Women Sue International Churches of Christ for Concealing Alleged Abuse

A series of lawsuits have been filed by 20 women in Superior Court in Los Angeles, California, against the International Churches of Christ (ICOC), alleging the women were victims of sexual abuse and that the ministry facilitated and actively concealed the alleged abuse.

In December 2022, five of the women filed a similar federal lawsuit claiming ICOC had perpetrated a “systemic scheme of abuse” that included the sexual abuse of children as young as 3 years old and financial abuse of its members. That lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice in July 2023.

At the same time, five women — Darleen Diaz, Bernice Perez, Desiree Perez, Ashley Ruiz, and Jane Roe 8 — filed a lawsuit in the California state court system, saying, “This case arises from an ongoing and systemic scheme of abuse that shocks the conscience from its appallingly epic proportions. The ICOC and its affiliate churches have created a money-making enterprise through its psychological manipulation, tight control, and hierarchical ‘discipleship’ structure. That same structure fostered an environment fertile for sexual abuse.”

It adds that sexual predators had “unfettered” access to abuse women and children without accountability.

Other similar lawsuits were filed by Salud Gonzalez and Joana Diaz in July 2023, by Jane Roes 1, 2, and 3 in August 2023, by Jane Roes 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and Alyssia Phillips in October 2023, by Andrea Sanchez in July 2024, and by Jane Roes 11 and 12 in October 2024.

The lawsuits include claims for several sexual offenses, such as assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring and supervision, negligence, and failure to report suspected child abuse. The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages along with attorney’s fees.

According to the court filings, in 1979 Kip McKean founded the Boston Movement as a breakaway from the traditional Church of Christ. That movement became the ICOC with over 700 churches in 150 countries. During his time leading ICOC, McKean allegedly downplayed a pattern of abuse by Chuck Lucas, another founder of the movement who was forced to leave due to “deviant behavior.”

In 2006, McKean was forced out of the ICOC and created the International Christian Church (ICC), which, as of 2022, had 104 affiliate churches. The lawsuit argues that the “discipleship hierarchy” of these groups “served as the mechanism of control and coercion frequently exerted over their members” and “swiftly suppressing the few members who have spoken up over the last four decades.”

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