A North Texas family says their son was sexually assaulted by an older student during a mission trip, according to a lawsuit filed in Dallas this week.
The suit, filed by the victim’s father, says the incident occurred on a trip to San Diego in July 2022, attended by multiple eighth grade and 10th grade boys.
The suit says the alleged victim, identified only as D.R., joined other eighth grade boys in a hotel room the alleged abuser shared with other 10th grade boys on the last night of the trip, where they watched an R-rated movie. Shortly after the movie ended, the suit says he sexually abused D.R. while another student watched. The witness told the alleged victim the next morning, “no one needs to know what happened yesterday,” the suit says.
“Because D.R. did not want to get in trouble or to be shamed by the older boys, D.R. did not report the abuse,” it reads.
KERA is withholding the names of the family because the alleged victim, identified in the suit as a 16-year-old, is a minor.
First Baptist denied the allegations in an email to KERA, claiming the incident was “consensual sexual activity.”
“Immediately upon learning of the subject allegation, it was reported to the necessary applicable law enforcement agencies,” the church’s statement reads. “After extensive investigations, including interviews with eyewitnesses, each law enforcement agency indicated this was consensual sexual activity and closed any and all respective cases.”
Two months after the alleged assault, D.R. and his mother said they were called by Davin Hutchinson, associate student minister of worship to speak about, “an incident that happened on the mission trip.” Hutchinson did not give further details when the mother asked about the incident because he had “been given strict orders not to say anything,” according to court documents.
D.R. and his mother say they met with Hutchinson other church leaders, Alan Lynch and Ryland Whitehorn, at which time Hutchinson alleged the eighth-grader and four other students watched a “pornographic movie” and engaged in sexual activities during the trip.
D.R. then told the church leaders about the abuse he experienced, and Lynch told the victim’s mother he would report the abuse later that day, according to the suit. Lynch also blamed the child for what happened that night, the lawsuit says.
At the end of the meeting, Lynch said what D.R. had done was wrong and that he needed forgiveness from First Baptist, according to the suit.
When his mother called a few days later asking about her son returning to church, Lynch told her all they had were “allegations” and he had been told no force was used by the alleged abuser, the suit says, and that the church would keep the two boys separated during church events.
“From this point forward, Lynch argued with D.R. and [the mother] whenever they spoke and attempted to intimidate them and bully them into silence,” the suit reads.
D.R.'s father asked First Baptist for a copy of the church’s sex abuse policy, but Executive Pastor Ben Lovvorn told him First Baptist had no policy on reporting sex abuse of minors, according to the suit.
Prior to the San Diego trip, the suit says his mother allowed her son to go on a New Mexico church camp trip, where she received a phone call from New Mexico police about another student holding a knife to her son’s throat while threatening him.
The suit says Hutchinson and other church leaders were “taking the situation seriously” but discouraged the mother from pressing charges.
The suit also claims the church knew about the accused boy's previous history with sexually abusing another alleged victim at a First Baptist youth trip, but Lynch had convinced that victim’s mother to not report the incident to higher authorities at the church.
The family is claiming legal duty negligence, breach of that duty and damages caused by that breach, demanding a jury trial.
This suit comes as churches across North Texas face a reckoning with what some church leaders have called "moral failures," "immoral behaviors" and in some cases, sexual abuse allegations.
At least 13 pastors and church leaders have stepped down or been fired since May — some leading to arrests and criminal investigations.
The most recent is Gateway Church in Southlake, which announced it had completed its four month internal investigation against its former lead pastor Robert Morris, who was accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s.
The law firm found multiple church elders and staff knew about the alleged abuse for years and failed to look further into those claims. Four church elders have been removed from Gateway's website since its findings.
In the wake of Morris' resignation, church tithes, or donations, dropped by up to 40%, according to church elder Kenneth Fambro. The church was also hit with a lawsuit alleging misuse of those tithes, claiming the megachurch was only donating 3% of it's annual revenue instead of the 15% Morris previously stated was sent to global ministries and missions.
Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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