In two lawsuits filed this week in U.S. District Court in California, two men who previously lived in a Romanian orphanage accused a former megachurch pastor and missionary of child sexual abuse and trafficking.
Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of child sexual abuse, which some readers might find disturbing.
The two plaintiffs, now 33 and 40, allege that Paul Havsgaard abused them and dozens of other children for more than eight years. More than 20 years ago, Havsgaard was on staff at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California.
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The church, founded and led by Pastor Greg Laurie, provided some financial support to Havsgaard, who eventually launched 10 orphanages in Romania. According to the lawsuits, Laurie and other Harvest leaders failed to supervise the missionary and ignored red flags about suspected abuse.
Harvest said it is being wrongly targeted and was separate from Havsgaard’s nonprofit, Actively Restoring Kids International. The church said although it is concerned for any alleged victims, it is being financially extorted.
Former Harvest Christian Fellowship Pastor Accused of Sexually Abusing Orphans
In the federal lawsuits filed this week, Marian Barbu and Mihai-Constantin Petcu alleged that Paul Havsgaard abused them for years while they lived at an orphanage he operated in Bucharest, Romania. (ChurchLeaders is naming the alleged victims because they went public.)
In court documents, Barba described living conditions as “a torture chamber inside a prison.” The plaintiffs were tied to beds and radiators, they said, and forced to kneel on walnut shells. They alleged that Havsgaard watched boys shower, masturbated in front of them, and sexually assaulted and trafficked them, serving as a pimp.
While abusing the young victims, the pastor reportedly told them, “I know what God wants. What I want, God wants.” Victims reportedly talked openly among themselves and to orphanage staff about the abuse.
London-based lawyer Jef McAlister, who represents the two Romanian men, said he expects to file at least 20 similar lawsuits on behalf of former orphanage residents. He said Havsgaard lured children with fast food and the prospect of a better life and education, yet many of the alleged victims are still poor and illiterate.
“They have issues with trust [and have] had a hard slog,” McAlister said of his clients, noting that many deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. “They would really like to get some sense they they’ve been heard and that the injustices they’ve suffered are recognized,” he added.
The lawsuits allege that Harvest Christian Fellowship provided Havsgaard with $17,000 per month—and that Havsgaard even brought some of his young victims to California for a church fundraiser. According to the lawsuit, a 2004 audit of Havsgaard’s ministry revealed evidence of abuse, yet Richard Schutte, Harvest’s missions pastor, took no action.
Harvest: Accusations Are ‘Absolutely and Entirely False’
In a statement to ChurchLeaders, a Harvest Christian Fellowship spokesperson called the allegations “serious and disturbing.” But the statement noted, “The target here should be the alleged perpetrator, not our church.” The legal action is “misplaced,” according to Harvest, because it “wrongly targets Harvest and our pastor as a form of financial extortion.”
Although Harvest has supported “hundreds of missionaries” financially over the years, the church said Havsgaard’s organization in Romania was separate from the church.
In court documents, one of the plaintiffs described living conditions as “a torture chamber inside a prison.”Click to Post
