Father Abbot
Posted on 04/27/2006 6:56:40 AM PDT by NYer
FORT ATKINSON - William J. Smith sparked the curiosity of his neighbors almost from the day he moved to Jefferson County last fall.
It had been years since anyone had tried to start a church in Fort Atkinson, and Smith's effort was particularly unusual.
He installed an altar in his apartment and invited people for daily morning Mass and evening prayers, calling his undertaking "A Vatican-Free Monastic Community."
There would be more surprises for neighbors.
Smith, 55, was convicted in 1989 of two counts of second- degree sexual assault in Door County for having sex with a 15-year-old boy. Smith was pastor of Christ the King Episcopal Church in Sturgeon Bay at the time. The victim was an altar boy with a learning disability.
For the rest of his life, Smith must notify the state of his whereabouts and activities so he can be listed on Wisconsin's sex offender registry (widocoffenders.org). State officials say Smith failed to do so, and it is this allegation that now finds Smith back in legal trouble and at odds with some of his neighbors.
There are currently 18,319 people on the state's sex offender registry, and charges against them for failing to keep their information updated are not uncommon.
Registry officials have referred charges against more than 1,500 offenders since 1998, said Grace Roberts, registry supervisor.
However, Smith's case is unusual because of the number of items he allegedly failed to notify the registry about and because he is attempting to re- establish himself in the same position of community authority that led to his convictions, Roberts said.
Officials with the state Department of Corrections say Smith moved from Milwaukee to Fort Atkinson without notifying them, used the alias "Father Abbot Joseph" in interactions with others and failed to inform them of his church-related volunteer and work activities. All are violations of the registry law, Roberts said.
The alleged violations led Smith to be charged March 14 in Jefferson County Circuit Court with one count of breaching the state's sex offender registry statute, a felony punishable by up to six years in prison.
"Sex offenders thrive on secrecy," Roberts said. "Making sure they're not anonymous is obviously a useful crime prevention tool."
Smith, who declined to be interviewed, is free on a $500 signature bond. A pretrial conference is set for June 7.
Smith's attorney, Michael Witt, said the allegations against his client are "less than clear" in the criminal complaint and that Smith is currently in compliance with the state's sex registry law.
That law, enacted in 1993, allows the state to track sex offenders and disseminate information about them. Smith - like others who have served their prison time and are no longer under state supervision - is required to provide updated information within 10 days whenever he changes his residence, school enrollment or employment.
The state sends out an annual verification form on the offender's birthday, but registrants also are subject to random verification checks. The latter is what tripped up Smith, according to court records. His address was correct on his birthday last May, but a call by a registry official in December turned up a disconnected phone number in Milwaukee.
The registry official then sought unsuccessfully to find him through various means, including searches of court records, death files and license plate numbers. An anonymous tipster alerted the state on Feb. 13 of Smith's mid-November move to Fort Atkinson.
During the time registry officials were searching for him, Smith was employed by a different state agency - the Department of Workforce Development. Since June 21, 2004, Smith has been an employment and training specialist at the Jefferson County Job Center in Jefferson.
He continues to work at the job center, earning an annual salary of $32,718. Rose Lynch, a department spokeswoman, said Smith is to have no contact with youth in his state job.
Asked why the Department of Corrections wasn't able to locate Smith through his job, Roberts said registry officials call employers only as a last resort because they don't want to jeopardize an offender's job stability, which often is a key to successful reintegration.
Roberts said registry officials were particularly concerned by Smith's church activities.
"Anytime a person who is required to register assumes a position of power or authority in the community, it brings our attention," she said. "In that regard, this case sticks out."
Smith operates the church, which he calls "The Abbey of the Incarnation, The Order of Saint Benedict," out of his home at 115 E. Sherman Ave. near downtown Fort Atkinson. The large house is divided into three apartments, of which Smith rents one.
On his Web site (www.incarnationabbey.org), Smith describes the abbey as "a welcoming Christian monastic community in which everyone who professes and believes in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is welcome."
The abbey is part of the Independent Catholic Christian Church, based in Philadelphia. Bishop Tim Cravens did not respond to an e-mail inquiry as to Smith's status within the denomination.
When a Fort Atkinson police investigator asked Smith how he got the title "Father Joseph Abbot," Smith told him he gave it to himself, according to a police report.
John Leonard, an associate professor of religious studies at Edgewood College in Madison, said the denomination is a very small movement that split from the Roman Catholic Church in Holland in the 1870s. The sect acts independently of papal authority and is much more liberal in its views than the Catholic Church, ordaining female and gay priests, for instance.
Debbie Tesch lives in one of the other apartments at 115 E. Sherman Ave. and immediately took to Smith. He seemed very caring, and she liked his Christian ideals, she said.
She talked to him daily and let her twin 7-year-old sons and her 11-year-old daughter attend prayer services on their own at his apartment.
When a Fort Atkinson police detective told her about Smith's past in March, she felt betrayed and confronted Smith about his 1989 conviction.
"He said, 'The kid was almost old enough to consent.' That's what really got me," Tesch said.
