Fort Mill church claims religious freedom bars lawsuit over former volunteer’s sex abuse
A Fort Mill church and its leaders are arguing about religious freedom in response to a civil lawsuit over a volunteer’s sex assaults against children.
The families of three children sexually abused by Morningstar Fellowship Church volunteer Erickson Lee sued Lee, the church, CEO Rick Joyner and others in August and September. Lee is serving a nine year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in September. He was a police officer in Cornelius, N.C and a church youth group leader for three years before York County deputies arrested him in 2023 for sex assaults on teen boys, giving them alcohol and showing them pornography.
Lawyers for Morningstar last week filed documents saying legal claims against the church and its leaders may be barred by the legal separation of church and state in what it calls “ecclesiastical doctrine.”
Constitutional guarantees about religion being free from government intervention and legal precedent show courts are prevented from engaging in “resolving disputes as to religious law, principle, doctrine, discipline, custom, or administration,” the church’s lawyers said in legal filings Oct. 24.
Victims’ lawyer: Oversight of children is fair legal game
Randy Hood, lawyer for the victims, told The Herald he will oppose Morningstar’s legal challenge to keep the church and its leaders out of the lawsuit. The issue is not religious autonomy, but accountability for oversight and monitoring of those who care for children, Hood said.
Churches are not different from organizations such as schools and athletic teams when children are victims, Hood said.
The evaluation of a mentor’s hiring may be “ecclesiastical in nature,” but training, monitoring and the abuse of minors is secular and requires the court to examine allegations, Hood wrote in court documents.
Lawsuits allege cover-up
Three lawsuits have been filed on behalf of individual victims. They allege negligence and conspiracy. The church allegedly did not provide supervision and monitoring for Lee before some at the church tried to cover the abuse up, the suits say.
In court filings last week, church lawyers asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuits.
Morningstar and Joyner also have repeatedly denied the lawsuit claims, including of any cover-up, in both court documents and written releases to the media after the suit was filed.
The church and its leaders also deny not having policies in place about how interaction with children should be handled to prevent abuse, the church’s lawyers said in court filings.
What happens now?
The lawsuits are seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the victims’ emotional anguish and distress and the alleged “outrageous” conduct of the defendants.
A York County judge will likely have to hear arguments from lawyers on both side about whether Morningstar and its leaders are barred from being sued over the abuse. The judge also will decide on the church’s motion to dismiss the case.
No court dates have been set.
This story was originally published October 31, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
