When Nancy Burnette was appointed by the courts to be a guardian ad litem, she knew her job wasn’t going to be easy. A guardian ad litem is someone who represents kids in the foster care system. It’s her job to place children in homes with the right parents. If she doesn’t get right, her decision can cause lasting damage on these vulnerable children.
This was a challenge Nancy was willing to take.
So, put yourself in Nancy’s shoes for a second. If you had to place a child in the custody of the Word of Faith Fellowship family, what would you do?
A Word of Faith Fellowship family adopts two boys
One of Nancy’s first cases was to find a new foster home for 4 siblings. The biological parents were mentally handicap and were unable to properly take care of the children. This is all taking place in a Cleveland county—the county next to Rutherford county where Word of Faith Fellowship is located.
At the time, Nancy Burnette had no idea who Jane Whaley was or what the Word of Faith Fellowship was all about. So, when Nancy found out where 2 of the children were going to be place, she didn’t think twice about it. But Nancy’s boss, the director of the ad litem program was pretty alarmed.
Regardless of their hesitation, the kids were placed temporarily with the Word of Faith Fellowship family.
Did the church undermine abuse investigations?
What happens next raises a series of questions about the Word of Faith and their grip on local government. For example, did you know the Jane Whaley’s son in law, Frank Webster, was an assistant state prosecutor at a nearby county? There are also accusations that a local social worker undermined abuse investigations at the Word of Faith Fellowship? The list of accusations go on and on.
Pretend Radio makes the news
So, what do you guys think of season 3 so far? I’m sure you have tons of questions.
This season is already making waves. I was featured on the front page of Sunday’s Daily Courier. It’s the local paper in Spindale, NC. It’s a great article. But what makes it even more interesting is that the church responded to my show. In fact, they had a lot to say about some of the unaired episodes on Patreon. If you’re not on Patreon this season, you’re missing out. To read the article, click on the link in my show notes. To listen to the unaired episodes, go to pretendradio.org and click the donate button. I’m posting episodes as soon as I finish them. Plus, tons of bonus content. Like this audio of Jane talking about Nancy Burnette visiting the church. You don’t want to miss it.
Many people have been writing me and sharing their stories. I’m working on a blog that corresponds with each episode. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram so you won’t miss it. If you have a story to share, shoot me an email at [email protected] or find me on Twitter and Facebook.
Also, I am excited to announce that Pretend Radio is going to be attending the first annual True Crime Podcast Festival on July 13, 2019 in Chicago! Trust me, start planning now. It’s worth traveling to. This is your chance to mingle with podcasters you listen to regularly. There will also be live episode recordings as well as panel discussions. In fact, I’m speaking in one of them.
Some of the shows registered are All Crime No Cattle, Criminology, Canadian True Crime, Mugshot, Swindled, Sword and Scale, and so many more. You won’t want to miss this.
Go to the website TCPF2019.com to find information on tickets and the hotel. Prices do go up the closer we get to the event so you won’t want to wait. When you buy your ticket, make sure you mention Pretend Radio on the ticket registration survey. This is going to be a blast. I can’t wait to meet everyone at the True Crime Podcast Festival! For more information, see the show notes.
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