Tesch also learned that Smith posted a photo of himself and her three children on his church Web site without her knowledge or consent. She said he initially denied the photo existed, even though a copy of the Web site with the photo on it is now part of the criminal complaint.
Tesch said she no longer has any contact with Smith. While she supports the reintegration of offenders into society, she cannot condone his secrecy. "Part of rehabilitation is honesty, not denial," she said.
Other neighbors echoed the need for offenders to abide by the registry regulations.
"It's a very simple process to follow," said Becky Rice, who lives on the same block. "If he's not in compliance, he's clearly trying to fly under the radar, and I have a problem with that as a neighbor. People have a right to know this kind of information."
Deb Yoder, the third tenant at 115 E. Sherman Ave., said she was initially shocked early this year to learn of Smith's past but has not had any concerns about him since.
"We were all talking in the hallway, and he more or less said, 'If you have a problem with me, let me know.' "
Smith's Web site encourages others to consider joining his monastic community.
Among the application requirements: an autobiography, eight letters of recommendation and a sexual misconduct background check.
Father Abbot
I'm sure he never would have committed those crimes if Episcopal priests were allowed to marry.
Tim Cravens is the Bishop of the Mission Episcopate of St. Michael & St. Timothy in the Independent Catholic Christian Church. He holds a BA in Judaic Studies from Emory University and an Master of Divinity from Harvard University. In the summer of 2004, he officiated at a number of same-sex weddings in New Paltz, NY as part of the New Paltz Equality Initiative organized to continue the courageous work of Mayor Jason West. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.
Lol!!
What's not to like?
Count me in. I predict a bright future for the Abbot.
Not.
No you sick pervert, Satan got to you first. Just looking at his pic, I can almost picture the horns atop his head.
I guess they never got to the part of the Rule where St. Benedict euphemistically forbids "amicitiae particulares."
HA!
You beat me to it. That was one of the first things that came to my mind.
You're right! But ... by whom? He has cleverly woven a web of deceipt that could 'legally' draw the actual Catholic Church into his plan.
By the nearest gaggle of armed and determined citizens would be my guess.
I think that there are many reasons people enter the monastic life, or consecrated life or vowed life. It is very interesting to have so much speculation as to the reasons for it; by those individuals, who really have little idea about (1) the people; (2) the calling by God; and (3) the reasons for it.
I know Father Smith, OSB and find him to be a really sincerely individual, who has good reason for entering the vowed life. Actually, I have known him just prior to his incarceration. He lost all in his earlier life as a priest, by having a two year relationship with a young man twenty years his junior and underage at 16 years. Smith spent about 34 months in the Wisconsin prison system and was released in 1992, having paid his debt to society for his crimes. The young man, who was his victim, is also presently incarcerated in the Wisconsin prison system for his continued crimes against children. Did Smith cause this young man to become a sexual predator? I believe not, due to the fact that his “victim” was acting out his fantasies while he was with Smith, and after Smith was convicted and sentenced.
I called Father Will after I read the article in the newspaper, to inquire why he would be starting a church again after such a horrific time for he and his former congregation. He stated that he was not starting a church, nor did he have any intention of doing so, since he felt that it would not be the best use of his time and vocation as a Benedictine monk. He simply wanted to be left alone and in as much silence and reflection as he could find in this simple lifestyle.
I tend to believe him because I find him to be a fellow who have learned from his mistakes and continues to grow in Christian love and strength.
Jayne2006
Tesch has a long list of felonies for writting worthless checks, public drunkeness, among others... Jayne2006
Hey, I called Smith again after reading your post, he said he stopped Tesch from seeing him, because she continued to send her kids down after finding out he was a sex offender. Well, duh, even I was taken aback. Jayne2006
Jayne - I "know" this William J. Smith as well, and my only conclusion about you certainly isn't positive after reading your defense of the creep.
I don't want to say too much on here because I don't want to be identified in any way...his complete "resume" was never posted in any of the articles about him, but he has worked pretty extensively in Wisconsin in a wide variety of public funded/human service-type organizations over the years and I worked with him at one such organization.
All of us here who worked closely with him back then have been having a field day with this since the story broke about his little church in Fort Atkinson and his past as a sexual predator! We've even gone back and pulled his original files and found that he should have disclosed the 1989 conviction on his application with us (due to the nature of the job) but never did!
All any of us can say about him now that this story has come out is that we're really not overly surprised. Something just wasn't "right" about the man...I think it would be difficult to describe this "bad feeling" we had about him in a forum like this (too many examples would be needed) but we've all agreed that we hoped he wasn't "seriously deranged or dangerous" - at times, we would even feel guilty about some of the comments we would make about this guy behind his back. But with hindsight being what it is, I actually recall instances where Smith tried to be put into positions where he would have contact with children! Even without knowing his criminal past, we all looked at some of his antics with an amount of suspicion.
The biggest lesson that I believe we have all learned is when you get that odd feeling that "something just isn't right" about a person, it's probably best that you don't ignore that feeling.
He may be Independent, and he might even be Christian, but if he's not under the guidance of the Vatican and the Magesterium, his is not a 'Catholic Church'.
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