MorningStar Ministries accused of cover-up in lawsuit detailing rampant abuse of boys by ex-volunteer
A lawsuit filed against MorningStar Ministries earlier this month accuses founder Rick Joyner, along with several top officials of the organization and multiple other staff members, of gross negligence for allegedly engaging in the cover-up of multiple incidences of sexual abuse in the ministry.
A copy of the 40-page lawsuit, shared by The Roys Report, names as defendants: Joyner, MorningStar Fellowship Church, Joyner's second in command David Yarns; the former volunteer, Erickson Douglas Lee; the volunteer's father and MorningStar Fellowship Church's head of security, Douglas Lee; Erickson Douglas Lee's assistant, Chase Portello; along with unidentified defendants James Smith 1-10 (any other agents and/or employees of the ministry associated with the complaint).
"The negligent, grossly negligent, reckless, willful, or wanton acts, omissions, and liability of Defendants includes that of their agents, principals, employees, and/or servants, both directly and vicariously, pursuant to principals of non-delegable duty, corporate liability, apparent authority, agency, ostensible agency, and/or respondent superior," the lawsuit filed on behalf of one of the minor victims, John Doe #1 and his parents listed as James Roe #1 and Jane Roe #1 charges.
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Joyner responded to the lawsuit in a statement shared on X this week after MorningStar Ministries leader Chris Reed abruptly resigned Monday, citing, among other things, the sexual abuse of the minors. Joyner insisted that the church wasn't negligent in their handling of the situation, saying many "outrageous things" were alleged in the lawsuit that are "not true."
Reed initially presented his decision to resign as an act in support of the victims, but he would later reveal that he, too, preyed upon a younger woman in the ministry.
He told The Roys Report that he sexually pursued the woman in 2021, kissed her and sent her "terrible" sexual texts while he was the senior pastor of MorningStar Fellowship Church. The matter was reportedly handled quietly by the church, and he was promoted to become the leader of MorningStar Ministries about a year ago.
In his statement this week, Joyner revealed that the family of one of four teenage boys alleging the former volunteer sexually abused them had filed the lawsuit against the church. He said MorningStar Ministries is defending itself in court because "we are confident we can prove our innocence."
A release from the York County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina said they arrested 25-year-old Erickson Douglas Lee after he turned himself in to detectives on May 2, 2023. He was charged with dissemination of obscene material to a person younger than 18, assault and battery first degree, and criminal sexual conduct with a minor second and third degree.
Warrants connected to Lee's arrest cited by WSOC-TV said between December 2020 and June 2022, Lee allegedly committed a sex act with a victim younger than 16 as many as 30 times over 1.5 years.
Investigators allege that around July 22, 2022, Lee, who served as a 17-year-old victim's youth leader, hurt him through "nonconsensual touching" while the victim was intoxicated at his home. Lee also allegedly played a pornographic video for the teenager.
Warrants show that Lee did the same thing to at least three other victims younger than 18 at his home from August 2021 through January 2023.
In the lawsuit filed on behalf of John Doe #1, who is now an adult, his attorneys argue that he will likely need psychological care for the rest of his life because of the abuse he suffered.
"Plaintiff John Doe #1 has suffered immeasurable harm and will likely have to undergo psychiatric/psychological care for the remainder of his life due to actions or inactions of the Defendants. Defendants acted in dereliction of their duties to Plaintiffs by failing to prevent the foreseeable harm perpetrated by Erickson Lee onto Plaintiff John Doe #1," the lawsuit argues.
The lawsuit alleges a pattern of coverup by MorningStar Fellowship Church leaders, citing the sexual assault of two women by a MorningStar employee sometime in the 2000s.
"Both of these incidents of sexual abuse and assault were covered up by the church. In both instances, the victims were encouraged not to report these instances to law enforcement," the lawsuit alleges, pointing to a separate alleged sexual assault of a minor by a MorningStar University volunteer.
"Upon information and belief, Joyner, Yarns, and Doug Lee knew of these assaults and helped orchestrate the victims not reporting the criminal incidents to law enforcement. The actions by MorningStar, Joyner, Yarns and Doug Lee in the investigation and actions of them after each assault incident involved neutral principles of law," the lawsuit argues.
The lawsuit alleges that before Erickson Douglas Lee's sexual assault of John Doe #1 and the other minor boys, MorningStar Fellowship Church swept other sexual abuse and exploitation cases under the rug and never reported them to law enforcement.
Still, the leaders allowed Erickson Douglas Lee to lead a program called "Young Special Forces" that allowed him to spend significant time alone with "young minor males with no oversight."
The program was presented to parents and families as an opportunity for their sons to grow "physically, mentally, spiritually" by going on trips where they would be taught life skills.
