Six more men have filed federal lawsuits in the last week claiming they were sexually abused and trafficked by Paul Havsgaard, a former Harvest Christian Fellowship pastor, while living in now-defunct church-run children’s homes in Romania.
The number of filings — which also accuse the California megachurch’s founder, Greg Laurie, and missions pastor Richard Schutte of negligence in failing to prevent the abuse and covering it up for 20 years — now stands at 12.
McAllister Olivarius, the law firm representing the men, said in a September news release that they expect to file complaints on behalf of 23 former residents of the homes.
The latest complaints were filed Nov. 14, 17 and 18 on behalf of Aurelian Busca, 37; his brother Alexandru-Cristian Busca, 38; Marian Dragne, 36; Bogdan Ionescu, 35; Alexandru Badaluta, 36; and Florin Cristian Caragea, 32.
The Christian Post reached out to Harvest Christian Fellowship for comment about the additional filings, and this article will be updated if a response is received.
CP has been unable to reach Havsgaard.
In September, the firm also filed lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of Marian Barbu, 33; Mihai-Constantin Petcu, 40; Cristian Aeroaiei, 36; Constantin-Alin Nitu, 36; Razvan-Georghe Nitu, 38; and George-Adrian Vasile, 33.
The lawsuits allege that Laurie sent Havsgaard, a long-time Harvest pastor, to Romania in 1998 to run the Harvest-sponsored homes for at-risk youth in a country known to be a child-sex trafficking hub in Europe.
The alleged survivors, many of whom were living on the streets of Bucharest prior to joining the Harvest Homes, claim they were lured with McDonald’s meals and the promise of a safe place to sleep. Havsgaard is accused of repeatedly engaging in sexual and physical abuse on an “industrial scale.”
The alleged abuse has left the men with a lifetime of trauma, the suits claim. Some report developing post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, drug addiction and being functionally illiterate.
A Harvest Christian Fellowship spokesperson previously told The Christian Post that the allegations brought by the men are “serious and disturbing” and denies that the church knowingly covered up the alleged sexual abuse.
The spokesperson said that after being contacted by representatives of the alleged victims, Harvest Riverside reported the case to law enforcement and plans to cooperate with authorities in the investigation. Harvest also claimed the lawsuits could be a “form of financial extortion” and said the church expects to “vigorously defend against these claims” in the courts of law.
The spokesperson has not responded to follow-up questions from CP since their initial statement on the lawsuits. While Harvest states that they reported the allegations against Havsgaard to local authorities, the Riverside Police confirmed with CP that there are no active investigations into Havsgaard. It remains unclear where Harvest reported the allegations.
Harvest Christian Fellowship leaders are accused of failing to supervise Havsgaard while raising donations by promoting the homes as a social good in Romania.
The men claim they were groomed into a life of sadistic sexual torture and abuse for years before being forced back on the streets when the homes were quietly shuttered in 2008, four years after an investigation by Harvest Christian Fellowship officially confirmed the abuse at the insistence of concerned missionaries, according to the lawsuits.
Allegations against Havsgaard include various forms of non-consensual sexual contact, pornography consumption and trafficking of teens to third parties.
The men are now seeking damages for multiple forms of alleged negligence by the defendants in California in supervising and operating the children’s homes, intentional infliction of emotional distress, sex-trafficking and conspiracy.
Razvan-Georghe Nitu, whose suit was filed in September, claims he was sexually abused by Havsgaard on many occasions between 2000 and 2007, from the time he was 13 until he was 20 years old.
The men also allege that Laurie and Schutte kept Havsgaard in place in Romania with minimal oversight despite repeated warnings about his abuse of children. Harvest reportedly deposited $17,000 each month to Havsgaard’s personal bank account to cover expenses associated with running the homes, but did not require detailed accounts. The filings allege that Havsgaard was able to “divert funds into purchases for his sexual favorites and hush money for employees.”
Havsgaard frequently returned to Harvest Christian Fellowship in California to raise money for the homes in Romania. The plaintiffs allege he sexually assaulted the boys on many of those trips.
American missionaries concerned about reports of abuse at the Romanian homes contacted Harvest in 2004 and forced Schutte to send an inspection team, the lawsuits state.
When Schutt eventually joined the inspectors in Bucharest, he was told by a Calvary minister working in Romania that Havsgaard was a pedophile and “needs to be on that plane with you when you leave tomorrow. He doesn’t need to be another day in Romania. He is an embarrassment to every single missionary and Christian worker.”
Harvest leaders in California are accused in the filings of telling the inspection team that Havsgaard was too important to Harvest’s fundraising to remove. The church left him in place for four more years while progressively cutting its funding until 2008, when Havsgaard returned to California.
During those four years, Havsgaard allegedly continued abusing children, the lawsuits state. At the end of the ministry, Havsgaard reportedly received $200,000 in severance payments.
The filings also accuse Laurie of praising Havsgaard publicly in 2009 as “a pastor who faithfully served the Lord for many years at Harvest Christian Fellowship, the church where I pastor.” He also compared Havsgaard’s work in Romania to Moses’ leadership of the Israelites, stating that his “life demonstrates the power that just one godly person can have.”
Contact: leonardo.blair@christianpost.com Follow Leonardo Blair on Twitter: @leoblair Follow Leonardo Blair on Facebook: LeoBlairChristianPost
