and I was a bloody mess with the
infection. The priest came in with outer guys and one had a camera. One
priest would throw me across the room well the other snapped a picture. I
would fall on furniture and the floor and they would tell me get on the
bed, don't get off the bed very loud and when I would crawl back on the
bed they would pick me up and throw me over and over again well the other
priest would snap another picture and this went on till one guy said we
have enough picture and they left me in the blood, mud, and bedding, then
my aunt came in with some save that was for ring worm. She spread the
save and kidded me about dying when the rings got to my heart. After
getting well I went back to the wood shop and the guys had made me a
special shield and gave me my sword which were both made of wood and I
had to fight one of the guys in my shorts because I did not want to
remove them and the other guy was naked. I was still not up too speed and
lost the battle. They then called me the bad guy and this group was
supposed to be my gate keeper or something like that appointed by the
priests. My Dad did not like them much also but that did not matter much
because someone at the church was going to be my new dad till he said no,
my mom cried allot, my dad was gone and I healed up, but I still have a
case.
Apparently, child molesting isn't considered a very serious crime.
The man plea-bargained out of molesting one family member, and had charges dropped by a separate county in VT for molesting another. And now he is remanded to parole in MO...where reports of sexual misconduct were made to police and Family Services, but no action was taken.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/a...
Does it seem 'sane' to put this man back into a position in which he can repeat his egregious behaviors?
We are left to wonder whether the state of Vermont [as well as Missouri and other states] take the charge of child molesting seriously.
One must wonder whether an allegation of a felony is 'graduated', so that alleged 'child molesting' is not considered as important as 'armed robbery'.
The man broke the conditions of his bail, left the state of Vermont and returned to Missouri, to live with his wife and step-daughter, showed up in the courtroom holding an infant daughter, yet is free on bail...again. Is this how States deal with alleged molesters? Do they consider this type of felony to be excusable?
We are left to wonder
Danny
We have learned that Paul Cool has managed to bail out of jail again this morning....after this article was written.
http://www.timesargus.com/arti...
What is wrong with this picture..??
How does this happen, this man clearly broke his release agreement once.. and now he is out again??
For the safety of his victims and others, this man needs to be kept in jail !!
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Director,
636-433-2511
"Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests"
http://www.snapnetwork.org/
Paul Cool returned to Vermont prison for violating terms of his bail:
http://www.rutlandherald.com/a...
Due to this man, Paul Cool 'hearing' from 'God, and justifying many dreadful deeds in this name, has affected not only ten children, but a babe on the way. He has impregnated another man's wife...He moved into his family's best friends home which included, husband, wife and five children. He stole the husband's wife and took over his home because God told him to do so. He has had God tell him in dreams, deplorable, controlling things about his former family, of six; a wife and five children...who trusted and loved him as a husband and father...now, five of them have left, hidden, obscured and waiting for tearful justice. The five await the awakening of the one, left, brainwashed that it is not wrong to molest wife and children. He has joked of murdering his former wife and made plans to do so...he was just too financially broke to employ the ones to do the horrible deed.
It is hell for the family, torn asunder...to know that Paul Cool is abroad and free and it is hell to know that he abandoned his family through unjust interpretations of God and lies in prison each night, not tending the family that he vowed to provide for. Now, countless others fill the gap, emotionally, financially, spiritually and all other ways...like, friends, family, state officials, counselors, church officials, school attendants, and more...all because one man would not face up to his own follies and do more than an infidel...tend his own family.
The cost is outrageous! Others now pay for what he, Paul Cool has done. He does not have to get up every morning and pay the bills, or settle the children's broken hearts. He will apparently, continue to justify or blame others for what he has done, in the 'name of God'.
The deeds done in the name of God has taken HIS name in vain and used it to build up a man's self esteem that did not allow real help into his life, which is what some might label, humility. Even now, he pleads 'not guilty' to the crimes he perpetrated on his own flesh and blood.
The cry went out, long before the deeds happened to the children and very few who had the influence responded.
