Mother Sues Church for Not Reporting 6-Y-O Daughter's Claim Father Raped Her
An Oregon church is now facing a $5.2 million lawsuit from a heartbroken mother alleging officials there failed to report her 6-year-old daughter's confession that her biological father repeatedly raped her during visitation that resulted in her eventual contraction of oral and genital herpes.
The girl's mother, identified only as Anna in a KGW local news report, alleges in the lawsuit cited by Oregon Live, that at age 6 or 7, her daughter, now 12, began confiding in leaders at The Church of the Nazarene in McMinnville over a period of nearly two years that her father had been sexually abusing her.
The church failed to report the allegation to police or child protective services as required by Oregon's mandatory reporting law. They also said nothing to Anna about her daughter's claims.
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Portland attorney Randall Vogt who represents Anna, said in a statement of facts he wrote about the case that church officials mistakenly thought at first that the girl was accusing her stepfather, who worked for the church, and was well-liked. They didn't believe her.
"They essentially said, 'He's a good guy. He wouldn't do something like that,'" Vogt said.
The girl's parents divorced when she was a toddler, but she regularly visited her father over the years, according to Oregon Live. Anna told KGW that her daughter confided in church leaders about the situation because of conflicted feelings she has for her father.
"She on the one hand loves her dad, but knew he was hurting her and wanted to protect him, and yet was terrified. So I think she went to a source that wasn't in the family that wouldn't have a huge emotional response," Anna said.
Vogt said after the girl failed to get help from church officials, she eventually confided in her mother and a counselor. The counselor contacted the Oregon Department of Human Services and the girl was later diagnosed with oral and genital herpes.
The lawsuit claims a judge terminated the father's parental rights in 2013, when the girl was 9, but she has suffered psychologically from the abuse and tried more than once to kill herself.
"It's been a journey that I wouldn't wish on anyone," Anna told KGW about her daughter's ordeal.
She is now preparing for many more years of counseling and medical appointments and she wants the church to pay.
She is seeking $200,000 for her daughter's past and future medical expenses and counseling costs plus $5 million for her pain and suffering. If Anna's daughter is determined to be a "vulnerable person" because of her age, under Oregon law, the total amount being sought from the church could triple to $15.6 million, according to Oregon Live.
Anna says she chose to attend the church because she felt the church would provide support to her family but it didn't.
"We picked it because it had the presentation of the most support for the kids, youth group programs. That was really important to us," she said.
Vogt told KGW that his client's daughter would be better off today had church officials came forward.
"She would have been spared a year and a half or so of regrettable sexual contact with her biological father, and she would not have herpes today, which is incurable," he said.
As for her daughter, Anna said: "She wants the church to do what they should do and help kids when they tell you something so sacred and private and vulnerable, listen."
The church, when reached for comments, said: "We are not able to comment on pending litigation."
The girl's father was not arrested or charged in this case. The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office confirmed with KGW that a case against the father was submitted for review but they declined to prosecute and would not elaborate on the decision due to "the sensitive nature of the case."
