Gerald P. Curran

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Gerald P. Curran

Gerald P. Curran
Aliases Josiah
Born 1950-12-21, USA
Rank Unknown
Present location Rockford, Illinois, USA
Spouse(s) Unknown
Children 2


Gerald P. Curran (also known as Josiah) was a long-time member of The Family.[1][2] On November 14, 1994, he was charged in Henry County, Illinois with one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child under the age of 13.[3] On July 6, 1995, he was found guilty of the first charge of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 (a Class X felony) and the second charge was dismissed upon the State's motion.[3] The Honorable Judge Jay M. Hanson of the 14th Judicial Circuit then sentenced Curran to serve 11 years in prison.[3] On July 25, 1995, Curran entered into the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence. [4] On September 12, 2000, he was released from prison early (apparently for "good behavior"[1]) on parole.[4] He was then under supervision until September 12, 2003 when he was discharged.[4] Curran is required to periodically register as a sex offender with local law enforcement agencies.[5] As a convicted child sex offender, he is also prohibited from being in certain places where children congregate and engaging in certain activities that might put him in contact with children.[6]


In February 2007, one of Curran's victims posted a brief account (on MovingOn) of her experiences, including repeated sexual abuse by adult men over a period of many years, as a child growing up in The Family.[1] The victim recounted that Curran was like a "second father" to her and was in a "threesome" with her parents, Willam (aka Jonathan) and Anna Doehler (aka Glory) for many years.[1][2] She also recounted that Curran began raping her at the age of 5 and that the abuse continued until she was 14.[1] According to her account, when her parents discovered the full extent of Curran's sexual abuse of their child over a period of 9 years, they did not report the matter to the police but instead sent Curran away and then a year later invited him to return to live in their home with his daughter.[1] According to her account, she and Curran's daughter then "ran away from home because I had to get away from him."[1] According to her account, after she and Curran's daughter were found by law enforcement and child welfare authorities, an investigation was conducted and Curran was arrested for aggravated criminal sexual assault of a child.[1] According to her account, both Family leaders and her parents strongly supported Curran rather than her and at the sentencing hearing, her father requested that Curran be given a reduced sentence.[1] Furthermore, the victim reported receiving a letter, which her parents allowed her to read but not keep, from Karen Zerby stating that she should forgive Curran, stop "holding a grudge" that what Curran did "wasn't so bad" or even wrong.[1][2] The victim's parents, some of her siblings, including her brother Sam Doehler and other Family members, reportedly visited Curran often while he was in prison. In January 2005, Sam Doehler wrote an article for MyConclusion.com in which he wrote that "these allegations [of child abuse] are lies!" and did not mention that, while in The Family, Curran had sexually abused his sister over a period of 9 years or that Curran was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault and sentenced to 11 years in prison.[7]

The victim's account of The Family's support of Curran even after his conviction, sentencing and imprisonment for child abuse is corroborated by the memories of a former NACRO staff member, who recalled that top Family leaders arranged for $50 USD monthly payments to be sent to Curran after he wrote them requesting help because the criminal conduct for which he was convicted "occurred while he was in The Family and following the Letters."[8] According to the former NACRO staffer, Curran regularly sent in reports of his "witnessing" activities in prison and reportedly had a tattoo of the Family Symbol or similar Family artwork on his body.[8]

Sources

Documents

Notes and References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 movingon.org: What happened to me in the Family — 2007-02-07
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Correspondence to xFamily Editos, 2007-02-13
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 PDF Icon1994CF30 Case Report, Henry County, Illinois — 2007-02-09
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 PDF Iconpublicdata.com: Illinois Department of Corrections - Gerald Curran — 2007-02-09
  5. PDF IconIllinois State Police - Sex Offender Registry - Gerald Curran — 2007-02-09
  6. Detailed information about this can be found in PDF IconA Guide to Sex Offender Registration in Illinois(86 pages, 3.1MB)
  7. Sam Doehler, How I was abused — 2005-01-29 (accessed 2007-02-14)
  8. 8.0 8.1 Source: Correspondence to xFamily.org editor, 2006-10-18

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