The VIllage Church Hurt a Victim and Her Family With Their Knuckleheaded, Self-Serving Statement

“There is a much greater skepticism toward the memories of those who claim abuse than toward the memories of those who deny it.” ― Sue Campbell.


TWW has written about the lawsuit against The Village Church. Here is a synopsis from a post.

As many of you know, The Village Church has been sued for $1 million dollars due to sexual molestation of a young student at one of their church camps.

The Village Church sued for more than $1 million over alleged abuse at church camp was written by Emily MacFarlan Miller of Religion News Service.

A young woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a youth minister at a church camp is suing the Village Church for more than $1 million for gross negligence and the emotional distress the alleged abuse has caused her.

According to the lawsuit obtained by Religion News Service, the Village Church’s former associate children’s minister, Matthew Tonne, allegedly sexually violated the woman, identified only as Jane Doe One, when she was an 11-year-old girl at a 2012 program run by the Dallas-area megachurch at the Mount Lebanon Kids Camp in Texas.

An Evangelical Megachurch Is Sued for More Than $1 Million in Child Sexual Abuse Case was posted by Elizabeth Dias of the New York Times.

Chandler told his fellow Southern Baptists that Tonne, who was a family friend, was fired from the church last October because he had been repeatedly drunk in violation of church rules.

The church was unaware at the time that Tonne was accused of abuse, he said.

The victims’ parents claim they had identified Tonne as the alleged abuser before he was fired, according to the lawsuit.

The suit also details the after-effects of the alleged abuse.

“Jane Doe One’s parents saw their energetic, funny, caring child slowly become withdrawn and angry,” it says.

The woman developed an eating disorder and began to suffer from depression, nightmares, chronic insomnia and enduring suicidal ideations, according to the suit.

She told her parents about the alleged abuse last year, it says. Her parents reached out to the church and police in February 2018 and identified Tonne in May of that year.

“To this day, (church elder Josh) Patterson and Chandler have never personally reached out to Jane Doe One or her family,” the lawsuit claims.

The Village Church lawyer responds

This is a synopsis as written by me.

  • TVC/Chandler denies all allegations made by the plaintiff.
  • Defendant objects to Plaintiff’s invocation of Discovery Control Plan 3 unless and until all parties can agree upon the specific details of a Level 3 control plan or the specifics can be determined by motion to the Court pursuant to Rule 190 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. Here is a link to explain this in Texas Level 3 discovery -generally expedites trial date.
  • Defendant denies that it is liable to Plaintiff for the amount of damages claimed.
  • They wish to limit Plaintiff’s right to recover exemplary damages.
  • On the off chance that it is proven the *incident* (what the rest of us would call a rape) occurred, “defendant asserts that it is not liable for the intentional criminal acts of its employee as these acts would be outside of the course and scope of the employment.
  • So, if things don’t go well and the Plaintiff gets damages, TVC alleges that any award of exemplary or punitive damages in this action would amount to a deprivation of property without due process.
  • And, so what if a kid gets raped and experiences emotional pain? Awarding punitive or exemplary damages “is based on impermissibly vague, imprecise, and inconsistent; and therefore, that an award of exemplary or punitive damages in this civil action, and in particular any award not bearing a single digit multiplier ratio to the amount of compensatory damages, would violate the due process provisions.”
  • Oh yeah! Dismiss this case and make the plaintiff pay back the money spent by TVC on this lawsuit. “Defendant respectfully asks this Court to dismiss this suit or render judgment that Plaintiff takes nothing, assess costs against Plaintiff, and award all other relief to which Defendant is justly entitled.”

The lawsuit is settled, and TVC claims they did nothing wrong.

There was a settlement in the case, and TVC claims they did nothing wrong. What a surprise!

That seems to be a constant claim in these sorts of cases against churches. The church did “nothing wrong,” Before I left on vacation, a friend of the victim, Jane Doe, posted both the statement from TVC (Matt Chandler’s church) and the victim’s family. I think it is interesting to see the difference between the two statements.

Here is the tweet by the friend,

Here is the “We did nothing wrong” statement from The Village Church.

 


Here is the statement from Jane Doe’s mother. Carefully read what she says about the statement by TVC.

So, a settlement was made. That often means the church paid out money. Usually, NDA’s are written in such a way to prevent such statements. That’s not the case here.

  • Given my experience with TVC, I believe that the church is not telling the complete truth.
  • I believe the statement by the church was shallow and hurtful to the victim.
  • I believe the victim and her family.
  • I believe that the victim was sexually victimized.
  • I believe that TVC did not exhibit sufficient care and concern toward the victim and her family in their statement.
  • I hope the victim got a good payout from the church.

