Page Suggestions: Boycott TBN, Comments, Mission, TBN News, What is going on, What to do

Suit alleges TBN covered up rape of 13-year-old

A granddaughter of Trinity Broadcasting Network founders Jan and Paul Crouch filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that she was plied with alcohol and raped by a TBN employee when she was just 13 -- and that her family covered up the incident, rather than report it to authorities, to protect TBN's reputation.

Carra Crouch, now 19, was distraught after the 2006 assault by a 30-year-old man, and told her grandmother what had happened. "Jan (Crouch) became furious and began screaming at Ms. Crouch, a thirteen year old girl, and began telling her 'it is your fault,'" according to the suit.

Carra Crouch then told John Casoria, TBN's in-house counsel and her second cousin; he became agitated and told her that he didn't believe her, it says. "He elaborated by stating he further believed she was already sexually active 'so it did not really matter' and he 'believed she may have propositioned him,' the suit alleges.

Both Jan Crouch and John Casoria are ordained ministers, and as such, are legally required to report suspected child abuse to authorities under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, the suit says. No report was made, and TBN's "deliberately covered up the incident to protect Trinity Broadcasting from negative publicity," it alleges.

Carra Crouch was not permitted to talk to the police about the incident, and was not permitted to seek the counsel of any third parties or sex abuse counselors at the time, and has suffered severe emotional distress as a result, according to the suit.

We at The Watchdog corresponded with Trinity's attorney, Colby May, about Crouch's allegations before the suit was filed.

"Trinity is stunned to learn of the latest allegations being made by Carra, coming more than six years after her initial report," May said by email. "And we have confirmed that Carra's parents are similarly just now learning of her latest accusations. If your email accurately depicts Carra' cupertino of events, be advised this is completely at odds with what she reported to her mother in 2006. Had Trinity been apprised of this then, it would have immediately reported it to authorities. Trinity categorically denies any wrong doing and will, of course, fully cooperate with law enforcement in investigating Carra's latest allegations."

May said Wednesday that the complaint has not yet been served on Trinity, but that Trinity vehemently denies the allegations and believes them to be frivolous. Details of the incident provided by Crouch, and details in the suit, are "materially different," May said, and "(m)oreover, Ms. Crouch's allegations are completely at odds with what she told her mother. These multiple versions undermine her credibility and support our position that Trinity has certainly done nothing wrong. Unfortunately, such meritless lawsuits have become commonplace in our society, and accordingly, Trinity will fully and vigorously defend itself."

This suit -- alleging sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence -- is the latest, explosive salvo in a legal battle raging among TBN family members. Carra Crouch is the younger sister of Brittany Koper, who has accused the mighty Christian broadcaster of playing fast and loose with the ministry's millions, and provided internal documents to back up her claims.

Carra Crouch's lawyer is Michael Koper, Brittany Koper's husband, who is himself the target of several TBN lawsuits claiming financial improprieties from when he worked at Trinity.

The Register does not usually identify victims of sexual assault, but Carra Crouch wants to tell her story so justice can be done, she said.

Atlanta Telethon

In the spring of 2006, Trinity held its spring fund-raising telethon at its Atlanta studios. Carra Crouch accompanied her grandmother to Georgia for the event, according to the suit. Trinity paid for Crouch's airline ticket, as well as a hotel room that she had all to herself.

The 30-year-old TBN employee, who Crouch had known for years, wound up in her room and ordered a bottle of wine from room service on Trinity's account ("Trinity Broadcasting makes a regular practice of providing alcohol to its employees during business meetings"), the suit alleges. He coerced her to drink it "in an attempt to get her intoxicated," and she did, it says. She asked him to leave her room, and he responded by giving her a glass of water to "help her feel better."

Carra Crouch drank the glass of water and passed out immediately, according to the suit. When she awoke the next morning, the man was lying next to her, there was blood on the bed sheets, and she had "severe pain and soreness in her body in places which indicated she had been molested and raped," it alleges. She locked herself in the bathroom and screamed at the man to leave her room, and returned to California that day.

That glass of water, Crouch now believes, contained a date rape drug which caused her to pass out.

Fallout

Despite whatever doubts officials may have had, Trinity soon fired the man that Carra Crouch accused of the assault, according to the suit.

Casoria, TBN's in-house attorney, fired him over the telephone, saying Trinity had gathered enough evidence to terminate him with cause, that the evidence was "most probably sufficient to bring criminal charges" against him, and that Trinity would not disclose the evidence to the police if he would not file for unemployment, worker's compensation or an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claim, the suit alleges.

"The actions and statements of the Participating Individuals were outrageous, intentional, unreasonable, and malicious. The Participating Individuals not only undertook these actions with, at the very minimum, reckless disregard of the fact that they would certainly cause Ms. Crouch to suffer severe emotional distress; the Participating Individuals undertook these actions with the intent and purpose to cause that harm to Ms. Crouch so she would not report the incident to the police or news media."