May he hear the tears drop on the cement of his cell, of those he offended while he rests from responsibility...in prison.
His victims await repentance and restitution and JUSTICE.
Paul Cool is apparently back in prison, as of this afternoon or evening, at the Southern State Correctional Facility, Springfield, VT.
No details are known at this time. Evidently prosecutors were successful in convincing one or two judges that it is a true risk for him to be on his own recognizance.
We have people making an effort to force people who have had sex contested by a neighbor committed to sex Gulag to/morn/grieve for victims� families by forcing their lives on people they don�t know or want to with the thinking that their trauma trumps someone else�s trauma like little pig�s who want their offenders homes/money/lives & wants more concern about what caused them to become what unstable? Do they think they are the only ones who have trauma in their lives? Do you think if they married someone eles they might have had a normal life without thugs telling people their life loss/history/problems are what more important? Having unstable people come to your door with guns to tell you about their problems and throw you in jail for them without having committed any crimes except in the dark places in their minds? No our life is far to short for your trash sex law. Our life is more important than anyone else and we will find or sympathy at the barrel of a gun, You have questions and you want to go to someone�s home to make them feel like you? The program was created to help people deal with something never before discussed in public. The victims are now considered to have a pre existing conditions which they keep and the one who has given up everything moves through life with your allowance? Thank you community organizers for making such a completely gross/greedy/unconstitutional illegal and stupid program that has become everything it was not to be and the sooner you shut it down the better you will find yourselves when the proverbial S**T HIT THE FAN. If not, you have been notified. Shut the trash called a sex offender registry data base down now.
Judy
I agree with you.
Obviously, NO church would advocate abuse or unhealthy and inappropriate manipulation. Certainly, none of the churches mentioned would intentionally support such behaviors. However, some churches, including but not limited to those mentioned, have a hierarchical organization that provides the perfect environment in which perverse individuals can thrive, with the belief that 'God' is on their side. When any individual believes that he or she has 'all the truth', or the 'absolute truth', or believes he or she is an exclusive conduit for receiving Divine revelation, there is potential danger. 'God' seems to be the 'trump card' among many church-goers. So, when an individual with some level of authority says that 'God told me such-and-such', reason too often vanishes. An individual with strong narcissistic tendencies or similar delusions seems to find that manipulation in the name of God is quite easy within certain denominations.
The Community of Christ does seem to be distancing itself from these debacles, yet, in the cases of Cool and the Mohlers, witnesses and victims have said that they did, in fact, speak with ministers who were in a position of authority, and nothing was done - except advising people to endure, pray harder, and 'submit' to the 'authority' of the accused male figures.
It is my conviction that ALL ministers should be required [as is the case with other professionals] to have 'boundaries' training courses on a regular basis. And, that ANY abuse reported to ANY minister should be taken seriously.
Of course, there is a double-bind. If a supposed victim tells his or her story to a 'mandatory reporter', there will be intervention by family services and/or police. The victim, naturally, does not want to break up a family, cause 'problems' for the perpetrator, and so forth, so they tend to be extremely reticent to mention their abuse. [This is compounded by their own personal embarrassment, of course.]
Whether churches like it or not, they must accept responsibility for teaching entire congregations that certain relationships are wrong, some types of touching are wrong, etc. Unfortunately, we live in an age in which most churches will only address 'warm and fuzzy' topics from the pulpit, in their monthly publications, etc. People are people. If 'only' 1 or 2% of the general public are involved with incestuous relationships, then EVERY large denomination has 'perpetrators' in their midst. If, as some suggest, UP TO 25% of clergy may have been involved in some sort of sexual impropriety, then major denominations need to be very proactive about the potential problem - instead of attempting to distance themselves from the problem.
I'm glad SNAP is involved. My thanks to you and the organization for shining the spotlight on these and many other similar cases.
Perplexed
Perplexed, I agree with you 110%... and having the title "Priest" does give him more authority, it makes him seem more godly..and therefore he uses that to be abusive and controlling.
