3rd former member of Cloverdale church charged with sexual assault
Brian Batke says 'very sorry' after bail hearing outside Surrey court
A third former member of an evangelical church in Cloverdale has been charged with sexually assaulting a young person—and Surrey RCMP investigators are appealing for other potential victims to come forward.
Brian David Batke, 72, formerly an elder with the Cloverdale Christian Fellowship church and currently a bus driver with the Coast Mountain bus company, faces one count of sexual assault and a second charge of touching for a sexual purpose.
The second count alleges Batke was "a person in a position of trust or authority towards a young person, or … with whom that young person is in a relationship of dependency."
Both crimes allegedly occurred between May 20, 2004 and May 19, 2007 "in or near Surrey." The victim, who was a minor at the time, cannot be identified.
Batke has been released on bail, pending his next court appearance later this month.
CBC questioned Batke outside the Surrey Court house immediately after his release Thursday and he initially said nothing.
When asked if there was anything he would like to say to members of his congregation, he quietly said, "very sorry":
Appeal for others to come forward
Surrey RCMP investigators have taken the unusual step of releasing a photo of Batke, in an appeal for other possible victims to come forward.
The Mounties say details of Batke's employment and his associations in the community are being released to the public "because of their relevance to the allegations against him."
"Investigators believe there may be further victims who may have had contact with Mr. Batke at the church or as a bus passenger, who have not yet spoken with police," say Surrey RCMP in a news relesase.
According to investigators, Batke was a former church elder with the Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Church up until 2005.
Online records uncovered by CBC News show Batke was a director of the Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Society between 2005 and 2007.
The church associated with that society was hit by a similar scandal last year.
Former pastor and wife previously charged
In October 2017, the pastor of the Cloverdale Christian Fellowship Church and his wife were charged with numerous counts relating to a series of alleged sexual assaults.
Samuel Emerson, 34, was charged with 13 counts of sexual assault, 11 counts of being a person of authority and touching a person for a sexual purpose, and one count of sexual touching of a person younger than 16.
Madelaine Emerson, 37, faces one charge each of sexual assault, being a person in a position of authority and touching a person for a sexual purpose, and threats to cause death or bodily harm.
At the time, Surrey RCMP said the charges were disturbing, and related to alleged offences against one person under age 16 and "several other young adults."
The accusations against the Emersons date back to 2015—many years after the 2001-2007 time period laid out in the charges against Brian David Batke.
It's unclear if the charges facing Batke are related to the Emersons' case or an independent incident or incidents.
Prolific writer of letters to the editor
Batke has virtually no presence on social media.
But a person by his name living in Cloverdale has been a prolific writer of letters to various news publications in B.C. and Washington state.
In several posts, he weighed in on law-and-order issues, often defending police actions.
In 2010, he wrote several letters to the editorial page of a Surrey newspaper, stating, "on the whole, I believe our police forces are doing an admirable job in light of the difficulties they face every day."
Writing about the murder of a young man in Surrey in 2011, Batke penned, "whoever did this needs to do the right thing and turn themselves in to the authorities."
Surrey RCMP are asking anyone who would like to talk with police regarding the case involving Batke to call their investigators.
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