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Shocking and very disappointing...
Ravi Zacharias ministry confirms apologist
'did indeed engage in sexual misconduct'
By Sheryl Lynn, Christian Post Reporter
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Christian apologist and author Ravi Zacharias speaks to tens of thousands of young adults in Atlanta's Philips Arena on Sunday, January 3, 2016. Students in Houston were able to watch Zacharias through livestream for the first time in Passion's 19 year history. | (Courtesy of Passion Conference/Phil Sanders)
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries confirmed on Wednesday that its late founder “did indeed engage in sexual misconduct.”
Releasing an interim report by Miller & Martin PLLC, which the ministry hired to investigate allegations of misconduct that were made public months after Zacharias’ death, RZIM said, “Sadly, the interim investigation update indicates this assessment of Ravi’s behavior to be true.”
“This misconduct is deeply troubling and wholly inconsistent with the man Ravi Zacharias presented both publicly and privately to so many over more than four decades of public ministry,” it added, noting that it is devastated for those who “suffered from Ravi’s misconduct.”
Massage therapists at day spas co-owned by Zacharias, an influential apologist who died in May after a battle with cancer, alleged that he would come in regularly for back pain treatment.
Three women who spoke with Stephen Baughman, an attorney, and Christianity Today said during those treatments, he would expose himself, masturbate, and ask for explicit photos as well to have sex.
The Miller & Martin investigation team said it interviewed dozens of witnesses, including massage therapists who worked at the Touch of Eden and Jivan Wellness spas, and reviewed numerous documents and electronic devices used by Zacharias.
“Combining those interviews with our review of documents and electronic data, we have found significant, credible evidence that Mr. Zacharias engaged in sexual misconduct over the course of many years. Some of that misconduct is consistent with and corroborative of that which is reported in the news recently, and some of the conduct we have uncovered is more serious,” it said.
The investigation is ongoing and is expected to conclude in January or February.
The team was given “broad discretion and authority to follow leads into other sexual misconduct that might arise” beyond the spa allegations.
“We are heartbroken at learning this but feel it necessary to be transparent and to inform our staff, donors, and supporters at this time, even while the investigation continues,” RZIM stated.
The interim report comes after an apologist with RZIM lamented how the ministry has handled allegations of sexual misconduct, including sexting allegations involving Lori Anne Thompson, a Canadian woman, in 2017.
Max Baker-Hytch, a senior tutor with the ministry's Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, called on the leadership to make "meaningful reparations" to the alleged victims and radically change the culture of the ministry.
RZIM has vowed to release the final report once the investigation is complete.
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Mormon church faces 7 new lawsuits for alleged Boy Scouts
sex abuse cover-up in Arizona
Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy amid
tens of thousands of sexual abuse lawsuits
By Michael Ruiz | Fox News
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church, is facing at least seven new lawsuits that accuse it of playing a role in covering up sex abuse among Boy Scout troops in Arizona.
Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy amid tens of thousands of sexual abuse lawsuits implicating troop leaders and other volunteers in incidents stretching back decades. Accusers' current ages range from 8 to 93.
His law firm, Hurley McKenna & Mertz, is representing dozens of victims. In addition to the seven new lawsuits, it also has pursued cases against local scouting councils, and a number of Roman Catholic dioceses and archdioceses in similar Scout abuse cases across multiple states.
The new lawsuits allege that Mormon officials ignored reports of abuse from youths, and that troop leaders and volunteers remained in the Scouts organization despite allegations against them.
"It’s only because of their (the church's) sponsorship of these troops that families felt comfortable in trusting their kids to these Scout leaders, and that was a recipe for disaster," McKenna said.
The new cases were filed just ahead of Arizona’s end-of-year deadline for adult victims of child sex abuse to sue, according to the law firm. Each lawsuit is based on a separate male victim.
The church is accused of telling the victims to keep their accusations to themselves as officials conducted their own investigations.
Sam Penrod, a spokesman for the LDS, denied the accusations and said the church has no tolerance for any kind of abuse. He told the Associated Press that it would evaluate and address the claims.
The plaintiffs are hoping to learn through court discovery whether LDS officials had access to the Boy Scouts' ineligible volunteer files, documents that listed the names of alleged abusers, McKenna said.
"We believe though, there are instances where troops are sponsored by the LDS church, especially in places like California, Arizona, Utah and that troop leaders, in addition to being volunteers working in the troop, are also deacons in the LDS church...and that the bishops were aware of who these deacons were and had a responsibility for making sure that these scout leaders in troops sponsored by the LDS church were not abusing kids," he said.