Those within this church just seem to insist on distancing themselves from any responsibility.
Paul Cool, used his "holier than thou" attitude and authority to abuse innocent kids and vulnerable adults.
That is a crime.
Judy Jones, SNAP "Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests"
636-433-2511
snapsteubenville@gmail.com
Concerned Reader, and general readership,
It seems that a combination of haste to report a story, complexity of jargon, and of misunderstanding of 'the priesthood' in 'Restoration' churches have resulted in some media inaccuracies about the Paul Cool case.
Mr Cool's alleged felonious sexual behavior was reported to Missouri officials, specifically in DeKalb County, who seemed at a quandary. Because the alleged �lewd and lascivious� behavior took place in Vermont as well as Missouri, Vermont officials were apprised of the victims� statements that were made in Missouri. After careful investigation of the reports, Vermont made the determination to arrest Mr. Cool and extradite him. He has been arraigned on charges of �lewd and lascivious behavior� in Windsor and Addison Counties.
He was released on conditional bail from Windsor County, VT. The conditions were that he 1) not leave Vermont, 2) have no contact with victims, and 3) that he have no contact with female minors. Mr. Cool left Vermont, returned to live with his current wife and her children in Amity, MO. He was seen at a Wal-Mart store in St. Joseph, Missouri, by a former acquaintance who knew nothing of the charges against him. That man happened to mention the chance encounter to a close friend of his, who is also a close friend of one of the victims.
When Vermont officials received verified information that Mr Cool was in Missouri, with his wife and her children, they insisted that he return to Vermont, which he did. He was arraigned in Addison County, Vermont, on Monday of this week. He and his wife convinced the judge, overruling objections by the prosecuting attorneys, to allow him to return to Amity, MO, and live in an environment with her minor children, including a 13-year-old daughter. Mr Cool must return to Vermont for additional hearings in January. There is some indication that Vermont�s laxity in issuing a new arrest warrant when they discovered that Cool was in Missouri was due to budgetary constraints.
Allegations made in Missouri indicate that Cool had perpetrated some of his alleged crimes while one of the victims was living with him and his wife in Amity. For that reason, there is serious concern that he may perpetrate a similar crime.
As you remarked, Concerned Reader, there is a valid concern that, if he is truly guilty, he may feel desperate, and attempt to flee, or may attempt to harm those who would testify against him. One wonders what �God� may �tell� him to do next.
Quite obviously, this sort of problem occurs within the general public, and within all sorts of church denominations. Within the Restoration churches, even though most of those who are ordained do not serve as leaders of a congregation, �priesthood� is very highly revered. Additionally, �spiritual experiences� are venerated. The result is that a �priesthood member� has �authority� with a child [or adult] that is over and above what a �lay� adult or parent may have over the average child. A �priesthood member� is generally considered to be more credible than the average person, and more likely to speak on behalf of God.
Linda Booth, of the Community of Christ, at one point stated that Paul Cool and his family had not been members of that denomination. She either misspoke, or she told an untruth, because he had been a member of the congregation in Blue Springs, MO. He eventually joined the LDS Church, in Vermont. He was baptized as a member, in spite of allegations of abuse that were conveyed to his new Bishop, prior to his baptism. He was ordained a Priest, then an Elder in the LDS Church. Apparently, when the allegations of sexual abuse became public, he was disfellowshipped from the LDS Church. No statements have been made by LDS officials of which I am aware.
It seems to be well-known that sex offenders of this nature have a very high rate of recidivism. They tend to be clever, very manipulative, and present a very amiable image to the general public, as well as to their church congregations. There is, unfortunately, no shortage of criminals who have been convinced that �God� instructed them to commit a felony.
The SNAP Network, in spite of some inaccuracies in their press releases, is helping raise awareness of this case, as well as many others. Hats off to them! Were it not for SNAP, this case may not have come to public light. Also, were it not for the allegations against the Mohler men, who had been members of the RLDS Church, Community of Christ, and LDS Church, this may have passed unnoticed.
