As I read “Isolated, family struggles to restart after stepfather’s sex abuse conviction” (article, Nov. 3), I was reminded of words drilled into my head as a child growing up in a Christian home: “Just because a mouse lives in a cookie jar doesn’t make him a cookie.”

Likewise, just because Justin Holcomb goes to Bible studies and hands out bulletins at church, it doesn’t make him a Christian. He cannot excuse what he has done to his family by saying he’s changed (again, as his wife says). A true Christian turns from his sin, and it seems this guy is only going back to church to prove he is a decent person. But no decent person goes around sexually abusing children and then asks his friends and family to back him up. Genuine? Come on.

According to the article, this isn’t his first time screwing up.

Where are the true Christians who should be showing support to the family who has been hurt? If Amber Holcomb seems like she doesn’t want help, it doesn’t mean she should be ignored. She deserves the same respect anyone else would expect to get. That’s the problem I see with the family support system in the military. They see her as unconventional or going against the grain. She may seem like she doesn’t want help, but that’s only because she has exhausted all the places she thought she could get help, and she found no support.

Spc. Gina CollinsForward Operating Base Marez, Iraq