A Closer Look at the Accusations against Mervin Burdram

Mervin Budram

Charges are yet to be levied in one of the most explosive sexual assault investigations to come out of the local evangelical church in recent times.  Last week, Rebecca Lennan-Stirm, via a social media statement, alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Mervin Budram when she was eleven-years-old. Since then, several other women have come out with similar allegations against the worship leader. News Five spoke exclusively with two women that have brought accusations against Budram. There is a clear pattern in both accounts. The victims say they had a close relationship with the accused. They also spoke about how vulnerable they were at the time, based on personal issues they were experiencing. Kelsie Parham and Jaqui Flotow also shared that they feared speaking out about their alleged encounters immediately after. News Five’s Paul Lopez takes a closer look.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Kelsie Parham and Jaqui Flotow are courageous. When the sexual abuse scandal involving Mervin Budram came to light last Thursday, both women stepped up and shared with us their unfortunate experiences, allegedly at the hands of the worship leader.  They were candid about what happened for the sole purpose of encouraging other victims to seek help and healing. According to Flotow, the incident took place at a time when Budram did not hold any official capacity in the church. On the other hand, the allegations that Parham have brought against Budram are fairly recent.  Notwithstanding the time span, Parham and Flotow both stated that Budram was a close and trusted friend.

Kelsie Parham

Kelsie Parham, Sexual Assault Survivor

“I came to Belmopan in my early teens, between the age of thirteen to fourteen, became very involved with the church. Quickly became a part of legacy and everything that is under that banner. And, Mervin became like a father figure to me. He was very close to me and my family. I had high respect for him. He was like a father figure to me. He was someone I looked up to. I wanted to be like him and I wanted to be around him.”

Jaqui Flotow

Jaqui Flotow, Sexual Assault Survivor

“Mervin and I were friends. We had met through church events, not a specific church. It was YWAM. He was living in Dangriga at the time. At this time we were closer together in age. I was sixteen. He was maybe eighteen or nineteen. We were good friends.  This was someone I trusted. We had a very close relationship. This was someone who I trusted. It was someone kind of like an older brother and I cared about Mervin very much, I looked up to Mervin.

Both women also told us that they were going through rough patches at the time and were vulnerable.  Budram allegedly seized the opportunity to prey on their helplessness.

Kelsie Parham

“I thought to myself that I feel safe, that I had someone I could talk to. I was going through a lot with school, with my parent’s separations, friend’s family. There was a lot going on so I felt like Mervin is one of the few leaders and peoples in my life that no matter what I can turn to and that these drives were our  little safe space to just connect like a spiritual father and daughter.”

Jaqui Flotow

“The discussion we had, we had prayed together. We had specifically talked about not wanting to have those types of relationships. I was in a very dysfunctional family. It was not wanting to be that kind of a girl and not wanting to have that. Some of the thing that my family struggles and my personal struggles, we had prayed about these things. These were things he knew that I did not specifically didn’t want, but also that I was in a very vulnerable place with him.”

According to Parham and Flotow, they did not speak out immediately after their alleged encounter because they feared that they would not be believed.

Kelsie Parham

“I was fairly new to Belmopan. Those that know me know I grow up in Belize City. I came to Belmopan when I was in high school. My parents were split. I was between Belize City and here. I came to Belmopan and quickly found out who was the quote on quote, popular people, who were the Belmopan veterans, the people that everyone praised, loved and talked about. And, I realized Mervin was one of them and I quickly realized after the situation that happened, it would be my word against his and I really didn’t think my word would carry any weight or anyone would believe me.”

Jaqui Flotow

“This is a person who was a friend of mine, someone who I trusted so I think it was immediately trying to get my brain around what had happened and also feeling like I could not tell anyone, because they would not believe me. I think that too I was a very real thing, like I wouldn’t be believed. I regret that very much now. I don’t necessarily think that was true.”

The women shared that while the church has a responsibility to act in support of sexual abuse victims, these public statements are not meant to attack the institution, but rather to shed light on inappropriate encounters that have been kept in the dark for years. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.