For Immediate Release_Seventh Day Adventist Conference named in sex abuse lawsuit
EAST BAY AREA SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CONFERENCE, HIT WITH NEW ALLEGATIONS IN CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE LAWSUIT
For More Information:
Kelly Clark, Esq.: 503-306-0224
Lisa A. Sapcoe, Esq.: 510-433-1830
CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT CASE NO. C-09-02215
October 1, 2009
Martinez, Cal—The Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy, formerly known as the Pleasant Hill Junior Academy, an elementary, middle and high school, and the Northern California Conference of the Seventh Day Adventists, are the targets of new allegations filed today in a lawsuit arising out of sexual abuse, in the mid‑1990s, of a female student by Andrew McPherson, then a teacher at the Adventist school. Two years later, after a transfer from Pleasant Hill, McPherson was convicted for multiple crimes related to sexual abuse of students at another Adventist school in Reno, Nevada, but he was never charged or held accountable for his actions in Pleasant Hill.
“We contend that all of this could and should have been avoided,” said Kelly Clark, an attorney from
The lawsuit contends that one Andrew McPherson, who was a teacher at Pleasant Hill Academy when the plaintiff, our client, who is referred to as Jane Doe for privacy reasons, was in seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, sexually and physically abused and harassed her with explicit sexual comments, as well as grabbing, stroking, fondling, and French kissing her on multiple occasions. According to the lawsuit the abuse culminated in a violent episode in May 1996, in which McPherson became angry with plaintiff for refusing his authority, pushed her into a chair, while throttling her neck with his hands until he heard someone approaching.
According to Lisa Sapcoe, an
The lawsuit further contends that McPherson – who was the son of a prominent Adventist official in the Idaho Conference – was transferred after the throttling attack to another Seventh Day Adventist school in
According to Clark, who has represented over 200 individuals abused as children by adults such as Catholic priests, Mormon and Adventist church officials, clergy of numerous other denominations, Boy Scout leaders, teachers, coaches, and other adults in institutions of trust, “Our client is now a young mother struggling to put all this behind her, and has suffered similar emotional consequences as we see in many adult survivors of childhood abuse: significant issues concerning trust, physical and emotional intimacy, hyper-vigilance with regard to her own children, significant anger and clinical depression, and an extraordinary damage to her religious faith. No child or young woman should be abused by a trusted adult – especially in a setting of near total trust, a religious school.”
The suit seeks $5 million in general damages, plus another $250,000 in economic damages, primarily expected and incurred counseling and mental health expenses. According to the attorneys, the case would normally come to trial in about a year.
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Official Lawsuit Complaint
Summary of Background Facts
Official Statement of Jane Doe
[1] Clark is not admitted to practice in
Posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009, in Announcements, Our Work In the News | 7 Comments »
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February 28th, 2010 at 2:49 am
My name is Kevin and i was a student of phja and a victom of Andrew McPherson`s physical and mental abuse. I do not know if this case has gone to trial yet, but if you need someone to testify to the abuse to help the above case i would love the opportunity to help the victim secure her judgement if it has not already been awarded to her.
March 15th, 2010 at 5:08 am
Hi folks, i think ur right man wih ur point of few, but think about it, what would be in a few years? Will it be the same? Regards
March 18th, 2010 at 11:37 am
The churches and organizations with children need education programs for children, parents, and those who work in an environment of children. Adults need to listen to and support their children in suspected sexual, physical, and spiritual abuse situations.
I am an abuse survivor, and after much psychiatric therapy the memories and sorrow of years ago are still present.
See advocate site: http://www.advocateweb.org
March 19th, 2010 at 10:14 am
I hope that she is awarded as much money as can be allowed. This whole thing should have been prevented long befor it got to the end of what happend. The main person responsible othe then Andrew McPherson was the Principal Deneise White. She over looked sooooooooooooooooo much and swept so much under the rug. I know I came to her on multiple occasions reguarding my run-ins with Mcpherson and she would always say ” thank you for making me aware of this I will look into it” or are you sure that it happend exactly like that and pretend to be all concerned and act like she was going to look into and
“correct the teacher for the way he was acting”. But in the end NOTHING was done. I say Deneise White should be held responsible aswell and it is a shame that she can not be charged for covering up things that would have prevented him being transfered to another school where he abused 2 more students in reno.
April 19th, 2010 at 8:54 am
Great Post, I was wondering did you hear that Dade County , Florida has decided interference with free speech by pulling ads about Islam. This is outrageous and a huge waste of tax payer money will be pent paying legal costs to defend this practice.
April 28th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
So Eduardo, what does that have to do with this case? no body was talking about Islam on this page. I don`t think this is the place to rant about Islam or free speech or high cost of tax payers money. I think your statement would be better placed on an islam site and not a web page about sex abuse.