“Three of those five have publicly called the allegations lies, a fourth has not wanted to communicate with IHOPKC’s attorney, and the fifth’s allegations relate to incidents that preceded IHOPKC’s founding,” the report states.
During the investigation, the ELT said that it became apparent that the Complaint Group presented by the local pastor “did not have permission to include at least four of the women in their list of alleged victims.”
Leadership said that IHOPKC remains committed to verifying the remaining allegations, but it needs the assistance of the Complaint Group to ensure the veracity of the claims made by the remaining alleged victims.
“Upon review by outside legal counsel, it was determined that the collection and presentation of the allegations by the Complaint Group lacked any semblance of reliability or due process,” the ELT said, adding that the Complaint Group’s “presentation of allegations” doesn’t contain “any actual evidence” and lacks statements from Bickle’s alleged victims.
The ELT further alleged the Complaint Group’s “demands and threats…generated an atmosphere of concern regarding the true objectives of the Complaint Group” and dictated the use of IHOPKC’s funds.
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“It has become abundantly clear over the last three weeks that four of the women were presented as alleged victims without their consent,” the ELT stated.
According to the report, three of the alleged victims refuted the Complaint Group’s claims that they had ever been abused by Bickle. One stated that those in charge of the Complaint Group were “bullies” and said that she “never gave them permission to use her name.”
A fourth, who was not initially named by the Complaint Group but whose name was later disclosed, told the ELT that she “was hurt to find out that her name was being used as part of these allegations and wrote an email to the ELT, emphatically denying that any form of abuse or any inappropriate relationship with Mr. Bickle had ever taken place.”
The report shared that the testimony of another victim—who, according to the Complaint Group, alleges that Bickle emotionally pursued and prophetically manipulated her more than 25 years ago—has yet to be verified. However, the “allegation contains only six short lines of text and is non-sexual and contains no first-person statements by the alleged victim herself.”
One allegation mentioned in the report provides details dating back to 26 years ago, which the ELT stated would have occurred before IHOPKC was founded. “The allegations include physical contacts between Mr. Bickle and an adult woman; it is also insinuated that Mr. Bickle may have committed a crime,” the report stated.
The ELT continued, “IHOPKC has not been able to determine whether this criminal allegation has any credibility.” The report then noted that in light of this particular victim’s alleged account involving Bickle, IHOPKC “immediately asked Mr. Bickle to step away from his ministry at the church while the allegation was further investigated.” IHOPKC’s attorney made contact with the alleged victim’s attorney (Tchividjian) earlier this week.
