Colleyville Police have closed an investigation into child sexual abuse allegations associated with the founding family of Christian network Daystar Television Network, according to social media posts made by Daystar and the parents of the alleged victim.
No charges were filed after the department in the year-and-a-half investigation found insufficient evidence, Colleyville Police Sgt. Dara Nelson said in an email to KERA News.
“The victim has not made an outcry and detectives obtained no evidence of a crime during the investigation,” Nelson said. “The case was presented to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office, and it was returned due to insufficient evidence. The case is closed with no charges filed.”
Daystar is a religious network based in Bedford founded by Joni and Marcus Lamb in 1993. It’s broadcast globally and includes programming from high-profile pastors like Kenneth Copeland and T.D. Jakes.
The child sex abuse accusations came to light when Jonathan Lamb – Joni and Marcus Lamb’s son -- and his wife, Suzy told The Roys Report last November their daughter claimed she was sexually abused by a male relative in 2020. Joni Lamb publicly denied those allegations.
In a post on X Wednesday, the organization said the original police report was filed several years ago and alleged an unidentified classmate had sexually abused the child before another Lamb family member was accused last November of abusing the child.
Daystar said it fully cooperated with the investigation, and the alleged abuser voluntarily agreed to be interviewed by police and passed two polygraph tests.
“The absence of any evidence of any wrongdoing by [the alleged abuser] is underscored with the closing of this investigation, which further confirms there was never any mishandling – as falsely argued by some on social media – on the part of Daystar and its leadership,” the network’s statement read. “As it has said from day one, Daystar Television Network takes all allegations of sexual misconduct very seriously.”
Those allegations came amid Jonathan Lamb announcing last year he was no longer working for Daystar, although he and his mother gave completely different reasons for his departure.
Joni Lamb said in a video her son was fired after a 15-month review of his performance and “his refusal to take any steps to satisfy a detailed performance improvement plan put in place.”
But Jonathan Lamb told The Roys Report he believed he was removed from the network’s board and from his role as vice president in April 2023 and later put on a performance improvement plan because he refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Suzy Lamb made her own post on X Wednesday following the case’s closure, saying she believes the case will reopen once new evidence comes to light.
“When a case has no new evidence, the police dept will close it as a formality UNTIL new evidence OR the victim speaks up,” the post read. “Most children don’t speak until they are adults so this process can take years- we already knew all of this. When our child is ready to speak- she will and the case will be wide open again.”
Because there is no statute of limitations for sexual assault of a child in Texas, Colleyville Police said the case could be reopened if any new evidence emerges.
Penelope Rivera is KERA’s breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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