Exclusive: Seventh-day Adventist Church failed to act on child sexual abuse claims

Written by Jamie Roberton.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church failed to act on information that a prominent member of the church was a paedophile and sexually abusing young boys for decades, evidence seen by Channel 4 News suggests.

Dr Donald Kelly groomed and sexually assaulted schoolboys from the 1960s onwards, with multiple victims describing how Kelly used his power and standing within the church to abuse freely.

A Channel 4 News investigation has seen evidence that the Seventh-day Adventist Church was warned repeatedly about Kelly’s crimes over the course of three decades.

The Metropolitan Police informed the church in 2009 about allegations against Kelly, while a senior UK church leader was told in 2020 that Kelly was a “predatory paedophile.”

Kelly was questioned at least once by police before he died of cancer in November 2022.

The church, under pressure from a group of victims, commissioned an independent investigation into Kelly’s abuse in February 2023 but is still to release the findings.

In a statement released through lawyers, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the UK told Channel 4 News that it was only informed of allegations “in late 2021” adding that the church “recognises the appalling and lasting harm that Donald Kelly caused.”

The church said that it takes “safeguarding reports seriously” and was “reflecting carefully on the lessons to be learned”, concluding:  “We are appalled that this one man’s actions have caused so much suffering to so many people.”

Channel 4 News has spoken to five men who say they were sexually abused by Donald Kelly. One was just seven years old when he was abused.

Two victims have waived their legal right to anonymity to speak about what they suffered at the hands of Kelly and their fight for accountability from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Michael Smith was 15 when Kelly – then a recent Oxford University medicine graduate – arrived at his family home in the late 1960s and invited him to tour Oxford University with him.

“He took me around the university, showed me the operating theatres during the day and then in the evening he booked us into a Bed and Breakfast.”

Kelly proceeded to sexually assault Smith in the middle of the night.

“I was ashamed,” he told Channel 4 News.

“I thought, I’m 15 and this happened to me. I didn’t tell anybody else in my family. I didn’t tell my Dad. I didn’t tell my mother – to this day I still haven’t told my mother.”

Andrew Cadogan was 14 when Kelly deployed the same tactics that he had used a decade earlier when abusing Michael Smith.

“The lights went off and the man just jumped on me,” Cadogan said, describing the 1976 assault.

“It was like I was his possession, ‘you belong to me, this is mine, this is mine’.”

Kelly continued to abuse Andrew over the course of the weekend in Oxford.

“My mum came home from work and she looked at me, she went, ‘how was your trip?”

“The first thing I said to her was, ‘Mum, if this man comes to take Paul Jeffrey or Peter anywhere – they’re my younger brothers – do not allow him, do not allow him’.”

Victims said Kelly’s abuse of young boys was common knowledge within the church at the time, with another prominent church figure close to Kelly calling a meeting with young boys as the rumours grew.

“At the end of this meeting when everybody spoke, that’s when he said, ‘If I hear any of you saying this…you will have me to deal with,” Michael Smith recalled.

Kelly would also continue to follow Andrew Cadogan after his ordeal.

“One of my friends said to me, ‘Andrew, that man is looking at you’. He [Donald Kelly] was standing there looking at me playing football with a big smirk on his face.

“After we played football, I went home and my Mum said, ‘he came to the house looking for you, asking for you’.”

“Oh boy, I was scared.”

Donald Kelly subsequently worked extensively across the world from 1972, working in Adventist-linked institutions in Papua New Guinea, Jamaica, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and Australia.

He also worked in medical missionary programmes across parts of Africa, including Lesotho, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone.

Michael Smith spoke to the police in 2009 after hearing more accounts from other victims, fearing that Kelly was “still sexually abusing male youths.”

No further action was taken against Kelly but the Metropolitan Police told Channel 4 News that officers did contact the church to inform it of the allegations.

Andrew Cadogan reported his abuse to the police in February 2022 after suffering a severe stroke.

Donald Kelly took part in a “voluntary interview” with Hertfordshire Police but officers later said there was not enough evidence to proceed with the case.

Kelly died in November, later that year.

Despite the Seventh-day Adventist’s position that it only became aware of allegations in 2021, Channel 4 News has seen evidence that the church was told about Kelly’s abuse on a number of occasions dating back decades:

• In 1994, a senior figure inside the Seventh Day Adventist Church was told that Kelly was removed from his post at the Montemorelos University School of Medicine in Mexico for “deeds that were against the ethics of the medical profession.”
• In 2009, the Metropolitan Police informed “representatives of the Seventh Day Adventist Church” of serious allegations after speaking to Michael Smith.
• In 2020, a senior pastor in the UK was told that Kelly was a “predatory paedophile” after another victim came forward.
• In 2022, government ministers in Sierra Leone raised the abuse claims directly with Seventh Day Adventist only to be told that the church was “unaware of allegations against Donald Kelly.”

The most recent statistics, published by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, suggest a membership of 25 million worldwide. An estimated 38,000 are based in the UK.

The church, globally, operates 9,489 schools, 15 children homes or orphanages and 227 hospitals.

Michael Smith joined other victims in raising a formal complaint with the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 2022 about its handling of Kelly’s abuse – before Kelly died.

The church eventually agreed to an independent investigation in February 2023, which is understood to have since been completed.

Victims are yet to see the findings despite repeated written requests to the church’s leadership, who have now been accused of “slow playing” those who gave evidence.

The South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (SEC) told Channel 4 News in a statement that its trustees were “carefully considering” the report and it will be contacting victims with its finding when “legally possible.”

“You’ve been called the N-word, been spat at at school, so you go to church for resolution, for comfort,” Smith said.

“But then you find the church – the people in charge – colluding to protect the fair name of the church rather than practising what they preach.”

Andrew Cadogan said: “I am angry with them [the church]. I haven’t even read the report about me. I need the report but the church is holding on to it. Where’s my justice?”

Full statement from the trustees of the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (SEC):

“In late 2021 the South England Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (SEC) was shocked to receive reports of non-recent sexual abuse about a now-deceased, former member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in our region, Donald Kelly, dating back to the 1960s.

Following these reports, the SEC commissioned thirtyone:eight – an independent Christian safeguarding organisation – to investigate the allegations of abuse by Donald Kelly, report their findings and advise on lessons to be learned and safeguarding procedures going forward.

Thirtyone:eight has now completed its thorough investigation and submitted its comprehensive report, which the trustees are carefully considering. We intend to share those findings with all those who participated in the investigation ahead of any wider publication.

The SEC recognises the appalling and lasting harm that Donald Kelly caused, and extends its deepest and heartfelt sympathy to all who have been affected by his abusive conduct.

Families looked up to Donald Kelly because he appeared to be a pillar of the community: an inspirational Oxford University graduate. But the devastating reality, which we now know, is that he exploited the high regard that people held him in, and preyed on the awe of his admirers, to abuse the children of our parishioners.

These harrowing and traumatic events occurred many years ago, and Donald Kelly died in 2022, at the age of 79.

Whilst the SEC continues to review and improve its existing safeguarding measures to make them as robust as possible, it is reflecting carefully on the lessons to be learned and will implement further measures where appropriate.

We take safeguarding reports extremely seriously and continue to provide advice and guidance for our ministers and members to deal with situations, proportionately and appropriately.

We will be contacting victims and sharing with them the investigation findings as soon as legally possible and would like to thank all those survivors and witnesses for their courage in coming forward to speak to the investigators.

Today, Seventh Day Adventism has over 25 million followers worldwide. We are appalled that this one man’s actions have caused so much suffering to so many people.”