The Mormon church and the Scouts had been closely tied for decades, before a high-profile split last year. The church pulled 400,000 of its members from the Boy Scouts as the youth organization faced heightened scrutiny, a slew of sex abuse lawsuits, and when the Scouts recently embraced openly gay and transgender members.
Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Valley Christian High School
and Prominent Coach Greg Marshall
01/05/2021 | 02:17pm EST
The lawsuit alleges that Valley Christian ignored Marshall’s predatory behavior towards female students, leading to the molestations of at least two female student-athletes.
The law firm of Corsiglia, McMahon & Allard is announcing the filing of a sexual abuse lawsuit against Valley Christian High School (Santa Clara County Superior Court) and its former coach, Greg Marshall.
The lawsuit alleges that Coach Marshall began sexually abusing girls on his varsity girls’ basketball team almost as soon as he was hired in the 2001-2002 school year.
According to the lawsuit, Valley Christian ignored Marshall’s repeated grooming behavior, which included excessive on-on-one time with female students during school hours, especially during lunch, transporting them alone to and from school, and inappropriate touching. On at least one occasion, Marshall was seen in an elevator on school grounds with his first known victim alone in a compromising position by the VCHS athletic director and/or other Valley Christian employees.
That should have been the end of it, right there.
Allison Brown was his second victim, starting in the 2003-2004 school year. She is a named plaintiff in the complaint and one of two victims seeking to have Marshall prosecuted for his alleged crimes and hold Valley Christian accountable for enabling him. Brown came forward in 2018 as a result of finding courage from the gymnasts in the Larry Nassar case.
“Valley Christian High School had every opportunity to stop Marshall before he sexually abused my client,” attorney Robert Allard said. “Instead, the school was acutely focused on building its image and reputation through Marshall and his family, particularly in sport.” Marshall’s three children were some of the greatest athletes to ever play in the San Francisco Bay Area and helped Valley Christian High School win numerous football and track championships.
The lawsuit alleges that Marshall sexually abused Brown multiple times a week on school grounds, including in the classroom, the weight room, and storage closets.
After the two victims graduated high school, victim number one came forward in late 2006. Police were notified. The only known action that Valley Christian took in response was to quietly and confidentially remove him from his position as a coach and teacher while continuing to allow him unfettered access to its campus.
By 2006, Marshall’s children were bringing glory to Valley Christian through their exploits as star athletes. As a result, Marshall continued training athletes on school grounds, and the school continued to refer athletes to him for off-campus training.
Despite a police sex crimes investigation, Marshall served as the Assistant Strength Coach for the San Francisco 49ers from 2007-2010 and went on to coach at Branham High School.
According to the lawsuit, in 2008, Brown’s parents provided the Athletic Director with proof that Marshall had abused their daughter, but the authorities were not called. “By this time, Valley Christian was blinded by all of the acclaim that all three of Marshall’s children were bringing to Valley Christian in its quest to become an athletic powerhouse,” Allard said. “Child safety should never take a back seat to anything, especially when we are talking about predators and sex abuse.”
In 2018, Brown came forward and in a pre-text call, Marshall admitted to the abuse and was arrested in 2019.
Former Tempe, Az pastor accused of child sex crimes
Author: Adriana Loya (12NEWS)
Published: 5:09 PM MST January 19, 2021
TEMPE, Ariz. — A man known in his community as devoted to God is now facing child molestation charges.
Police say the abuse began when the little girl was 9 years old in 2015 when Rodriguez-Ramirez took the victim and two other children to Kiwanis Park in Tempe.
There, the suspect allegedly hugged and kissed the victim when she reached the ground after going down the slide.
The second alleged assault happened behind the Tempe Home Depot near Priest Dr. and Baseline Rd.
The victim told police, Rodriguez-Ramirez was helping her father with some renovations and took her with him to buy materials, but he parked in the back of the store and sexually assaulted her in his car.
“There was a lot of grooming that occurred prior to the first act,” said Detective Greg Bacon from the Tempe Police Department. “At this time, we don’t believe there are additional victims.”
After yet another alleged assault in May 2020 police were called and Rodriguez-Ramirez was eventually arrested.
Police say Rodriguez-Ramirez was a pastor at Arcadia Park Baptist Church, but the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention says the church dismissed him as the pastor in September.
