NEW SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST LITTLE ROCK CHURCH

By Jessica Arbour
arbourlaw.com
April 29, 2015

http://www.arbourlaw.com/

SUIT ALLEGES THAT PASTOR SEXUALLY EXPLOITED A VULNERABLE FEMALE PARISHIONER BY PROMISING HER GOD’S BLESSING AND FAVOR

WHAT Jessica Arbour, a nationally-recognized attorney for survivors of sexual abuse, announces the filing new lawsuit filed in Pulaski County Court alleges that APOSTLE LAWRENCE E. BRAGGS, the Senior Pastor at AWARENESS CENTER INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES, sexually abused and exploited a female congregant from approximately 2007 until 2012.

The suit alleges that BRAGGS learned sensitive information about Jennifer Richardson, the plaintiff, during the course of spiritual counseling and instruction, which he then used to manipulate the congregant into a sexual relationship. After learning that she was raised by her own minister father to believe that obedience to God was the supreme virtue, Braggs told her that God had shown him that her place was to help him “go to God” through sexual activity. The suit claims that Braggs engaged the plaintiff in sexual contact at various locations around the Little Rock area, including the church, located at 900 S. Pine St., in Little Rock, and at his home, which was at one time owned by the church, and which was recently lost after a complicated foreclosure process, according to online reports.

The Complaint also states that when Plaintiff attempted to end the sexual relationship in mid-2012, Braggs, his family, and other congregates engaged in an ongoing campaign to threaten and harass Plaintiff and her family, if they reported the relationship to police. Sexual exploitation of a congregant by a member of the clergy is classified as third degree criminal sexual conduct under Arkansas law. The plaintiff is a 33 year old resident of the Little Rock area. She is married with 2 young children. Richardson v. Awareness Center International Ministry, Inc., et al. is now pending in Pulaski County Court.