Warning: This post may be triggering to the victims, potential victims, and survivors of sexual trauma, sexual abuse, or crimes related to secret videotaping, etc. My intent is not to harm but to bring this incident to light to get the truth out in the open.
I was shocked to learn four years ago that there was an incident involving hidden cameras at ministry locations near UC Riverside. According to posts and comments in the Gracepoint subreddit, a hidden camera was found at a ministry house by a student in the Summer of 2021. A student discovered a hidden camera in a private space. It seems it was reported to Riverside police, they investigated, and contacted victims. Sadly, some victims found out that they were likely victims on the subreddit. Victims that police contacted declined to file charges.
The person (male) who planted the cameras was kicked out/asked to leave Acts 2 Network. The man's spouse seems to have been a mentor/staff/volunteer with Acts 2 and thus many students were in and out of their house. The perpetrator was himself a graduate of UC Riverside, was a member and volunteer at Acts 2 Network, and working with UCR students for many years. It is unknown how long the perpetrator had been making secret recordings.
UC Riverside administration was not contacted or alerted about what happened and thus the student group Acts 2 Fellowship is still active and recruiting more students into this high control group to this day. Acts 2 Network (previously called Gracepoint) has not made any public statements or responses to the incident as far as I know.
They did have a meeting with Southern California people who were members as of that time and informed them of the incident. Former members were not told.
Secretly videotaping students violates the law and UC student conduct policy. Although the hidden cameras were not located on campus, I believe this incident should have been reported to UC Riverside as it is associated with a registered student group that operate at UC Riverside and targets UC Riverside students.
Discussion of the incident is sensitive. I respect all victims and potential victims. As a survivor of sexual abuse myself, I can relate more than I want to. My intent is not to traumatize the victims any further.
However, I believe that it is important for the truth of what happened to be known by the public and for people who need to be able to talk about it, especially victims, to be able to talk about it if they so choose. If you are a victim or potential victim and do not want to talk about it, that too is perfectly normal.
The purpose of this post, again, is to alert the public, ex members, and current members that this incident occurred under the auspices of Acts 2 Network. Yes, it was an individual who perpetrated this crime. But it occurred in the context of Acts 2 Network ministry. If this guy was not a volunteer and member of Acts 2 Network and married to a staff person, the victims (who were at the location solely because of their involvement in Acts 2 Network) would not have had their privacy violated in this way.
