Lawsuit Filed Against Sovereign Grace Ministries Leaders For Mishandling Of Abuse
October 17, 2012 in Sovereign Grace Ministries
From the Associated Press (see story here):
Three female plaintiffs claim in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that an evangelical church group covered up allegations of sexual abuse against children, failed to report accusations of misconduct to the police and discouraged its members from cooperating with law enforcement.
The lawsuit was filed in Maryland state court against Sovereign Grace Ministries, a 30-year-old family of churches, with about 100 congregations. Most of its churches are in the U.S., but it also has planted churches in about 21 countries.
The plaintiffs allege a conspiracy spanning more than two decades to conceal sexual abuse committed by church members. The alleged abuse happened in Maryland and northern Virginia in the 1980s and 1990s. The lawsuit accuses of church representatives of permitting suspected pedophiles to interact with children, supplying them with free legal advice to avoid prosecution and forcing victims to meet with and “forgive” the person that had molested them.
“The facts show that the Church cared more about protecting its financial and institutional standing than about protecting children, its most vulnerable members,” the lawsuit claims.
The church did not immediately respond to a written message or to a phone message left on its general voicemail box. It wasn’t immediately clear if the church had a lawyer. The suit names as defendants about a half-dozen pastors and church officials who plaintiffs say were alerted to the accusations but either failed to take action or actively covered them up. One official said he had not seen the suit and declined comment. Other defendants either did not immediately respond to phone messages or did not have publicly listed phone numbers.
In accusing church leaders of turning a blind eye to sexual molestation, the lawsuit bears parallels to the allegations of priest sex abuse and the resulting cover-up that have rocked the Roman Catholic church over the last decade. But while that scandal centered on sex abuse by priests, the accusations in this case involve molestation by church members instead of clergy.
Sovereign Grace Ministries grew from its mother church in Gaithersburg, Md., in 1982. It moved its headquarters this year to Louisville, Ky., where it’s also planting a new church. The group has struggled in recent years with fractured leadership and criticism over its discipline methods, especially the church’s emphasis on sins, discipline and repentance.
The suit only covers alleged abuse that occurred in Maryland in northern Virginia, but the church has faced scrutiny on other occasions for its handling of sexual abuse claims, and Susan Burke, a lawyer representing the three plaintiffs, said there are other alleged victims prepared to join a class-action suit.
For instance, an April report by a non-profit Lutheran mediation group that studied the church for nine months found that while church leaders showed “care and concern” about sex abuse allegations, a number of people interviewed felt the claims were handled irresponsibly and were left with “disappointments and hurts.”
The lawsuit faults the church’s “Home Group” structure, in which children are provided with day care so their parents can attend services, as fostering a poorly supervised environment that enabled the abuse to occur.
The lawsuit centers on allegations of three female plaintiffs, each identified by pseudonyms to protect their anonymity.
One of the three plaintiffs, a high school student in Virginia, alleges she was sexually assaulted when she was 3 years old and that the mother of the boy who abused her revealed the molestation to the church. But church officials discouraged her family from reporting the allegations to police and, instead, repeatedly interviewed the alleged abuser and worked with him and his mother to determine how best to prevent any prosecution and publicity regarding the abuse.
A second plaintiff, a college student in Maryland, says she was sexually abused as a toddler by a church member. She says the church pastor scolded her parents after they called the police and then tipped off the accused that he had been reported to the police. She says her parents were instructed to bring her to a meeting with her alleged abuser so they could be “reconciled,” but that she was “visibly scared and crawled under the chair” after being brought into the same room with him.
The third plaintiff says her adoptive father, a member of the church, sexually abused her older sister for three and a half years. She says the church warned her mother not to pursue a prosecution, then kicked the family out of the church and denied the children reduced tuition to the school. The man was ultimately prosecuted and imprisoned, the lawsuit says.
“We view the case as an important step in holding SGM accountable for its misdeeds,” said Burke, the lawyer who represents the three plaintiffs and is also suing the military on behalf of female service members who say they were raped. “No institution can put its own financial concerns above the needs of vulnerable children.”
More to follow…
In the meantime, if anyone is interested, here is a post from 2011 that (I think) lays out a good (if lengthy) explanation for the mentality behind the inappropriate pastoral responses in certain situations where abuse occurred.
© 2012, Kris. All rights reserved.
On Washington Post as well
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/lawsuit-claims-evangelical-church-group-concealed-sex-abuse-allegations-in-md-va/2012/10/17/75218ba8-187a-11e2-a346-f24efc680b8d_story.html
Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Someone finally brought a lawsuit. Well done, whoever you are!
