Editors’ note: This article contains graphic details of an alleged sexual assault.
One of Michael Tait’s alleged victims of sexual assault is actively pursuing criminal charges against the former Newsboys frontman through the Brentwood Police Department in Tennessee, where a preliminary investigation is underway.
Shawn Davis, who alleges Tait raped him in 2003 after drugging him, told People he is helping to build a legal case against the 59-year-old Christian music star and believes “there are many more victims.”
“We’re trying to head this and do everything we can in our power to take him down,” Davis said. “Ultimately, in the end, the goal is to see him go to prison. We need every single victim possible to come forward. They deserve to know that they’re not the only ones, and they deserve to tell their story.”
Davis is one of several people who have publicly accused Tait of sexual assault in recent months. Randall Crawford and Jason Jones, who both knew Tait during his peak with DC Talk in the 1990s, allege Tait drugged and assaulted them in 2000 and 1999, respectively.
The allegations surfaced in reports from The Guardian and The Roys Report earlier this year, months after Tait abruptly left Newsboys in January.
In June, Tait issued a statement titled “My Confession,” admitting to “unwanted sensual” touching of men over two decades, as well as alcohol and cocaine abuse, but disputing some details of the allegations. He said he spent six weeks at a treatment center in Utah.
Crawford, who befriended Tait in 1989, said the musician often made unwanted advances, including trying to kiss him and insisting on sharing a bed. In January 2000, Crawford said, Tait invited him over for drinks and music, poured him whiskey, and he blacked out. He alleged waking up to find Tait sexually assaulting him.
“I have no proof that he drugged me, but I took a drink and I was out,” he told People. “I blacked out. I came to, and he had me on the counter, on the right side by his refrigerator, and he had my pants pulled down to my ankles, where he crawled between my legs. He had me propped up and he’s licking my anus. I was like, ‘Dude, what are you doing?’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, oh, Crawford.’ And he started wiping his mouth and gets out from under my legs. It was around football season, and the Colts were my favorite team. He was like, ‘Hey, you think the Colts are going to do something next year?'”
“It was so traumatic. It did something to me spiritually, mentally and physically,” Crawford said. “This is for the future generation. This is for those that are scared to speak up. I want more victims to come forward. I want Michael to find true repentance and remorse.”
Jones, the then-manager of Evanescence, said Tait encouraged him to sleep in his bed after a night of drinking. He alleged waking up multiple times to Tait on top of him before losing consciousness. Jones said he told band member Ben Moody about the incident, after which Moody called Tait. Jones said he was fired soon after. Moody denied to The Guardian that Jones was fired for speaking out.
Both men said Tait minimized the harm in his public statement. Jones called it “hogwash,” while Crawford called it a “weak confession”: “‘I did do some unwanted touching.’ No, you raped people,” he alleged.
Other allegations include a woman who told The Roys Report she believes she was drugged while on tour with the Newsboys in 2014, alleging Tate watched as a Newsboys lighting technician raped her — a claim the technician denied.
Two men alleged that Tait fondled them, and another claimed he massaged his anus without consent. The Guardian reported that six men have accused Tait of sexual assault.
After the allegations became public, Newsboys issued a statement saying they were “horrified, heartbroken, and angry.”
“We are devastated even by the implications,” the band’s current lineup wrote on Instagram. “In many ways, we feel as if we and our families have been deceived for the last fifteen years.”
Newsboys were dropped by their record label, Capitol Christian Music Group, in the wake of the allegations. Meanwhile, Christian radio networks like K-Love have pulled Newsboys and DC Talk music from their rotations.
“[We] have rested Newsboys and DC Talk from our separate Decades’ streams online as we watch, pray and try to understand the situation better,” a K-LOVE spokesperson told The Christian Post.
Crawford told People he’s channeled his experiences into a song, “Rebuild,” recorded with his wife, Desiree Fox. A teaser trailer for a possible documentary about the allegations was posted to YouTube last month, featuring Davis’s story.
