A Kansas Christian school is facing a lawsuit alleging it failed to investigate or report sexual abuse involving a teacher and coach — even after administrators received a photograph of alleged “inappropriate physical contact” with an 8-year-old student.
Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas / Photo via Google photos @Sunrise Christian Academy
The child, identified as E.A.T., filed the lawsuit Aug. 27 in Sedgwick County District Court through her mother, Ariel Troutman. The suit names Sunrise Christian Academy Inc. and David Yordy, a physical education teacher and coach who, the complaint says, worked at the school for about 19 years.
According to the petition, Yordy used his role to groom the child and repeatedly sought opportunities to be alone with her. The lawsuit alleges he proposed “playdates” outside school, offered to read to her alone in her bedroom, and suggested placing a stone over the trap door of her treehouse so they could have privacy.
The complaint also says that during a December 2025 P.E. class, Yordy placed the girl in a straddle position on his lap, facing him. A photograph of that incident was reportedly given to Sunrise administrators. The suit says the school conducted no meaningful investigation into Yordy’s conduct toward E.A.T. or other children.
Yordy has not been criminally charged, and the allegations in the civil lawsuit have not been proven in court. MinistryWatch contacted the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office for an update on the investigation and whether it has made a charging decision but had not received a response by publication time.
The petition says Sunrise administrators and employees were mandatory reporters under Kansas law, K.S.A. 38-2223, which requires school personnel to report suspected child abuse to the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) or law enforcement.
According to the petition, a Sunrise administrator told Troutman on or about Jan. 26 that DCF had not contacted the school and described that absence of contact as “a good thing.” The family subsequently reported the allegations to the Bel Aire Police Department, which referred the matter to the Sedgwick County Exploited and Missing Children’s Unit.
Sunrise Christian Academy declined to answer MinistryWatch’s questions about when administrators first became aware of concerns involving Yordy, what steps the school took after those concerns were raised, and whether it reported the matter to law enforcement or DCF.
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Instead, Sam Morris, the school’s associate superintendent and high school principal, referred MinistryWatch to a statement previously sent to parents.
“We want to make the Sunrise community aware that SCA [Sunrise Christian Academy] has been named in a civil lawsuit,” the statement said. “As this is an ongoing legal matter, we cannot comment publicly on the specifics of the case. We are working with legal counsel to follow the appropriate steps throughout this process.”
Sunrise also did not identify any specific allegations in the lawsuit or recent news coverage that it considered inaccurate or missing, despite MinistryWatch’s invitation to provide additional context or corrections.
The lawsuit further claims that before the conduct involving E.A.T., Sunrise had received “reports, complaints, and information” concerning child safety, including suspected abuse or misconduct by employees and students, and had “repeatedly failed to investigate, remediate, report, or take reasonable action in response.” The suit alleges the school concealed or minimized incidents of abuse and misconduct to protect its reputation and enrollment.
Sunrise is accused of negligence and negligent hiring, retention, supervision, and training. The lawsuit alleges the school knew or should have known of risks associated with Yordy and that its policies for supervising employees and responding to suspected abuse were inadequate. Yordy is separately accused of battery.
Sunrise Christian Academy is a sizable nonprofit Christian school. According to the MinistryWatch database, it reported approximately $6 million in revenue and $6.2 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending July 2025, with nearly $5 million in net assets. Most of its revenue came from program services rather than charitable contributions. MinistryWatch gives the school a 5-Star Financial Efficiency Rating but a D for financial transparency.
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