This should be interesting to watch…
The fact that this was filed in MD right after they fled (I mean relocated for cost reasons) has to not look good for them.
And wow, they have a big shot lawyer, http://burkepllc.com/attorneys/susan-l-burke/
Suprised, and gives a much better shot of this succeeding.
Agreed. About time.
Run for the hills!!……… I see a tsunami on the horizon.
Can’t wait to see how the board spins this one.
Prayer and praise for the plantiffs and their courage. Let God not be mocked.
Oh, hurray! These dear people have not gotten justice from the church. Now the civil government will do what the church should have done.
Wow. Luke 8:17, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open” was the first thing that came to mind. Wow.
About time!!!!! Great job to the three ladies that had the courage to bring the lawsuit forward!!!!
I have a lot of random thoughts about this. In no particular order, here are a few:
1. I wonder how the people who put together the AoR report feel now.
2. I wonder if an actual lawsuit will finally get it through some of the thicker-skulled RBDs that SGM has been rife with a kind of dysfunction that they really don’t want to be associated with.
3. I wonder how this is going to affect people’s views of the move of SGM headquarters to Louisville. Although I am fairly certain no one within the organization had a clue that a lawsuit was in the works, it can easily look like they were trying to skip out of town…and not just because of CJ’s woes. So much for trying to convince everyone that they moved to cut costs.
4. I was particularly amused at this line from the AP story:
That’s actually almost funny, considering that the pastors who handled “Noel’s” case had been on the phone with their attorneys prior to informing Noel of her child’s molestation.
Of course SGM has lawyers! It was these pastors’ extreme concern to protect the church’s interests – the organizational entity that provided them their jobs and was basically indistinguishable from “the gospel” in their thoughts – that caused them to do many of the boneheaded things that have now landed them in legal trouble. They were consulting with lawyers to protect SGM’s interests from the very beginning.
And just for the record, as anyone with knowledge of the legal system might guess, this lawsuit has been in the works for quite awhile. It’s not something that, for instance, sprang up overnight because of Cultwatcher’s berating. :D
I hope CJ and staff have tons of money because they need it. When I say tons of money in the range of $100,000 to millions of dollars. This could kill SGM.
Another random thought: the churches who have already separated from SGM are lucky.
Call me cynical, (and I don’t claim to have an in depth knowledge of the law) but because the perps weren’t clergy or staff I wonder if the lawsuit even has a chance. Did anyone break reporting laws? Aren’t there a lack of reporting laws in Virginia?
I used to study JW’s quite a bit and similar lawsuits have been brought against the Watchtower, but the Watchtower usually wins because the court is hesitant to get involved in religious affairs (such as wouldn’t trying to force people to reconcile be a religious affair?).
Although I applaud these people for speaking out and getting the issues known, I do wonder if they truly have a case. Obviously the lawyer thinks so or she wouldn’t be wasting her time on it.
The facts I see are no gimme.
And the present status appears to risk putting far out of reach any effort to bring things to final light.
Maybe that’s best.
This is really brilliant.
*These events happened in at least two different churches, so it will be argued that it is a systemic problem.
*Go for the money-SGM HQ has so much more (of our) money than any individual church.
*Next I hope to see more joining the lawsuit. I can think of a few stories I have read here-Taylor for one-whose stories do not line up with the three in the article.
*Maybe even all of the parents who had children in that VA church can join the suit- when the perp continued to serve in CM and freely roamed the halls each Sunday, giving him access to lots of other toddler girls.
*AOR might be pulled in and publically shamed for how they gave SGM a free pass and dismissed all those victims.
*I am ROFL imagining CJ telling a judge that these people are just bitter, or that they are gossiping, or that they are supposed to be the worst sinner they know and should be concerned about their own sin, not the perp’s sin-and fully expecting the judge to agree!
Laughing even more as Brent is the first to testify after filing a 700 page friend of the court brief Laughing my barrel off imagining the judge watching CJ alternately whisper and shout as he flails his arms around, determining he is looney and institutionalizing him.
I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the reasons CJ enlisted the AOR’s help in interviewing disgruntled members, was to ferret out the more heinous legal cases (and, help defuse them).
Also, the fear of legal retribution, may have factored heavily into CJ’s reasons for leaving the DC area and help explain why he was so angry at Josh for not covering his back.
I agree with Freedom 13, that this might well mean the end of SGM, even if some lawyers work is pro bono.
Yikes.
Guy — “This should be interesting to watch . . .”
. . . especially in light of the rumored plans of CLC and FFX.
Does this filing shed different light on the impetus behind the Daytona Beach letter, et al.?
It is hardly farfetched that there was information sharing aforehand.