Perplexed
Perplexed,
You seem to have more comprehensive information than I have been able to find in researching this story. This is the first I am hearing of him ever being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
If that is so, and he was ordained an Elder in the Church, then that is a very unfortunate and regrettable thing. Do you know if he is still a member or has be been disfellowshiped/excommunicated? Has the Church confirmed his past/present membership status?
I should note, however, for the broader audience that "Priest" and "Elder" are even more common in the LDS church than in the CoC. The average 16-year-old in good standing is ordained a Priest. The average 18-year-old in good standing is ordained an Elder. When you look at an LDS congregation, 90% (or more) of the men you are looking at have been ordained an Elder. It does not imply a position of authority over a congregation. However, as I previously stated ALL adults are authority figures to children, especially within a trusted organization like a congregation.
For the record, the normal operating procedures for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not allow for a situation where an adult male leader would be alone with any child. I would be willing to bet that there is more to the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator here than we have yet been made aware of.
Also for the record, I wholeheartedly concur with Judy in wondering why on earth this man is not behind bars for violating the conditions of his release. The safety of children is at stake here. If he is truly guilty, he may not be feeling that he has much to lose at this point.
Captain Obvious,
It's interesting that you say that, because that is exactly where the Community of Christ finds itself today. It is progressively distancing itself further and further from the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants, and "J. Smith's nonsense" as you so impartially and compellingly put it. They now consider themselves "Trinitarian" and have what could only be described as an ambivalent stance on the veracity of the Book of Mormon. The "Restoration" branches to which "Perplexed" refers in his comment consist of those who are uncomfortable with the fact that the CoC is now, effectively, Nicene Christianity and has almost completely abandoned its Restorationist roots for Protestantism.
Your comments seem to indicate that you would think this a good thing. You should welcome them with open arms, then, but somehow I imagine that you and others like you won't. That places the CoC in the unenviable but rather predictable position of having pleased no one by trying to please everyone.
Judy,
I did not say that the office of Priest does not mean much. What I said was that it is not a position of authority over a congregation. Your question presupposes a Catholic interpretation of the word originally used in a very general sense in scripture. The word "Priest" to your mind indicates the leader of a congregation, but it is only so because religious traditions with which you are most familiar assign that role to the office of "Priest".
My point is that this is not a crime that relates much to a position of religious authority since he doesn't appear to have held much. What matters is that he was a "trusted" adult within an organization, which time and again is proven to be all that is necessary to leverage a child into abuse. We need to do better at protecting our children and we need to be less tolerant of the elements of our society that foster unhealthy attitudes toward sexuality.
I'm perplexed by the inaccuracies in this story. And I'm perplexed by the failure of law enforcement to contain an alleged perpetrator of 'lewd and lascivious behavior'.
Paul J. Cool was FORMERLY of Blue Springs, but currently resides at an Amity, MO, address.
He was a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which became the Community of Christ in 2000. The headquarters of that organization is in Independence, Missouri. The spokesperson for the Community of Christ said [incorrectly, whether intentionally or unintentionally] at one point that he had never been a member of that organization, in spite of the reality that he regularly attended the Parkview congregation in Blue Springs.
After leaving that organization, he met with a "Restoration Branch" or two. [Restoration Branches are made up of former RLDS members who were disgruntled with the changes made during the re-branding of the Community of Christ].
He eventually did join the "Mormon" church - the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with headquarters in Salt Lake City, and was ordained a Priest, then an Elder.
Like many in that general category of churches, he alleged to have had 'spiritual dreams', and 'experiences'. And, like SOME of the ministers in those churches, he used 'God' to justify his actions, to manipulate others, and to molest his own daughters.
One of the best points made is that Paul Cool broke the terms of his bail from one county in Vermont, returned to Missouri [which was forbidden] and had contact with minor females [which was also forbidden]. Yet, the state of Vermont did not arrest him when they were notified that he was back in Missouri.
