Three women are suing a Texas megachurch for failing to act after they were sexually abused by their pastor, the Miami Herald reported.
The lawsuit accuses Houston megachurch Champion Forest Baptist Church of allowing former youth pastor Timothy Jeltema to be released after pleading guilty to child sex crimes. The three women allege that they were sexually abused by the youth pastor when they were teenagers. According to the Texas lawsuit, the pastor stole their childhood and shattered their faith, the Miami Herald reported. report. The women are seeking $1 million in damages from the church, Jeltema and the Southern Baptist Convention.
Three women sue Houston megachurch for failing to protect them during sexual abuse https://t.co/adUNZ9y7La
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Jeltema, who was a youth pastor at the time, abused the women when they were 14, 15 and 16 years old. According to the Miami Herald, the lawsuit alleges that Jeltema, at the urging of his church, used his position to inappropriately approach girls he was mentoring. Jeltema said he was first hired as an intern in 2009 when he was 18 years old, then became a full-time youth pastor, serving primarily young girls in middle school and high school. (Related: Mormon leader accused of covering up rampant sexual abuse and incest within church)
In 2018, the church fired Jeltema after he confessed to having an inappropriate relationship with an 18-year-old member. Jeltema was charged with online abetting a minor and additional child sex offenses in 2018 and 2021 after several victims came forward, as detailed in the lawsuit and his criminal court records. It was done. He entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to five years in prison in 2022. Jeltema is currently serving a prison sentence after his guilty plea to child sex crimes, ABC 13 report.
MIAMI – FEBRUARY 2: A judge’s gavel rests on a courtroom desk at the newly opened Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum on February 3, 2009 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Radle/Getty Images)
“I’m always so anxious. I feel like I can’t talk to anyone. I feel like everyone is looking at me like, ‘What an idiot.’ I feel like my religion has been stripped away from me,” the 15-year-old boy said during the sentencing.
“This man has known me since I was nine years old. He watched me grow into a beautiful young woman like all the others, and he used his position in the church to prey on us. , made us feel lonely, scared, pathetic, useless, and worthless because of what he did to us. ” said another minor victim.
The church also expressed regret over the case that is currently being judged.
“We are deeply saddened by this heartbreaking situation. For more than 16 years, our church has implemented national background checks on all staff and volunteers who work with children and youth up to the age of 18. “Champion Forest Baptist Church,” according to ABC13.