My heart goes out to the victim and her family. Given her experience, I would be inclined not to entrust any children to the care of TVC.

Comments

The VIllage Church Hurt a Victim and Her Family With Their Knuckleheaded, Self-Serving Statement — 36 Comments

  1. There is just so much hurt, disappointment, and oppression one can take… The line between reason and madness grows thinner – Rosa Parks

  2. While I hope this young woman received a HUMONGOUS payout from TVC, it will never undo the hurt and damage she experienced. My prayers go out to her.

  3. “a child in our church family was sexually assaulted by one of our staff but we owe her nothing because not bearing a single digit multiplier ratio.”–Matt Chandler
    .
    .
    “we did nothing wrong and we are not responsible because she’s probably making it all up, and we’ll pretend this is true while we pay money on account of our negligence.”–Matt Chandler
    .
    .
    how many degrees of separation between Matt Chandler and Prince Andrew?

  4. Old Timer: While I hope this young woman received a HUMONGOUS payout from TVC

    Probably as little as TVC could get by with – can’t cut into Pastor’s Private Jet Money.
    And (as usual) the Hush Money was conditional on a total Gag Order.
    You expect anything different from CHRISTIANS these days?

  5. Who puts a *copyright notice* on this kind of statement to church members?

    Is this so that they can claim copyright infringement if someone quotes them in a way they don’t like?

    Do they put copyright notices on all church communications?


    Dear brother XY,
    This is to inform you that you are fired as of. …
    Copyright 2022 The Village Church

    Members,
    You are invited to the potluck on Sunday Sept .., 2022
    Copyright 2022. The Village Church

    It boggles the mind.

  6. Headless Unicorn Guy: Probably as little as TVC could get by with – can’t cut into Pastor’s Private Jet Money.
    And (as usual) the Hush Money was conditional on a total Gag Order.
    You expect anything different from CHRISTIANS these days?

    Target goals: fortune, power, fame, popularity…….. probably in that order.

    If a few human lives are damaged or destroyed in the process…… collateral damage. Meh. You gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette.

  7. elastigirl,

    It really does beggar the mind how men like Chandler are able to lead so many people around like water buffalo with nose rings.

  8. Nancy2(aka Kevlar),

    Unfortunately, Nancy, this whole situations is saying EXACTLY what you just wrote… AND, think of all the pew peons that paid for the lawyers and any settlement…
    Yup, that is EXACTLY what I want to give my hard earned money toward…. but then, I am just a stupid pew peon, and I would not my DEAR LEADER not using his “keys” to let me into the Pearly gates..

  9. Gus: Who puts a *copyright notice* on this kind of statement to church members?

    Is this so that they can claim copyright infringement if someone quotes them in a way they don’t like?

    Do they put copyright notices on all church communications?


    Dear brother XY,
    This is to inform you that you are fired as of. …
    Copyright 2022 The Village Church

    The reason they do this is because they hope they can control the narrative. The thing is, given the newsworthiness of this, if a news organization wanted to post the entire thing, well, yeah, TVC could sue because it really does not look like “fair use” when the entire thing gets posted, but you know it’d just LOOK BAD. And it makes the whole thing even more relevant.

    Back in 2008, a 9 minute 35 second video was leaked of Tom Cruise talking about Scientology, backed by music that sounded like it was from Mission:Impossible outtakes. Well yeah, Scientology didn’t want this thing to be publicized because it really made TC sound like a loonie. So Scn made “Don’t Do It” noises. This caused it REALLY became newsworthy and yeah, a news organization decided THIS made it newsworthy and posted it. It’s still out there over 14 years later.

    Two words: Streisand effect. It’s better to let sleeping dogs lie.

  10. dee: Please don’t call people names even if they may deserve it.

    In principle, I totally agree with this practice or censorship. However, dare I mention that Jesus had a few choice words. But he never named names of individuals even as he targeted their entire cohort.

    “Names Jesus Called the Scribes and Pharisees
    1. You blind guides (Matt. 23:16). [Misleading others, every time.]

    2. You fools (Matt. 23:17). [And why would others suffer a fool? Because they are fools themselves?]

    3. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees…for you are like whited supulchres…full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness (Matt. 23:27). [Imagine the stench.]

    4. You serpents (Matt. 23:33). [Most people are not fond of snakes.]

    5. You generation of vipers (Matt. 23:33). [Vipers are the deadliest of snakes: small or short, quick, deadly, slithering out in the night.]

    6. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (Luke 11:44). [Say one thing, do another. Rules for thee but never me.]