After an arraignment in a second Vermont county, he was permitted to return to Missouri and live in a home with his wife and minor children. This is exactly the same locale in which he molested one of his daughters!
I am perplexed regarding why the police officials in DeKalb County, Missouri, took no action, and why Vermont has allowed him to roam free!
Will he flee Missouri, also? Will he continue to molest children? Will he pose a danger to his former victims?
Does no one take these crimes seriously? Are churches guilty of 'damage control'? Are public officials deceived by a clean-cut appearance and denials? Apparently so! Why have the church denominations to which Mr. Cool belonged made no accurate statements? One wonders and is perplexed.
To Concerned Reader, you wrote:
"Lastly, while the name "Priest" might suggest otherwise to an audience more familiar with the Catholic church, this is not a very high office within the Community of Christ."
So... if the title "Priest" in this religion does not mean much, then why give him the title?
Paul Cool clearly and brazenly broke his bail release conditions by leaving Vermont and returning to Missouri.
WHY was he not arrested immediately, as soon as Vermont officials learned that he was in Missouri??
SNAP and Cool's victims are very upset about this violation. He can not be trusted.
Anyone who has information about this, or who has been harmed by this man, please contact law enforcement.
Judy Jones, of St Louis, SNAP "Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests" and all clergy. 636-433-2511
http://www.snapnetwork.org/
"He allegedly told at least one that God knew she'd done things to make an evil spirit enter her pubic area, and he had to put his own hands there to pray the beast out."
I think I just found a new pick-up line!
If the C of C wants to reconcile with Nicene Christianity, they gonna hafta drop (1) their Book of Mormon and (2) their Doctrine and Covenants like they was both hot taters. Which of course they won't. You cannot bring together the beliefs stated in the Nicene Creed and J. Smith's nonsense, they are contradictory.
Mr. Rugg,
Your article is poorly researched and contains regretable distortions. Mr. Cool was not a member of any "Vermont Mormon Church", nor was he an "elder", as you claim. Mr. Cool was evidently ordained a Priest in the Community of Christ. This is a Church that split off from the "Mormon" Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) shortly after Joseph Smith's martyrdom in 1844.
The Associated Press Stylebook clearly states:
"The term Mormon is not properly applied to the other Latter Day Saints churches that resulted from the split after [Joseph] Smith�s death."
The Community of Christ itself has a longstanding policy asking members of the press not to refer to them as "Mormon", whether adjectivally or titularly. Since splitting off in 1844, it has charted a progressive course of reconciliation with Nicene Christianity and is most readily identified today with mainline Protestantism. That apparently doesn't fit your narrative here, but a small amount of cursory research would have yielded you this information.
In your previous article (linked in this article) you even chose the Book of Mormon as your graphic, which is not only propagandistic in its intent (Would you have used the Bible as the graphic had the perpetrator been Episcopalian? How about the Torah for a Jew?), but factually innacurate since belief in the Book of Mormon is not a requirement for membership in the Community of Christ (as it is in the "Mormon" Church). Even if it were, do you mean to imply that the fact of this sick man superficially professing belief in that book necessarily implicates the content of that book in his heinous acts? That would be like using a picture of Paul McCartney for an article on the Sharon Tate murder.
Lastly, while the name "Priest" might suggest otherwise to an audience more familiar with the Catholic church, this is not a very high office within the Community of Christ. It is an office conferred on lay ministry and is not a position with authority over a congregation in the same manner as you might expect from a Catholic Priest or a Protestant Pastor.
That said, this was a horrid, awful, unthinkable act and it is very imporant that people of all faiths be aware that in today's degenerate society there are many shameless predators who will carry out their heinous deeds even in the name of God. We should all be wary for our children, be supportive of victims, and deliver swift and heavy justice to perpetrators. Blaming a particular faith or faith in general is hardly productive as the incidence is no higher than for any other organization.
Concerned Reader
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