Fort Mill church claimed religious freedom in sex abuse lawsuits. SC judge says no.
A South Carolina judge has denied MorningStar Fellowship Church’s claims for religious freedom immunity in lawsuits over sexual abuse of boys by a former church volunteer.
That means three lawsuits will go forward against the Fort Mill church and some of its officials after volunteer Erickson Lee sexually assaulted boys in a Morningstar youth group. Convicted last year for his crimes, Lee gave them alcohol and showed them pornography.
Morningstar claimed in court and in documents the separation of church and state under the Constitution — called ecclesiastical privilege or doctrine — bars government intervention into freedom of religion.
But Judge Martha Rivers disagreed, saying in Thursday’s order sex assaults are not ecclesiastical doctrine and MorningStar has no religious freedom immunity privilege.
“South Carolina courts do not inherently reject jurisdiction over church-related claims and will not extend First Amendment protection to secular activities that happen to take place under a church’s roof,” Rivers’ order states. “The Court finds the ecclesiastical doctrine does not bar claims alleging Defendants facilitated and overlooked sexual assaults of a teenage boy.”
MorningStar is a large non-denominational church in York County near the North Carolina state line. It has hundreds of members, runs MorningStar University and a K-12 school, according to its website.
Lee, a police officer in Cornelius, N.C. at the time of the crimes from 2020 to 2023, was found guilty of sex assaults on four boys last year. He is serving nine years in prison after pleading guilty to sex crimes, assault and battery, disseminating obscene material, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Around the time Lee plead guilty, The families sued MorningStar, church founder and CEO Rick Joyner, Lee, and others last year. The suits seek compensatory and punitive damages for negligence, conspiracy, emotional anguish and distress from alleged “outrageous” conduct of the defendants.
The lawsuits are separate from the criminal case that was solely against Lee.
The Herald was the first to report Lee’s conviction, the lawsuits by the victims against MorningStar, and the church’s claims of immunity.
Victims’ lawyer: Case moves forward
Rock Hill lawyer Randy Hood, who along with Chad McGowan, represent all three victim families, has said in court documents and in a court hearing MorningStar and some leaders were negligent about Lee’s abuse. Then they conspired to cover it up.
The ruling means the victims suing MorningStar can now seek information from the church and its officials, Hood said.
“We trust the judicial process and the law established in South Carolina to allow us to move forward with this serious case affecting many,” Hood said. “We look forward to the discovery process where we get to put people under oath and obtain testimony on a number of disturbing issues.”
MorningStar denies wrongdoing, cover up
MorningStar and Joyner have denied any negligence, wrongdoing or a cover-up in court documents and statements to The Herald since the lawsuits were filed in August and September of 2024. They had asked the lawsuits be dismissed.
Joyner also denied the lawsuit allegations in a sermon to parishioners on Sept. 1 that was broadcast on the ministry’s public YouTube channel.
The church told The Herald in a statement on Sept. 16, 2024:
“When the ministry first got information that Officer Lee may have provided alcohol to these young men, he was immediately relieved as a volunteer. At that time, we were unaware of any sexual misconduct by Officer Lee. Several weeks later, as soon as allegations surfaced of sexual misconduct perpetrated by Officer Lee, we notified law enforcement immediately. To be clear, any notion that MorningStar knew about or “covered up” any misconduct by Officer Lee or any sexual criminal conduct by anyone associated with the ministry is false.”
It is unclear if MorningStar will appeal Judge Rivers’ ruling.
Efforts to reach Don Brown and Matthew Gerrald, the two lawyers who represented the church and its leaders in court in December and in the lawsuits, were unsuccessful by phone and email Friday.
