10 News
May 12, 2010
http://www.10news.com/news/23524171/detail.html
The fathers of two girls suing a local Presbyterian church said their daughters were taken advantage of at the very place where they should have been safe.
In the lawsuit, attorney Irwin Zalkin claimed some of the sexual encounters between former Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church worker Gregory Starkey and the girls occurred on church grounds. The suit also said the church's lead pastor, Dr. Bruce Humphrey, knew of the incidents but failed to act.
In a press conference held in Del Mar Tuesday, the two fathers said Humphrey never acknowledged the inappropriate sexual abuse their daughters, who are now adults, fell victim to at the hands of Starkey in 2007. Starkey, at the time, was working with the church's youth program.
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"The church leadership has had ample opportunity to do the right thing, but our cries for accountability have so far been met with silence," said one father.
The other father said, "It's extremely disturbing to learn that the leadership of [the] RBCPC was aware of his prior acts of childhood sexual abuse. It allowed him to continue to work with unfettered access to prey on young girls."
According to court documents, Starkey pleaded guilty in 2009 to sexually molesting one of the 15-year-old girls. As a result, he was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
In regard to the other 15-year-old girl, the suit claimed Starkey "bombarded Jane Doe 1 with e-mails and suggestive remarks and that if left alone with her, he would not be able to resist molesting her."
Zalkin said Humphrey knew what Starkey was doing all along, but failed to act or help the families in any way.
"He has never once offered to provide counseling or help. Instead, he has deferred the matter to his insurance companies and his lawyers," said Zalkin.
"For this to come at us … it's unfortunate for all of us. You can imagine members are calling and wondering what we're doing, so we're responding as quickly as possible," said executive pastor Rev. Neal Nybo.
Nybo told 10News Humphrey was unable to respond to the lawsuit because he is currently out of the country.
"Bruce left on Sunday for his mission trip he's had planned for a year and this hit on Monday. I'm sure if he'd have known this was coming he'd have canceled his trip," said Nybo.
The law firm suing the church as successfully represented high-profile clergy abuse cases across the U.S.
The suit is seeking unspecified damages.
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