By Chris Echegarry
Tennessean
August 6, 2008
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080806/NEWS03/808060465/1017/news01
Statute of limitations has expired
Three Tennessee women have dropped their sexual abuse lawsuits against Christian Gospel Temple in rural Robertson County because the statute of limitations to file a civil lawsuit has expired.
The women, all former church members, say they were sexually abused as children when the nondenominational church was still in Southern California. A fourth woman, who lives in California, filed the civil suit within the statute of limitations in March and her case is still pending.
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| Jennifer Meier-Beta said, “We want victims to come forward.” |
The women claim there were rapes, molestations and cover-ups in the congregation that includes several generations of family members.
On Tuesday, Jennifer Meier-Beta, who is a member of Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, and the other two women who dropped the lawsuits were in front of the Metro Courthouse to draw attention to sexual abuse.
"We don't want victims who see this to be discouraged," Meier-Beta, of Robertson County, said. "We want victims to come forward. We want them to know they have options. They have support."
The women who filed the sexual abuse suits say when they were children in California one of the former pastors and other congregants sexually abused them.
Women say pastor knew
The women claimed the church had a rigid doctrine based on obedience and perfection. The women say Christian Gospel Temple never took any action when years ago the abuse was reported to the pastor who died in 2006. The women also insist the current church leader, the Rev. Steve Farmer, did not address their complaints about abuse within the church.
Efforts to reach Farmer were unsuccessful.
Because it takes years for victims of sexual abuse to talk about what happened, the statute of limitations is extended until the victim's 26th birthday or within three years of the discovery of the injury, according to the women's California lawyer.
"It was going to be an uphill battle with the statute," attorney Joseph George said. "And we weighed the emotional and the monetary cost so we decided to forego the civil suit. I did feel duty bound to go after this goofy outfit."
Jennifer Meier-Beta and her husband, Paul Beta, are suing the church for slander and libel, alleging in their lawsuit that a church member gave malicious information to the media after the woman filed her initial lawsuit.
In a timeline sent to the media, representatives of the Christian Gospel Church contend that church leaders took all the necessary steps when abuse allegations surfaced. The pastor drafted a policy requiring members to report abuse to authorities.
The church, with about 30 families, relocated in the early 1990s from Southern California to Middle Tennessee. They no longer wanted to stay in Chino, saying the area had become congested and dangerous.
The church now has 320 members.
Contact Chris Echegaray at 615-664-2144 or cechegaray@tennessean.com.
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