During the investigation, court documents say Rodriguez-Ramirez admitted his actions and said, “he knew it was wrong and regrets it.” During a recorded conversation with a family member, the suspect said, “his mind was clouded and was fighting his urges.”
12 News went to the suspect's home and a woman answered the door, but she refused to answer any questions.
“These things, unfortunately, do happen, it’s really important for families that if they notice changes within their children to listen and to get help, call the police,” said Bacon.
Rodriguez-Ramirez's attorney says his client maintains his innocence while he remains in jail.
He faces two counts of sexual abuse, sexual conduct with a minor, child molestation, aggravated assault and voyeurism, and indecent exposure while at the Tempe Home Depot.
AZ LDS Sued for Keeping Silent About Well-Known Incest
January 19, 2021, 6:00 pm
Lupita Murillo
N4T INVESTIGATORS
TUCSON (KVOA) – It is a shocking case of child sexual abuse the News 4 Tucson Investigators reported about last month.
A Bisbee father has been accused of abusing his own children and showcasing the acts on the dark web.
Since the accusations surfaced, claims have been made against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Tucson attorney, Lynne Cadigan. She represents some of the victims. Cadigan claimed church leaders knew about the abuse and did not report it to police.
A 19-page document was just filed in Cochise County in response to an 87-page civil complaint filed in November by Cadigan.
It detailed the abuse and the attorney claimed the church stood by and did nothing to help the children. "The church admitted they knew there was sexual abuse," Cadigan said. "And also in their answer, they claimed they didn't have a duty to do anything about it other than encourage the perpetrator himself to report it."
Cadigan also referred to recently filed document that stated, "plaintiffs’ claims against defendants are barred in whole or in part because defendants owed them no duty."
The response comes in the case of Paul Adams. Three of his children filed a claim against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some of its members.
Adams and his wife, Leizza, were indicted in 2017 on a total of 27 counts of multiple charges involving sex crimes against children.
"Since when do perpetrators turn themselves in willingly?" Cadigan said.
Adams was a Border Patrol agent. He was caught after the Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified him in sexually explicit content with his children found on the internet.
He committed suicide inside a jail cell before he could stand trial.
In 2018, his wife pleaded no contest to two counts of child abuse endangerment. Leizza was sentenced to two years in prison and was released last fall.
Since our report first aired in December, an individual who attended church with Leizza and Paul Adams came forward and gave a sworn statement saying it was well-known within the church that Paul Adams
" ... was abusing his children and referred to this abuse as " Paul Adams misbehaving."
The individual went on to say, "I feel terrible that no one reported this abuse for all those years. We believed bishop would take care of it, as he knew about it." The statement further reads, "I was told to trust in the bishop and the church, and that the bishop and the church would take care of family and abuse issues, not the government or police."
News 4 Tucson Investigators spoke to this individual over the phone.
They asked us not to reveal their identity for fear of retribution. We asked them if they knew this abuse was going on, why didn't they go to authorities and report it?
The answer - "We all truly believed the bishop would take care of it."
Under Arizona state law there is "Clergy Privilege."
That is when clergy learn about abuse in confidential communication and don't have to report it to authorities. The church stated they learned of Adam’s behavior from Adams himself in this way.
In November, the church sent us this statement, it reads in part:
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no tolerance for abuse of any kind. Our hearts ache for all survivors of abuse and go out to the victims in this case. This tragic abuse was perpetrated by the young victims’ own father who died of suicide in jail while awaiting trial. As clergy, the bishop was required by Arizona law to maintain the confidentiality of the father’s limited confession. Notwithstanding, the bishop took the few details he had and made efforts to protect the children, primarily through the mother. The bishop urged the family to report the abuse or give him consent to do so, but they refused. The bishop also convened a church disciplinary council and condemned the limited conduct he knew of in the strongest terms by excommunicating Mr. Adams from the church in 2013. It was not until law enforcement made an arrest of the father that the bishop learned of the scope and magnitude of the abuse that far exceeded anything he had heard or suspected. The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its clergy worked to handle this matter appropriately consistent with Arizona law. It has also tried to assist the victims and remains willing to commit significant resources to aid and assist these children. The church will continue to offer assistance to these young victims.”
Sam Penro; Media Relations Manager, Church Communication Department; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
When contacting attorneys representing the church, church officials told News 4 Tucson they have nothing to add to their prior statement.
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