New Lawsuit Alleges IHOPKC Failed To Act After Minor Was Sexually Harassed and Bullied At Event
A new lawsuit has been filed against the embattled International House of Prayer Kansas City and the Forerunner Christian Fellowship, alleging leaders failed to take action after it was reported to them that a minor attending one of their retreats was being bullied and sexually harassed by another attendee, resulting in the activity continuing.
Boz Tchividjian, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiff, told the Kansas City Star:
During the same weekend when allegations of Mike Bickle’s abuses were coming to light, our minor client attended a youth retreat hosted by IHOPKC. While at the retreat, our client was victimized by another student and immediately reported the abuse to church leaders.
Tragically, the church leaders failed to take action, allowing the same student to victimize our client a second time. This incident highlights IHOPKC’s systemic failures in preventing and addressing abuse, causing profound harm to untold numbers of victims while empowering untold numbers of offenders.
What little remains of IHOP has been involved in an independent third-party investigation after founder Mike Bickle was accused of longstanding sexual abuse and predation that spanned decades, resulting in the ministry and organization imploding. While Bickle has only admitted to sexually inappropriate behaviors with two separate adults, two other women have stepped forward alleging sexual abuse when they were minors, with one saying that Bickle molested and groomed her when she was 14 and another when she was 15.
According to the lawsuit, a minor male was attending the event, which was billed as a weekend where “a weekend where teens can have fun, encounter the Lord, and connect with their friends and leaders,” when he was subjected to bullying and harassing behavior from another teenage male. The Kansas City Star lists some of the behaviors the victim was subjected to which caused emotional distress, including:
tried multiple times to enter the bathroom stall while the plaintiff was using it ▪ yelled the plaintiff’s name in a taunting tone whenever he saw the plaintiff and rubbed his hands together “while giving a disturbing smile” ▪ walked up behind the plaintiff and gently stroked his arm, back and neck, making the plaintiff feel “incredibly uncomfortable” ▪ while shirtless, laid on plaintiff’s bed next to him and refused to leave despite repeated protests ▪ announced to other minors in the dorm room that plaintiff was “having wet dreams,” which “was both untrue and extremely embarrassing and humiliating” for plaintiff ▪ stalked plaintiff around the ranch in a manner that made him “very uncomfortable” ▪ walked up behind plaintiff during a worship event and caressed his buttocks, then “proceeded to stick his finger in between Minor Plaintiff’s butt cheeks through his pants.”
The suit claims that IHOPKC was aware that the defendant had a “history of concerning sexual and abusive behavior towards other minors” but let him go on the retreat anyway. Then, when the plaintiff told IHOP leaders about what was occurring between him and the harasser, leaders allegedly failed to prevent this behavior despite promising to deal with it, resulting in it continuing the rest of the weekend.
As a result of IHOP leadership failing to act and protect the plaintiff from this minor perpetrator, the plaintiff has “suffered and will continue to suffer significant diagnosable injuries and damages including, but not limited to emotional distress, pain and suffering, economic damages, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of his personal sense of security, and other psychological and emotional injuries.”
The lawsuit is seeking a trial by jury and unspecified monetary damages.
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