    7. You are as graves which appear not (Luke 11:44). [Hidden traps of death.]”

    J. L. Meredith, Meredith’s Big Book of Bible Lists, (Inspirational Press, NY; 1980), p. 137

    I’m old enough to remember when Dear Abby advised troubled readers to seek out their pastor, priest, or rabbi for counsel. Seemed like reasonable advice at the time. In reality, not so. Not today, not in Jesus’ time, not in the Good Ole Days. Those were rosy-tinted lenses that Dear Abby et al wore, that needed a good cleaning for clarification with LOTS of red flags, warnings, and disclaimers.

  11. Julie Roys is covering this, too; her column includes a picture of “The Village Church”.

    It looks like a converted Supermarket or Wal-Mart; the arcade and arches across the front of the big box (and the textured concrete block construction) match those of large supermarkets and big-box stores in my area.

  12. Headless Unicorn Guy:
    Julie Roys is covering this, too; her column includes a picture of “The Village Church”.

    It looks like a converted Supermarket or Wal-Mart; the arcade and arches across the front of the big box (and the textured concrete block construction) match those of large supermarkets and big-box stores in my area.

    It used to be an Albertson’s grocery store. There was a Kroger, a Tom Thumb and an Albertsons within a half mile of the original church building. Recognizing the realities of the competitive grocery market in Texas, the church prayed for one of them to fail–not a specific one, just one of the three (story has been told tongue-in-cheek by Chandler) and was ready to bid as soon it happened. Albertsons capitulated first and the church raised well in excess of the $4 million needed in about 90 days, then converted it to a pretty functional church building.

  13. Muff Potter: It really does beggar the mind how men like Chandler are able to lead so many people around like water buffalo with nose rings.

    A touch of charisma, a gift of gab, and bag of gimmicks will swallow up the best of folks.

    “For those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up” (Isaiah 9:16)

  14. Max: Southern Baptist Convention says it’s under DOJ investigation

    No worries, the restoration pronouncements and plans for standing ovations are already being prepared. It will all be expressed under the context of a great persecution by the ungodly authorities. Southern Baptists have always been the staunchest defenders of the abused, etc…

  15. This reminds me so much of the case of my friend who was repeatedly molested by a Methodist minister at the Methodist Children’s Home in our nearest city. She was 11 at the time, too, and she knew of at least one other victim. This happened decades ago, and there was never any justice. In fact, the perp rose to local prominence in the denomination.

    My blood boiled when I read the “we did nothing wrong” line. The victim was at *their* summer camp. She was literally under their care. They were *in loco parentis.* They are responsible!

    Just like the people who ran the Methodist Children’s Home. If the kids are in your care, you are responsible!

  16. Ken F (aka Tweed): It will all be expressed under the context of a great persecution by the ungodly authorities.

    The same ones who requested that church folks adhere to pandemic recommendations for masks, hand washing, and social distancing to keep from dying. Yeah, Big Brother is always against the church.

  17. Catholic Gate-Crasher: Just like the people who ran the Methodist Children’s Home. If the kids are in your care, you are responsible!

    Ever hear of the German townfolk who swore up and down that they couldn’t smell the stench of Dachau?

  18. Ken F (aka Tweed): It will all be expressed under the context of a great persecution by the ungodly authorities. Southern Baptists have always been the staunchest defenders of the abused, etc…

    “Give them the Propaganda Numbers. Three Point Six Roentgens, not Fifteen Thousand.”

  19. Catholic Gate-Crasher: My blood boiled when I read the “we did nothing wrong” line.

    Doesn’t the Book of Proverbs mention somewhere “Wipe the lips and announce ‘I Have Not Sinned'”?

  20. DragonSlyr: Albertsons capitulated first and the church raised well in excess of the $4 million needed in about 90 days, then converted it to a pretty functional church building.

    Even the Converted Supermarket Funcitonal look is better than Polishing-the-Shaft Schaap’s inherited Mega – A WalMart-sized industrial tilt-up with a pretty little brick country church facade and steeple stuck to the middle of one tilt-up slab.

  21. Catholic Gate-Crasher,

    Sorry for what happened to your friend, in the name of Jesus, no less.

    Any denomination that has the back of predator perverts (including and especially leaders) is doing the work of the devil. They should be protecting children. God protects children. Satan, only Satan, violates children. No second chances for predators. Forgive, require re$titution, and build a wall of separation – for as long as they walk this Earth. They have tasted blood, they love the flavor, they can’t get that taste out of their mouth. If it’s a disease, then it is chronic and incurable. The answer is no access while on this Earth.