“Brian [Tome] kept a riding crop in his office that had been a gift,” Wells said. “In November of 2015, the gentleman entered Brian’s office, saw the riding crop, and asked, ‘What is that?’”
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A riding crop is a short, whip-like tool used by a horse rider to aid in directing a horse’s movements.
Wells said, “The allegation is that Brian picked up the riding crop, said, ‘Oh yeah, you like that?’ And then whipped him in the crotch, and then rubbed the man’s crotch with the riding crop.”
“Earlier this week, the same gentleman recently contacted us again about the same allegations and sharing frustration with what he feels is a lack of objectivity in the process,” Wells explained.
“Although no new information has been provided at this point, after careful review, discussion, debate, and a lot of prayer,” said Wells, “we decided that the best thing to do for this member, for Brian, and for all of us as a church family is to commission an independent investigation to review the situation and interview all the involved parties.”
Wells emphasized “that an investigation does not indicate guilt.” Instead, he said, it is “simply an organized search for the truth.” Wells added that church protocol requires suspending the staff member in question from “all church responsibilities until the investigation is concluded.”
Brian Tome Shares Brief Statement Regarding His Suspension
The church also played a prerecorded video message from Tome to staff.
“The board is driving this entire process. There’s things that I don’t know and I find out about, which is the way it should be,” Tome said. “They’re doing what great boards do. They’re driving this process and doing what is best for the church.”
“Therefore, I applaud this. I’m for it. It’s not fun. It’s not comfortable. Not something I want to do, but I’m in and I’m going along with it,” he continued, sharing that he is “doing fine.”
“This is just heart-wrenching. It’s tough. It’s not good,” Tome admitted. “And I’m thankful that the independent investigation is going to happen. I’m cooperating with it. I welcome it.
