Tulsa's Victory Christian Suspends Employees during Sex Abuse Investigation

NewsOn6.com
September 15, 2012

http://www.news9.com/story/19549080/tulsa-church-responds-to-questions-about-reporting-of-rape-allegations

Court records show employees at south Tulsa's Victory Christian Center waited two weeks before reporting allegations that a man had raped a 13-year-old girl.

Mug shot of Chris Denman, 20.

A Tulsa church responded Friday to questions raised about their handling of allegations of sexual abuse on their campus.

Court records show employees at south Tulsa's Victory Christian Center waited two weeks before reporting allegations that a man had raped a 13-year-old girl.

Victory Christian's statement said that the church has a written policy about dealing with allegations of abuse and that the employees involved did not follow it.

"The employees who we found to be aware of the allegation of rape have been suspended while we complete our internal investigation and assess our final disciplinary actions," the statement reads.

An arrest report for Chris Denman, 19, states that the girl told Victory Christian employees on August 15 that she was raped by Denman in a stairwell on the campus. Those employees notified the girl's parents and police on August 30.

Officers arrested Denman last week, and he's charged with four crimes, including rape and child molestation.

Denman appeared in court Friday and entered a plea of not guilty.

9/13/2012 Related Story: Tulsa Church Questioned About Handling Of Sexual Assault Allegations

The ministry also said they will be asking the Department of Human Services to conduct a full audit of their policy for responding to allegations of child abuse and will conduct an in-depth review of their procedures.

They said their current policy is to contact DHS and notify leadership within the church within one hour of an allegation being made.

Failing to report suspected child abuse, in Oklahoma law, is a misdemeanor.

Victory Christian said they have cooperated with the police and will continue to do so, as the investigation continues.

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