Finally!!!. I am horrified that no one reported it since I believe pastors could be included in the mandated reporter catagory. I hope this will bring closure to all the victims and their families. I pray that God brings forth great healing for those hurt and punishment to those who failed to protect the victims and their families.
CJ et al… A genuine, “I’m sorry! We were wrong! Please forgive us!” could have gone a long way.
3 moms (and victims)- you have my respect and prayers for whats to come.
SGM needs a judge that “believes the best”.
Regardless of Brent’s motivation behind the documents, think of the healing that would have begun had SGM repented in July 2011. Josh Harris was right, “this is bad, we are being spanked”.
Wonder if Fairfax’s Sr. Pastor M. Mullery will open the NEXT Family meeting regarding child sex abuse with a joke? (like he did back in July 2011)
And there are other cases that have not come to light. A friend of mine I used to go to a PDI church with wrote a book about how she got kicked out of church after complaining how they handled abuse of her child. She chose to be anonymous about the church.
Happymom,
Wierd. I just noticed you said M. Mullery. I was friends with him 22 years ago in a PDI church. It’s amazing to me how some leaders stay in the movement so long. I remember specifially voicing concerns to him about control issues and he defending PDI.
I’m going to bet that there are current pastors of SGM churches who were part of the cover-ups. And what happens if/when those churches try to leave SGM?
This could get a little sticky.
(Kris…I think you said it well above when you said that the churches that already left SGM are lucky.)
Sidney
Wow. About time. Similar sorts of cases out west with church cover ups awarded over a million apiece to victimized girls. Figure the lawyers get maybe 40%. That is still 600 grand to help Wallace and HappyMom pay the counseling and hospital bills.
May the Lord bring justice. Better it had never ever happened, but it did, and I hope the families get a great financial settlement out of this. If SGM goes broke, exCLCMom can inform them their poverty is self induced :)
As far as I know, none of the churches or leadership within SGM had any idea this lawsuit was going to be filed today.
From my perspective, the churches that recently departed did so for their stated reasons. They may have suspected in a general way that SGM would someday have larger problems, but they did not know about this particular lawsuit.
And here’s the irony…so many people were willing to forgive SGM if they would acknowledge their failings, deal fairly with the victims, and put new policies in place to help inform staff on how to best deal with this sort of situation.
Instead, they hemmed, hawed, stalled, and delayed their ways right into the the arms of the law. To paraphrase the Crickets (post Buddy Holly)
sorry-user malfunction
“You fought the law, and the, law won.”
So, I was curious to see if SGM was the sole defendant or if its upper-henchmen were named or being sued and I see this quote:
Now, I got wondering, don’t the defendants HAVE to be served the papers of the case they are being sued in prior to the lawsuit being filed or reported? Or do they get served papers after the suit is filed? Who knows this stuff?
Cuz, I’m thinking that lies about what has and has not been read don’t fly in public like they do inside sgmville. You don’t have to read it but you WILL be sued either way. just sayin…
Advanced knowledge of the DATE of filing would be unusual; ignorance of the development of the suit, I think, would be equally unusual.
They must have pretty tight control of their grapevine.
Service occurs after filing.
musicman said,
I’ve been saying this all along.
For all of CJ’s cunning, particularly with respect to his clever machinations to get himself recognized among the Reformed Big Dogs, his fatal flaw has been that he truly believed the wacky ideas he propagated about pastoral authority. He truly believed that no matter what, he and his henchmen, “worst sinners” that they might say they are, were actually unable to do anything wrong while acting in their official capacity as pastors/leaders. Therefore, there could never be anything that would necessitate an apology.
It’s a shame, really, that everyone surrounding CJ bought into his ideas and then enabled him for so long. The rush to shut down critics instead of listen to them is now coming back to bite them.
They’ve had all the chances in the world. God’s been speaking to them for years, but they didn’t want to listen. Now they have no choice.
My gut tells me that they will not respond to this (obviously The Lord needs to do the work), but it will take the rebuke of men they respect to wake them from their sleep. I hate to say it, but a firm correction from Piper or Sproul may do more to shake them than everything else that has happened. I know that some folks on here do not view the RBDs favorably, but, I do wonder if there has already been some private correction, and now these men will act more decisively in their rebukes. Say what you want about the RBDs, ( and i am disappointed too) but I do think some have integrity and they will exert some firm, positive, biblical influence here. Too late? Maybe. But we do not know everything that has happened and not everyone corrects the way that Brent does.
Praying for these courageous women.
