Two More Lawsuits Filed Against MorningStar by Alleged Sexual Abuse Victims

Lawsuits allege leaders at MorningStar did not take appropriate precautions to protect children.

Two more lawsuits have been filed against MorningStar Fellowship Church in Fort Mill, S.C., and its leaders for not reporting sexual abuse allegations to law enforcement.

Rick Joyner at the Sept. 15 service at Morningstar Fellowship Church in Fort Mill, S.C. / Video screenshot

A previous lawsuit was filed on August 7 against MorningStar and its leaders alleging that Erickson Lee used his access to children through the church’s “Young Special Forces” program to groom and eventually abuse children in the church.

Lee was arrested in May on charges of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and on September 5 entered into an offered plea deal to serve nine years in prison, according to Randy Hood, attorney for the plaintiffs.

Now two more alleged victims have come forward to seek accountability for their abuse from Morningstar Fellowship Church and its leaders.

All of the lawsuits have been filed anonymously by John Doe #1, John Doe #2, and John Doe #3 who are now over age 18, but were 13 years old when the alleged abuse began.

During a Sept. 16 press conference, Hood said, “We have determined that there are people who had the ability to prevent this from happening, namely the executive leadership named in these lawsuits.”

Leaders named in the lawsuit include Rick Joyner, David Yarns, and Erickson Lee’s father, Douglas Lee, who was the former head of security for the church.

“This is about accountability and responsibility,” Hood said. “Churches have to create policies and procedures to protect children. They need to monitor and supervise people who are over children.”

Because of previous allegations of sexual assault at MorningStar in the early 2000s, the lawsuits claim that Joyner, Yarns, and Lee knew of the risks and had a duty and opportunity to protect vulnerable children from being exploited and abused while participating in the youth programs at MorningStar.

Instead, the lawsuit asserts, the leadership ignored “signs of provision of alcohol and pornography to minors and signs of sexual exploitation or abuse of minors by church staff, members, or volunteers.”

The lawsuits anticipate the church may claim their liability is limited under the South Carolina Charitable Immunity Act, but the plaintiffs note the caps may not apply if a jury finds there was gross negligence or recklessness by the defendants.

MorningStar may assert ecclesiastical privilege under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit preemptively argues that “[w]hether someone negligently supervised/monitored a church employee who molested a child during the preaching of a sermon involves neutral principles of law subject to civil court jurisdiction.” It is not a matter of church doctrine covered by ecclesiastical privilege, the lawsuit says.

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The claims against MorningStar and its leadership are for negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, civil conspiracy, and the intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress.

“In churches, there seems to be a delayed response [to instances of sexual abuse.] The tenet of forgiveness that is a bedrock of the Christian church is misused,” Hood said. “Allegations get swept under the rug. This was a four-year journey of predatory conduct and nothing was done.”

After the first lawsuit was filed, MorningStar Ministries President Chris Reed resigned his post because he “didn’t want to be leading the ministry in a case against four victims who were abused as children by a volunteer.”

Following his resignation, allegations emerged about Reed’s own inappropriate sexual behavior with a woman who is not his wife.

MorningStar announced that its founder, Rick Joyner, would return as CEO and president. Joyner is a leading proponent of the New Apostolic Reformation.

Main photo: Rick Joyner at the Sept. 15 service at Morningstar Fellowship Church in Fort Mill, S.C. / Video screenshot

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