A missions agency that has faced allegations of historical abuse within its ranks is now being sued by an alleged victim.
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Ethnos360, formerly New Tribes Mission, is being sued by a minor female, identified in the lawsuit as A.W., and her parents George Grant Whidden and Tracey Whidden in the 18th Judicial Circuit Court in Seminole County, Florida. The plaintiffs reside in Florida, and the Ethnos360 headquarters is located there.
Grant and Tracey Whidden were training to be missionaries with Ethnos360, the lawsuit claims. They lived and worked at the Ethnos360 missionary training campus near Camdenton, Missouri, for 15 years starting in 2004.
A.W. and her two sisters lived at the campus with their parents.
Starting in 2016, another missionary family, Joey and Jennifer Fluitt, moved onto the Ethnos360 campus with their daughter, L.F., the court documents state.
The plaintiffs claim that L.F. proceeded to act aggressively and inappropriately toward other children, including the Whidden children.
At one point, according to the lawsuit, L.F. pulled down A.W.’s tank top and groped her chest. At another time, L.F. and A.W. were pretending to act out midwifery based on a television show, and L.F. fondled A.W.’s genital area.
In February 2018, L.F. allegedly pulled down A.W.’s pants and penetrated her with a stick. Similar instances happened twice more, the lawsuit claims.
When A.W. objected to the behavior, L.F. allegedly threatened A.W. and her family.
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In 2019, the Whiddens left the Missouri campus for Grant Whidden to work at the Ethnos360 home office in Florida. Not long after, A.W. began to exhibit effects of the abuse she had suffered. She finally revealed the alleged abuse to her parents in 2021.
The Whiddens say they reported the abuse and assaults to Ethnos360’s Director of Personnel and the Director of Child Safety Brian Coombs.
Coombs reported the abuse to the Missouri Department of Social Services, and the Whiddens reported it to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
A.W. was interviewed by the Children’s Advocacy Center in Florida, which verified “findings of child-on-child sexual abuse.”
Even though the Florida department communicated its findings to the Missouri Department of Social Services, according to the lawsuit, Missouri never conducted “a substantive investigation.”
Coombs told the Whiddens he had put a “safety plan” in place to protect others from L.F.’s abuse, but still allowed the Fluitt family to go on a three-month partnership development trip on which L.F. was allegedly left alone with other children.
According to the lawsuit, the Missouri Department of Social Services closed its investigation in July 2021. Its “Summary and Conclusion” determined that “no concerns” were found because the incidents “happened several years ago” and because “the children do not have access to each other anymore” since A.W. now lived in Florida.
Coombs also conducted his own investigation during the summer of 2021. In October, Coombs met with the Whiddens to review the investigation’s findings.
The investigation concluded that “inappropriate sexual behavior between peers” rather than sexual abuse had occurred. The findings “repeatedly emphasized that the two girls were similar in age, even though Defendant Ethnos’ own definition of child-on-child sexual abuse says that it occurs ‘when actions fall beyond normal sexual curiosity,’” the lawsuit states.
The investigation’s conclusions omitted L.F.’s threats and forcible sexual penetration.
The Whiddens sought further investigation and a correction to the findings, but Coombs reportedly declined and allegedly told the Whiddens to “leave this before the Lord, trusting that He will bring things in the light as He desires in each individual’s life to move them towards healing and growth.”
Furthermore, the lawsuit says the Fluitts are still full-time members of the Ethnos360 team and L.F. still has access to other children.
Meanwhile, A.W. suffers “damages, including but not limited to pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, suicide attempts, eating disorder, humiliation, embarrassment, and loss of capacity of the enjoyment of life,” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit asserts multiple claims against Ethnos360, including negligence, negligent training and supervision, fraudulent inducement, and loss of consortium and companionship between the Whiddens and their child.
Ethnos360 did not reply to a request for comment before the time of publication.
In the MinistryWatch database, Ethnos360 earns a 2-star financial efficiency rating, a D transparency grade, and a donor confidence of only 32, meaning donors should withhold giving.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Why does MinistryWatch report on sex crimes? These stories are tough to read and sometimes even tougher to report, but we think they are vital to our mission to bring transparency, accountability, and credibility to the evangelical church. To read more about why and how we report these stories, read “Why MinistryWatch Reports On Sex Crimes.” You can find that story here.
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