You have tried to become close to a young mother and her children, but the controlling husband is increasingly posessive. The wife and kids are no longer permitted to do any church activity without the husband present. Suspicious bruises appear on a preschooler. The child seems obsessed by themes no young child should even know about. A teen makes accusations of inappropriate interest, physical contact by a respected adult in the church.
Children appear to be overly anxious about pleasing their mother.
They are almost terrified when they accidentally get dirty or say something that seems to displease her. A child tells her Sunday School teacher that her dad throws her against the wall when he is angry. Teens who are grounded say that their parents won't allow them to go to the bathroom without permission. In our years in church work, my minister-husband and I have seen the whole spectrum of abuse. Abusers come from all races and economic levels.