A Vancouver woman is suing New Heights Church of Southwest Washington, alleging she was sexually abused and exploited by a pastor in the late 1990s and early 2000s and that the church failed to protect her.
Seattle-based law firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala filed the complaint Feb. 6 in Clark County Superior Court on behalf of the plaintiff.
The lawsuit alleges the plaintiff was groomed by a pastor at the New Heights Church at 7913 N.E. 58th Ave., Vancouver, for continuous sexual abuse beginning when she was 13 and continuing until just after her 18th birthday.
From 1998 to 2005, the pastor used his position of trust and authority to groom and sexually abuse the plaintiff, the lawsuit alleges, and the church failed to take reasonable steps to protect her, despite knowing about the abuse.
New Heights Church did not respond to The Columbian’s request for comment. But Lead Pastor Matt Edmonds sent a statement, shared by a community member with The Columbian, to the church’s congregation Wednesday evening.
“We are heavy-hearted to learn of these allegations and take them seriously. A portion of our leadership team, led by the Board of Elders, will work alongside legal counsel to respond appropriately — both to the litigation and in consideration of the responsibility we carry for members of New Heights Church today,” Edmonds said in the statement.
The statement says that the pastor who is the subject of the allegations previously resigned from the church.
According to the lawsuit, the sexual abuse happened on property owned, operated and controlled by New Heights Church, and happened during activities that were sponsored or directly as a result of activities by New Heights Church.
The church knew or should have known that the pastor was likely to sexually abuse children, the lawsuit states, because prior to and during the sexual abuse of the plaintiff, it had received reports of the pastor’s inappropriate and sexually abusive behavior.
In 2002 or 2003, the plaintiff’s father raised concerns with a lead pastor regarding the alleged inappropriate behavior. In response, the lead pastor reportedly said he would “deal with it.” However, the abuse continued, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiff suffered severe emotional and psychological distress and personal physical injury as a result of New Heights Church’s wrongful conduct, the lawsuit alleges.
The suit seeks unspecified damages to be determined at trial.
