When it comes to addiction and crime, a person may think an individual who is under the influence of a mind-altering substance, or in need of their drug-of-choice, is much more likely than a non-addict to commit a crime. However, on the topic of addiction and crime, there is another issue to consider: crimes that are committed by individuals who are active members of 12-Step programs.
Crimes-against-persons- from murder to sexual assault, and virtually everything in between- are committed by individuals who are quote, ‘in recovery,’ unquote. Many claim double-digit clean-and-sober time; some include individuals who have taken the role of ‘sponsor.’ A quick web search will net example after example of these types of cases.
The first problem: people who are victimized are told to not go to the police or other authorities. They are told to seek assistance from others in the program instead- and the result can range from not being believed to being blamed, or not taken seriously at all.
The second problem: a person in such a position may not have anyone else to turn to, either. If there are non-members in the person’s life, it is too easy for them to misunderstand a situation. A person may have been threatened into silence, and afraid of how non-members would react if he turned to them for help.
It has been widely known for more than a decade and a half that crimes-against-persons are committed with regularity in 12-Step programs, and by 12-Step program members. And what we believe is the most important point of all on this particular subject: the majority of crimes-against-persons are not being committed by newcomers who are struggling to overcome substance abuse, but “oldtimers” who have a decade or more in their programs.
On the www, there is page after page after page of cases- and this only includes incidents that have occurred during the last couple of years.
Some examples, taken from the headlines:
l Florida: A.A. Member arrested for attempted child kidnapping
l Texas: A.A. Member sentenced to 375 years for sexually assaulting and impregnating 14-year-old he met at an A.A. Meeting
l Ohio: A.A. Member- violent sex offender- kills young teens in home invasion
l California: woman stabbed man to death that she met at Alcoholics Anonymous
l Alcoholics Anonymous World Services sued by parents of murder victim Karla Brada- lawsuit states that A.A. Meetings direct financial, sexual, and violent predators to victims
l Ohio: A.A. Member strangles his wife months after being mandated to A.A. Meetings for domestic violence
l Indiana: mentally ill man brutally kills elderly couple after being released from psychiatric hospital and sent to A.A. Meetings for aftercare
l Washington: killer goes to A.A. Meeting after slitting the throat and strangling mental health counselor
l Minnesota: A.A. Member and multi-convicted violent felon murdered woman after meeting her at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting
l Florida: Narcotics Anonymous members charged in brutal killing of 19-year-old teenager
l North Carolina: A.A. Member arrested for rape and first-degree murder
l Hawaii: Alcoholics Anonymous member commits double murder and suicide- kills his ex-girlfriend, her daughter, and himself
l Washington: Man molested three-year-old at A.A. meeting
And these are only some of the many examples taken from recent headlines.
Who are you sitting beside in an Alcoholics Anonymous or a Narcotics Anonymous meeting? Who are you accepting a ride from? Who is approaching your family? Do not be too quick to believe they are who and what they say they are.
Crimes-against-persons- from murder to sexual assault, and virtually everything in between- are committed by individuals who are quote, ‘in recovery,’ unquote. Many claim double-digit clean-and-sober time; some include individuals who have taken the role of ‘sponsor.’ A quick web search will net example after example of these types of cases.
The first problem: people who are victimized are told to not go to the police or other authorities. They are told to seek assistance from others in the program instead- and the result can range from not being believed to being blamed, or not taken seriously at all.
The second problem: a person in such a position may not have anyone else to turn to, either. If there are non-members in the person’s life, it is too easy for them to misunderstand a situation. A person may have been threatened into silence, and afraid of how non-members would react if he turned to them for help.
It has been widely known for more than a decade and a half that crimes-against-persons are committed with regularity in 12-Step programs, and by 12-Step program members. And what we believe is the most important point of all on this particular subject: the majority of crimes-against-persons are not being committed by newcomers who are struggling to overcome substance abuse, but “oldtimers” who have a decade or more in their programs.
On the www, there is page after page after page of cases- and this only includes incidents that have occurred during the last couple of years.
Some examples, taken from the headlines:
l Florida: A.A. Member arrested for attempted child kidnapping
l Texas: A.A. Member sentenced to 375 years for sexually assaulting and impregnating 14-year-old he met at an A.A. Meeting
l Ohio: A.A. Member- violent sex offender- kills young teens in home invasion
l California: woman stabbed man to death that she met at Alcoholics Anonymous
l Alcoholics Anonymous World Services sued by parents of murder victim Karla Brada- lawsuit states that A.A. Meetings direct financial, sexual, and violent predators to victims
l Ohio: A.A. Member strangles his wife months after being mandated to A.A. Meetings for domestic violence
l Indiana: mentally ill man brutally kills elderly couple after being released from psychiatric hospital and sent to A.A. Meetings for aftercare
l Washington: killer goes to A.A. Meeting after slitting the throat and strangling mental health counselor
l Minnesota: A.A. Member and multi-convicted violent felon murdered woman after meeting her at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting
l Florida: Narcotics Anonymous members charged in brutal killing of 19-year-old teenager
l North Carolina: A.A. Member arrested for rape and first-degree murder
l Hawaii: Alcoholics Anonymous member commits double murder and suicide- kills his ex-girlfriend, her daughter, and himself
l Washington: Man molested three-year-old at A.A. meeting
And these are only some of the many examples taken from recent headlines.
Who are you sitting beside in an Alcoholics Anonymous or a Narcotics Anonymous meeting? Who are you accepting a ride from? Who is approaching your family? Do not be too quick to believe they are who and what they say they are.