Assemblies of God national office named in another Oregon child sex abuse lawsuit

After settling a lawsuit last year for an undisclosed sum, the Springfield-based national office of the Assemblies of God is again being sued in Oregon over child sex abuse allegations.

Six men sued the General Council and other church entities in February, claiming they were sexually abused in the 1980s by two volunteers in the Assemblies of God's Boy Scouts-like Royal Rangers program in Oregon.

A similar lawsuit was filed in 2016, and a financial settlement was reached in that case in October, according to the plaintiffs' Portland-based attorney Gilion Dumas.

Dumas declined to say how much money was paid by the Assemblies of God in the first lawsuit.

A spokesman for the Assemblies of God in Springfield declined to comment Friday, instead referring the News-Leader to attorney John Kaempf, who is representing the General Council.

"This matter will be litigated in an Oregon court," Kaempf said. "The General Council of the Assemblies of God will not try the case in the media."

In the February lawsuit, six men claim they were sexually abused by Royal Rangers volunteers Ralph Gantt and Todd Clark in the 1980s when the plaintiffs were boys in the program.

The allegations include rape and molestation during sleepovers.

The plaintiffs are arguing the Assemblies of God leadership essentially ignored reports of abuse and "acted with malice or a reckless and outrageous indifference to a highly unreasonable risk of harm and with a conscious indifference to the health, safety and welfare" of the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit says the plaintiffs suffered psychological injuries, loss of religious faith and shortened life expectancy as a result of the abuse.

The defendants in the February lawsuit are First Assembly of God of Albany (Oregon), Assemblies of God Oregon District and the General Council of the Assemblies of God — the Springfield-based office that leads the Pentecostal denomination.

As for the national office in Springfield, Dumas said since the General Council takes credit for the good work done by some Royal Rangers volunteers, it should also take responsibility when bad volunteers hurt children.

Dumas said the 2016 lawsuit is believed to be the first time the national office was unable to have itself removed as a defendant in a sex abuse case involving youth leaders.

In the most recent lawsuit, the plaintiffs are asking for $42 million in compensatory damages.

Dumas explained that in Oregon, plaintiffs must ask for a specific dollar amount to set the maximum that a jury can award.

Royal Rangers is a youth program run by Assemblies of God churches. The program's mission, according to its website, "is to evangelize, equip and empower the next generation of Christlike men and lifelong servant leaders."

Dumas said both Gantt and Clark served time in prison for child sex abuse convictions.