Former Pastor Accused of Abuse; Church Denies Responsibility
LOS ANGELES – A former pastor from a Riverside megachurch is facing serious accusations of sexually abusing and trafficking children at a shelter he ran in Bucharest, Romania. Two Romanian men have filed lawsuits in a California U.S. District Court, alleging years of abuse.
The lawsuits name Paul Havsgaard, a former pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship, accusing him of abusing children at the shelter. The lawsuits also target Greg Laurie, the church’s founder and senior pastor, and other church leaders, claiming they failed to stop the abuse.
The plaintiffs claim Havsgaard lured vulnerable children with promises of food, shelter, and education. Their lawyer states they suffer from emotional distress due to the alleged abuse.
Harvest Christian Fellowship has responded with a statement calling the lawsuit misguided, claiming it is an attempt at financial extortion. They assert that the lawsuit wrongly targets the church and Pastor Laurie, instead of focusing on the alleged abuser.
The lawsuits allege the church was negligent, claiming Pastor Laurie and other leaders ignored warning signs and reports of potential abuse. It is claimed that the church continued to financially support Havsgaard’s work in Romania.
The church acknowledges providing some financial support to Havsgaard’s mission, as they do for many missionaries, but strongly denies the majority of the allegations, calling them false and slanderous. The church claims they reported the allegations to law enforcement but have been met with a lack of cooperation from the plaintiffs and their lawyer.
The plaintiffs describe horrific conditions at the shelter, alleging sexual assault and other forms of abuse.
The lawyer representing the plaintiffs anticipates filing additional lawsuits on behalf of others who claim they were abused at the shelter. He says the alleged victims are struggling with poverty and seek justice and recognition of their suffering.