Folks, Don’t worry about IF they win the lawsuit. That is setting the bar too high. Mahaney is freaking out over “discovery” process because he worked so hard to keep that under wraps during the “reconciliation” process. The best thing that could happen are the facts come out and more people will leave SGM…especially the new church plant! Trust me, you will always have diehard koolaid drinkers who believe anything they are told by their leader.
The publicity alone of such a lawsuit is worth it. Yes, they are hard to win. The courts tend to believe you had a choice to become a member and were not under compulsion. These sorts of lawsuits work best to get the word out about it being cultish and creepy. Think of reading what they teach about women and spiritual covering in newspapers. People’s cult radar will go off.
The question is: Will Mohler continue to back CJ and work toward some sort of partnership? My guess is yes. He is in too deep and Mohler is totally confident in his power.
Well, at least folks will know what the money going to SGM will be used for.
“I’m going to bet that there are current pastors of SGM churches who were part of the cover-ups. And what happens if/when those churches try to leave SGM?
This could get a little sticky.”
Yep, I would love to read the charges and how they are laid out. What killed the Catholics on this issue was their top down polity. The SBC is quick to make sure everyone knows the churches are autonomous. It is not a top down denomination (well, for now. It will be top down when Mohler gets done) but a “convention”.
So what was/is SGM?
Pride and arrogance typically don’t win out in the end. Could end up being a pretty expensive lesson for CJ.
Sickwithworry –
Integrity/ would have happened a long time ago. If someone speaks out publicly now I wouldn’t call it integrity in any way. I might call it covering their backside, making a good show, saving face, etc., etc., etc. At this point, the RBDs that have stood by and watched with clenched lips need to apologize themselves and stop sticking their heads in the sand.
At what point are the charges part of the public record? And the parties named in the suit? When can we search to find out who is being sued as a party to the lawsuit?
Mr. Stretch – #42 – you made me laugh out loud!
First of all I am as frustrated as many of you are, and I want something to happen…. I guess I am sick with worry that this does not seem to have an easy end that finds me contented. Nonetheless, I want to respond to #45
Bridget said, “the RBDs that have stood by and watched with clenched lips need to apologize themselves and stop sticking their heads in the sand “. Maybe some of them do Bridget, and others may not. I am not so much defending them, and I am also wondering myself why CJ’s “friends” did not help him see this.
However, I am asking myself what I would do if I was tight with CJ. I am thinking I would ask my friend some questions and, depending on the answers, I would possibly let it go. Perhaps SGM is a smaller piece of evangelicalism than we think, and when you consider that the “active blog readers” are a subset of SGM, we are a tiny slice of the world, but these issues are huge to us. I am thinking that not all of the authors and pastors that are CJ’s friends are following this the way that some of us are. I only read here because this is my source of SGM news. I am part of SGM, so this interests me – but I do not read here every day. If I was CJ’s friend, not part of SGM, and occupied with other things, I can see how I would not be reading or attributing weight to the blogs. Also, if I gave CJ some input and “set him straight”, I am not sure that conversation would warrant me telling others how “I confronted CJ”. For example, if I was an RBD and friends with CJ, I would have my WTF conversation with him and then perhaps keep it between the two of us.
So – Bridgett – no doubt there are some RBDs that have become educated about SGMs issues and “turned a blind eye” when they should have stepped up. Mark Dever and Al Mohler appear to have been very accommodating to CJ because they have been pretty close to him through this. You are right and the integrity would be lacking there. But, we do not know every conversation that has taken place with everyone, nor do we know what every RBD knows. I am curious to know what we all think we would do, because I guess that is a fair question. Should they rebuke CJ from their pulpits? Should they post here? When you are friends with someone that keeps screwing up, you are in a tight spot.
So – I am trying to think the best, but in a logical and serious way….. not the way SGM tells us to think the best.
Mrs. Stretch,
“Well, at least folks will know what the money going to SGM will be used for.”
Word.
Did you all see SGM’s statement?
It has come to the attention of Sovereign Grace Ministries through media outlets that a lawsuit has been filed against Sovereign Grace Ministries related to allegations of child abuse apparently arising in the 1980s and 90s. To date, Sovereign Grace Ministries has not been served with any such lawsuit nor does it have a copy of the lawsuit. Sovereign Grace Ministries is not in a position to comment on the allegations of the reported lawsuit. Child abuse in any context is reprehensible and criminal. Sovereign Grace Ministries takes seriously the Biblical commands to pursue the protection and well being of all people, especially the most vulnerable in its midst, little children.
Link: http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/blogs/sgm/post/Statement-by-Sovereign-Grace-Ministries-on-Reported-Lawsuit.aspx
So I’m thinking that maybe SGM itself is not a defendant. Maybe it’s just certain individuals.