Abuse Victim Rejects Hillsong Settlement Offer, Alleging They Asked Her to Sign NDA, to Lie
Days after Hillsong Church reached an “in principle” settlement with a former student Anna Crenshaw, who was sexually assaulted by a staff member on campus, the deal has fallen through, with Crenshaw accusing the church of trying to “intimidate and silence her:”
“We were unable to come to a settlement today because Hillsong changed their plan in a ploy, I would say, to intimidate and silence me. And I will not give up my voice.”
Crenshaw says the settlement imploded after Hillsong insisted that she sign a non-disclosure agreement and release a joint statement agreeing that Hillsong reported the abuse to the police immediately after the incident rather than the five months she says it took them, something she refused to do.
This has never been about money for me but about justice and accountability, which we’ve not received this week.”
When asked why it was so essential for her not to have to sign the NDA, Crenshaw revealed:
“There’s so much shame that comes with these types of abuses and victims shouldn’t feel shame. I worked so hard to find my voice in coming forward from my fisrt initial report to Hillsong, and they have from day one tried to silence me.
That is not what I was seeking in the justice process. It wasn’t to come here and get their money and walk away without my voice, but it was to get some accountability and a real sense of justice and hope that they would really change in moving forward. But I think this is just evidence that despite their new leadership, they have the same tactics.”
Backround: Former Hillsong College student Anna Crenshaw filed a lawsuit against Hillsong after she was molested by a drunken Hillsong worship leader back in 2016. Crenshaw shared her experiences and aftermath of the incident, recounting how, during a party:
Jason grabbed me, putting his hand between my legs and his head on my stomach, and began kissing my stomach. I felt his arms and hands wrapped around my legs, making contact with my inner thigh, butt, and crotch…
Hillsong took nearly five months to report it to the police, and only after her father, who is a pastor, allegedly complained. Mays would later plead guilty to “assault with an act of indecency” in 2019. The sentence carried two years of probation and mandatory counseling by the courts.
Hillsong suspended Mays from ministry for one year but eventually welcomed him back, putting him in an administrative role in 2020 and having him sing on stage as a backup vocalist for church events.
Mays’ return to his old job, plus a dissatisfaction with the way Hillsong handled the abuse prompted Crenshaw to quit the school and eventually sue Hillsong Church, Hillsong School, and Mays himself. As a result of her ordeal, Crenshaw claimed aggravated damages and exemplary damages, saying that she suffered “harm, injury and loss” at the hands of the institution and its employee.
Hillsong Church has bristled at the notion that it had acted with negligence or was in breach of contract, insisting that it concealed nothing (even thought it took months to be reported to Law Enforcement.
Mays acknowledged that he assaulted Crenshaw in some manner but denied it constituted sexual assault, categorically denying that he put “his hand between her inner thigh” and “fondled her bottom and vagina,” as she alleged in her suite.
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