West Lafayette, Indiana, Parents Sue Reformed Presbyterian Pastor, Church and Synod Over Alleged Abuse by Pastor’s Son

The parents of an underage boy in Indiana are suing a pastor, his church and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America in civil court, alleging that the defendants neglected to protect their son from sexual abuse. The parents claim that the pastor’s son was the perpetrator of the alleged abuse and that the church and the Synod knew about his recurring tendencies to molest children.

The complaint was filed in a Tippecanoe County court in early December. It names Pastor Jared Olivetti, his wife, Lisa, Immanuel Reformed Presbyterian Church, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. The suit identifies the alleged abuser as Olivetti’s son, who is also a minor, and refers to him only by initials in the complaint. According to the lawsuit, the abuser’s identity was kept secret before the filing, including from Immanuel’s congregation, where Olivetti was pastor.

The suit says the victim was often invited to the Olivetti home next door and identifies that house as the setting for much of the alleged abuse. The victim believes the abuse began in 2015, when he was five years old, and continued through mid-2020, after he turned 10. The parents discovered the abuse in September 2020 after noticing a change in their son, who, the complaint said, “was becoming more withdrawn, unhappy, and quiet.” In the suit, the parents say they notified Lisa Olivetti about the assaults, and that she admitted it was not the first time the abuser had assaulted another child.

In December 2021, IndyStar reported that Jared Olivetti and Immanuel’s elder board knew about the alleged abuse for four months before telling the congregation, and that Olivetti reportedly tried to downplay the incidents and manipulate the church’s response. Under Indiana law, youths are considered delinquent rather than convicted of charges that would be felonies for adults. In July 2021, the abuser was found delinquent on what would be seven felony counts of child molestation and was confined to a residential facility.

The lawsuit claims that Jared Olivetti was informed multiple times about his son’s behavior before reporting it to Immanuel. The church then conducted an investigation that Olivetti moderated. Afterward, according to the suit, Olivetti and Immanuel put in place a safety precaution that the abuser would not be around other children without a monitor. The congregation was not told until September 2020, when a letter stating that sexual abuse had occurred was shared. The letter did not identify the abuser.

In 2022, the Synod defrocked Olivetti after investigating his potential manipulation, negligence and downplaying of abuse claims against “a relative” at Immanuel Church. The lawsuit’s allegations against the Synod concern its own response, and the complaint has not been adjudicated in the source material.

The suit claims that the Olivettis, Immanuel and the Synod failed to create or implement policies and procedures to protect children exposed to the abuser, even after learning he had the propensity to abuse minors. The parents say that, because of that failure, they allowed their son to play unsupervised with the abuser (Mark 9:42).

Source: Read the original report