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Six men have filed a civil lawsuit against Hope Church of the Assemblies of God in Albany, Oregon, alleging that church youth leaders sexually molested them in the 1980s.
The Corvallis Gazette-Times reports:
The lead pastor at Albany First Assembly church wrote a letter to church members on Saturday, informing them of a lawsuit filed against the church by six men who say they were sexually abused as children by church youth leaders.
“As a church with a rich history in and reputation for valuing, caring for and serving all people, we are deeply saddened by any mistreatment of anyone, but especially of those who are most vulnerable among us,” Frank Silverii stated in the letter. “Therefore, we commit ourselves to pray for the plaintiffs that they will receive the healing, hope and restoration that is needed.”
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Five of the plaintiffs are represented by their initials in the suit. The sixth plaintiff is listed as Anthony Burwell. The defendants are the First Assembly of God of Albany, Assemblies of God Oregon District and the General Council of the Assemblies of God.
First Assembly church in Albany rebranded last year as Hope Church.
The plaintiffs assert that two leaders of a church youth program sexually abused them in the 1980s. According to the complaint, Ralph Wade Gantt and Todd Clark were leaders in the church-sponsored Royal Rangers, an educational and recreational program for boys similar to Boy Scouts. The lawsuit alleges Gantt and Clark abused their position of leadership, trust and respect to repeatedly sexually abuse the six plaintiffs when they were as young as 10 years old.
Gantt and Clark were criminally convicted in 1988 for sexually abusing several boys, one of whom is a plaintiff in the current lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that the church and its governing organizations failed to investigate and let police know when a boy in 1984 reported Clark had sexually abused him.Silverii stated in his letter that the church “moved away from the Royal Ranger program back in 2011.”
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Silverii states that after a lawsuit was settled in 1991 regarding abuse by Gantt and Clark, the church used media outlets to seek other victims who were abused by Royal Ranger volunteers.
“No one else stepped forward until 2016, which was another lawsuit alleging abuse from the 1980s, and again today (27 years later),” Silverii wrote.
The Dumas Law Group, which is representing the plaintiffs in the current lawsuit, filed suit against the Albany First Assembly church in 2016 on behalf of a separate plaintiff who alleged abuse by Clark and Gantt. That lawsuit was recently resolved with a confidential settlement, said Gilion Dumas.
She said the delay in pursuing a civil lawsuit is common with abuse victims.
“As a result of the trauma caused by childhood sexual abuse, very few sexual abuse survivors — especially male survivors — ever report what happened to them,” Dumas said. “It can be years and even decades before those who do report come forward to do something.”
The church sent the following letter to its members:
Dear Family and Friends of Hope Church,
I am making you aware of a lawsuit that has been filed against our church, the Oregon Ministry Network (Oregon Assemblies of God) and the Assemblies of God national office. We were made aware that a lawsuit had been filed via a forwarded email on Friday afternoon (February 23, 2018). To date (February 24, 2018), and to the best of our knowledge, the church has not yet been served.
What we know: There are six Plaintiffs alleging sexual abuse, five of which, are unidentified. The Plaintiffs allege the abuse took place between 1980 and 1986, at the home of two Royal Ranger volunteers that were part of our church at that time, and at state-wide event (32-38 years ago). Royal Rangers is an all-boys program similar to Boy Scouts only with a greater emphasis on the Bible and spirituality. As a side note, Hope Church moved away from the Royal Ranger program back in 2011.
Our current Kids Small Groups program (KSG), involves boys and girls, and is structured in group settings with multiple leaders. Extracurricular activities (e.g., sleepovers etc.) are hosted on the church campus or at retreat settings and not at an individual’s home. In addition, every person who serves around minors is required to go through a FBI background check and training in child safety. The protection of our kids is paramount to God and to us.
Also, it is important to note that we are incredibly proud of all those who currently lead and work with our children and youth, and extremely confident in the level of care and safety these ministries provide. The current claims reference a previous lawsuit that was litigated and settled back in 1991 (27 years ago), at which time the perpetrators were convicted and sentenced for their crimes. In addition, our church put out a plea in 1991 through available media outlets asking for all others to please step forward if they too, were violated in anyway by the Royal Ranger volunteers. No one else stepped forward until 2016, which was another lawsuit alleging abuse from the 1980s, and again today (27 years later).
As a church with a rich history in and reputation for valuing, caring for and serving all people, we are deeply saddened by any mistreatment of anyone, but especially of those who are most vulnerable among us. Therefore, we commit ourselves to pray for the Plaintiffs that they will receive the healing, hope and restoration that is needed.
[This letter was fine until this point. The church’s pastor decided to paint some faux gold on a stinking, foul turd.]
Over the years and in recent weeks Hope Church has witnessed the beauty and power of Jesus and His Gospel people freed from their past wounds, experiencing a renewed purpose for living and a promised home in heaven one day. This is why the Gospel is such good news! And, this is why we do what we do as a church. We are extremely proud of our Hope Church family as they continue to serve Jesus by serving others throughout our community and valley. Furthermore, we are excited about the future God has for us.
Please continue to pray for the Plaintiffs, the Hope Church family and the lawsuit; that it will be swiftly and satisfactorily settled for all involved.
Please direct any additional questions to the Lead Pastor’s office. Thank you.Grace & Peace,
Pastor Frank Silverii
Lead Pastor
Hope Church
www.hope.church
