In a revised lawsuit filed last week, almost two dozen plaintiffs alleged that they were sexually abused at a Romanian orphanage by Paul Havsgaard, a former pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California. Also named as defendants are the California megachurch, its founder Pastor Greg Laurie, and former Harvest missions pastor Richard Schutte.
The complaint also contains new allegations that two former pastors at Harvest Christian Fellowship engaged in sexual misconduct with female staff members and argues those examples demonstrate a broader pattern of covering up wrongdoing.
Editor’s note: This article refers to reports of disturbing child sex crimes that some readers might find triggering.
As ChurchLeaders reported, two plaintiffs who previously lived at the Romanian orphanage sued Havsgaard last September. Now adults, the men also alleged that Harvest leadership ignored red flags, failed to supervise Havsgaard, and failed to act when presented with evidence of possible sexual abuse.
Since then, more former orphanage residents have come forward to claim abuse by Havsgaard. By December, 12 separate lawsuits were in the works. On March 6, the law firm McAllister Olivarius filed a consolidated complaint in U.S. federal court in California. It combines 22 lawsuits by men and women who allege that Havsgaard sexually abused them at the orphanage.
The consolidated complaint also alleges that Harvest “and its celebrity pastor, Greg Laurie” operated a “sophisticated ‘cover-up machine,’” using “internal surveillance, financial payoffs, and purged records to hide child sexual abuse in its international operations.” To support claims about an institutional coverup, the lawsuit references two former Harvest pastors who were quietly fired in 2021 and 2022 amid allegations of sexual misconduct with church employees.
Previously, Harvest said allegations of child abuse by Havsgaard are “serious and disturbing” but that suing the church amounts to a “misplaced” legal action. Harvest also claimed it was a target of “financial extortion” by an “aggressive celebrity attorney.”
Although Harvest supported consolidation of the lawsuits, the church indicated it plans to argue that the case should be tried in Romania, not in the United States.
Plaintiffs: Harvest Christian Fellowship ‘Playbook’ Involved Coverups
The 201-page consolidated federal lawsuit alleges that missionary Paul Havsgaard, a pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship from 1984 to 2002, lured and abused children while running so-called Harvest Homes in Romania.
According to the lawsuit, those orphanages were funded, operated, and overseen by Harvest, the church’s missions pastor (Richard Schutte), and, ultimately, Pastor Greg Laurie. The plaintiffs claim that Laurie and Schutte received numerous reports of suspected child sexual abuse by Havsgaard but failed to intervene.
Harvest, however, said the orphanages—and Havsgaard’s nonprofit, Actively Restoring Kids International—were separate from the church. Last fall, Harvest noted that it has supported “hundreds of missionaries” financially over the decades, adding that any lawsuits should target “the alleged perpetrator, not our church.”
The consolidated complaint alleges that Harvest leaders were aware of sexual abuse complaints as early as 1999. According to the lawsuit, church leadership conducted an inspection at the orphanage that allegedly confirmed abuse yet allowed Havsgaard to continue working there and kept fundraising for the program.
When Havsgaard and Harvest parted ways in 2002, the lawsuit claims, the church gave him a $200,000 severance payment. In 2009, Laurie publicly praised Havsgaard as a faithful servant of God. Yet Harvest has destroyed or scrubbed its records of anything related to Havsgaard, according to the complaint.
Havsgaard, who hasn’t been charged with any crimes, has not publicly addressed the allegations of child sexual abuse. Because he failed to respond to the original lawsuit last September, the court is treating the allegations against him as uncontested.
In a January letter to a federal judge, Havsgaard wrote that he is angry about the “blatant, ugly lies” being told about him. The former missionary, who had been teaching a Bible study for senior citizens, said the lawsuits “have ruined any hope” he has “of being able to minister.”
Havsgaard claimed the legal action is “all about money” and told the judge he can’t afford to hire an attorney. He concluded:
Prayerfully I will be proven innocent. But if not, and my accusers gain wealth, when the money is gone and our bodies decay, there is a judgment coming. We will all stand before God and see Him with our own eyes. But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives and He will prove me to be innocent on that day.
A consolidated complaint alleges Greg Laurie’s Harvest Christian Fellowship hid abuse and covered up wrongdoing to protect its reputation.Click to Post
