The Bible Chapel advertises its special-needs ministry as “a place where you can attend church services without worry.”
The Bible Chapel in McMurray, Pennsylvania / Photo via ANDREOZZI + FOOTE Sexual Abuse Lawyers
It also boasts that all its staff and volunteers are “rigorously screened, cleared, and trained.”
But one family claims the nondenominational megachurch, located in the McMurray suburb of Pittsburgh, negligently enabled a known sexual predator to abuse their 13-year-old son, who has Down syndrome.
A June statement from attorneys representing the family says that on Jan. 5, the victim was assaulted in Bible Chapel’s sanctuary during a youth group event. The alleged perpetrator, Daniel Gould, is an adult on the autism spectrum. Both individuals were participants in the special-needs ministry.
“The abuse lasted more than seven minutes and ended only after other children who witnessed the assault alerted youth group leaders. During that entire time, the abuser, the victim, and the other children had no adult supervision,” the statement claims. “Bible Chapel didn’t tell the child’s father about the abuse until he arrived around 8:30 p.m. to pick up his son.”
According to the lawsuit, Gould was supposed to be supervised by his father at all times because of previous bad behavior. Allegedly, one of those prior incidents was a sexual assault of another minor at the church. Attorneys claim Bible Chapel was also aware that Gould had been banned from attending a previous church due to “similar misconduct.”
However, when the latest incident occurred, Gould’s father was not present.
The entire assault was captured on surveillance video, but police declined to file criminal charges, “stating that both individuals involved were special needs,” the attorneys’ statement said.
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In addition to negligence, the family is suing Bible Chapel Ministries—the parent organization that operates multiple church campuses—for violating Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law, which stipulates reporting requirements.
“On January 6, 2025, the victim’s parents contacted Pastor [Brad] Sommerfeldt to confirm mandatory reporters affiliated with the church had notified authorities, but no report was filed until on or around January 7, when the victim’s mother and trauma therapist separately reported the incident to ChildLine,” the statement said. “The lawsuit alleges that Bible Chapel failed to remove the alleged abuser, inform the congregation of the abuse, or alert law enforcement or ChildLine.”
Bible Chapel responded to the accusations with a brief statement:
“Earlier this year, a student with special needs engaged in inappropriate behavior with another student with special needs during Student Ministry. Upon noticing the behavior, the students were immediately separated, families were notified, and the matter was reported to Childline/Child Protective Services and local authorities. The student who initiated the behavior was also suspended indefinitely from all youth activities. Authorities have since completed their investigation and affirmed that we responded appropriately.
“We have, and will continue to, handle the incident in a manner consistent with our values, providing our full cooperation and care for all involved. While litigation is underway, we cannot share further details, but we remain committed to God’s Word to serve all involved.”
Making Churches Safer
MinistryWatch recently interviewed psychologies and trauma expert Diane Langberg, whose book, “When the Church Harms God’s People,” addresses how Christian communities often prioritize their institutions over the victims of sexual abuse, and how the church can do better.
“These huge churches with these huge numbers of people are considered clearly God’s blessing—when in fact, there can be terrible things going on in those situations,” Langberg said on the MinistryWatch podcast. “What I see a great deal of is the twisting of scripture. So when somebody’s been sexually abused or something, scripture is attested to make it not really true, it didn’t happen, or if it did, it was your fault, or all kinds of things that are lies and only increase the burden.”
However, as institutions have faced increased legal and social pressure to address sexual abuse, more Christian ministries have begun adopting rigorous child protection policies.
Lifeway Research recommends abuse prevention guidelines, including background checks for all leaders and anyone with access to minors, and never allowing a child to be alone with just one adult. It also recommends MinistrySafe, a consulting service founded by civil trial attorneys to help churches protect children from sexual abuse. The organization offers legal services, staff training, and tailored policies and procedures.
Last year, amid the Southern Baptist Convention’s ongoing efforts at abuse prevention reform, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina spotlighted recommendations from childhood evangelism and discipleship consultant Cheryl Markland.
Markland echoed the importance of a “two adult rule” and advocated “clear sightlines into every gathering/teaching space.” However, she warned that good policies, by themselves, are insufficient if they lack teeth. A church that looks good on paper can still be ripe for abuse.
“Churches tend to have a culture of ‘niceness’ and trust of leadership, which makes it easier for abusers to navigate finding victims,” Markland said. “Lack of oversight and enforcement of policies is an open gate to abuse. Boundary testing is a classic ruse that abusers use to check the willingness of organizations to enforce policies before progressing with grooming behaviors. Any system for protecting minors is only as good as its oversight and enforcement.”
While background checks are critical, Markland noted that many abusers have no criminal record. Thus, reference checks and in-person interviews should also be required of anyone seeking to serve with minors.
EDITOR’S NOTE: MinistryWatch exists to help donors become more effective stewards of the resources God has entrusted to them. So, 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. Donors who are supporting these ministries need to know this information. Ministry leaders and others can learn lessons from these stories. Victims feel supported. To read more about why and how we report these stories, read “Why MinistryWatch Reports On Sex Crimes.”
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