"It was at this time, that the parents and Doe #1 were told that Doug Lee's son Erickson Lee would run the YSF program. The parents and Doe #1 were told that Erickson Lee was a [M]arine, was going to be a law enforcement officer and had a passion to raise up the next generation of young men," the lawsuit says.
When he was just 12, in November 2018, John Doe #1 went on his first trip with Erickson Lee leading the program. In August 2019, when he was 13, he attended another event called "overcoming fear weekend."
During the first year of getting to know Erickson Lee, the volunteer took Doe #1 to the movies with another child and played video games with him. He also took John Doe #1 and another minor to his parents' house and gave them alcohol. After a number times giving alcohol and vapes to Doe #1 and the other minor, Erickson Lee also allegedly showed them pornography.
In December 2019, Doe #1 was invited to the overnight program Hike in Gaston County, North Carolina, along with several YSF minor members.
"In less than a year, Erickson Lee had taken complete control of this YSF program with little to no training, monitoring or supervision by other church leaders and was turning it into his own private fiefdom for his own perverse enjoyment," the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit cites another adult male from the church, Ryan Shuster, who also attended the trip and brought alcohol with him.
After this trip, one of the boys told his father about the provision of alcohol and vapes by Erickson Lee, and his father pulled him from the program, according to the lawsuit. It was still unclear at this point who at the church was told about what Erickson Lee did and what action was taken by church leadership.
The following year, in September 2020, Erickson Lee took some minor boys to Camp Lejeune in Onslow County, North Carolina, but only "2nd year" students were invited to this trip. The group stayed at beach cabins which had two floors each.
Erickson Lee slept in the bedroom on the main floor with one of the minors while the other boys slept in the loft upstairs. According to the lawsuit, Erickson Lee and the minor staying in his room came up to the upstairs loft late at night and were drunk. They were also looking at porn on their phones and showing the other boys.
After Erickson Lee and the minor returned downstairs, Doe #1 and another minor from the loft heard a noise, and they went downstairs to see what was happening. Erickson Lee was in the kitchen and "obviously drunk" and "was being touchy and perverted towards the boys."
When they inquired about the minor who was sharing his room, Erickson Lee told them he was sleeping.
"The bedroom door was open, and they went in and saw that the minor child was completely naked and passed out on the bed," the lawsuit says.
"Erickson Lee then gave Doe #1 and another minor hard liquor and drank with them. Later on in this trip, Erickson Lee then forced the boys to get naked in front of him and then take a shower together. He was being very forceful, and the minor aged boys didn't feel like they had a choice or could stand up to Erickson Lee," it adds.
Two months later, in October 2020, according to the lawsuit, Doe #1 got suspended from the program after he was caught with alcohol. His parents had to sit through meetings with church officials, including Erickson Lee and his father, Doug Lee, who lectured them about the church's code of conduct. The parents had no idea at this point what was happening to their son.
In Gaston County in November 2020, Erickson Lee allegedly gave alcohol, vapes and pornography to multiple children and sexually assaulted Doe #1 when he was 14. In York County on December 31, 2020, to January 1, 2021, he allegedly did the same thing on MorningStar property and sexually assaulted Doe #1 again while he was 14. Doe #1 was sexually assaulted further several other times after that.
Doe #1 would continue getting in trouble for drinking and then forced to sit through lectures with Erickson Lee and other program leaders about his code of conduct.
In April, Doe #1 was allowed to go on another trip despite his hand being in a cast from a biking accident. According to the lawsuit, his parents were told "that Doe #1 would still be with the group and be looked out for in his condition."
That never happened, as Doe #1 was subjected to more of Erickson Lee's perversion.
"Erickson Lee took Doe #1 off by himself and kept Doe #1 with him alone, overnight. The parents were not made aware of this sleeping arrangement. Erickson Lee sexually assaulted Doe #1 while under the influence of alcohol," the lawsuit says. "There were multiple occasions over the next year where Erickson Lee provided alcohol to minor boys and then sexually assaulted and abused them (including Doe #1)."
In September 2022, Doe #1 was at the home of Erickson Lee's father with his parents where they left him overnight.
"Doug Lee saw his son Erickson Lee giving Doe #1, a minor, alcohol at this time. Doug Lee's only response to his son Erickson Lee was 'Be Careful,'" the lawsuit says. "Doug Lee did not report this behavior to anyone."
Erickson Lee would sexually assault Doe #1 at his father's house that night.
"If Doug Lee had done anything with his knowledge ... Erickson Lee's episodes of depravity with minors could have ended," the lawsuit alleges. "Instead, Doug Lee did nothing."
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