3 women file reports against former Highlands Pastor Les Hughey, Scottsdale police say

By Bree Burkitt
AZCentral
April 29, 2018

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale-breaking/2018/04/29/3-women-file-police-reports-against-ex-highlands-pastor-les-hughey/558523002/

A photo of Les Hughey on the Highlands Church website. The pastor is accused of sexually abusing four women while he worked as a youth pastor for a California church in the 1980s.

The Highlands Church on East Pinnacle Peak Road in North Scottsdale is nearing completition. Les Hughey, Senior Pastor, left and Mark Yule, Pastor of Adult Ministires are involved in the oversight of the project. Photo by Dave Seibert

Highlands Church Photo by Ryan Santistevan

At least three of the women whose sexual-abuse allegations led to the resignation of a prominent Scottsdale pastor last week have filed reports with police.

Les Hughey stepped down as executive pastor of Highlands Community Church on Wednesday after being accused of victimizing teenage girls at California and Arizona churches from the 1970s through 1990s.

The complaints filed with Scottsdale police last week detail incidents women say occurred during Hughey's time as a Scottsdale Bible Church youth pastor, from 1985 to 1996, according to Sgt. Ben Hoster. 

Two of the women reported that Hughey groped their breasts or genitals during full-body massages, Hoster said. The third reported that Hughey asked her for a massage but did not assault her, he said.

All three women said Hughey used his position of authority to take advantage of them.

The Arizona Republic has spoken to two of the women, as well as two others who had not filed formal complaints as of Sunday.

Scottsdale police won't be able to pursue the reports received last week directly, Hoster said.

One outlines an inappropriate situation but stops short of accusing Hughey of assault. The others involve incidents the women said happened outside of Scottsdale, such as on a mission trip to Mexico or during a Prescott retreat.

Hoster said the department would forward complaints to the appropriate jurisdictions for investigation.

"It will still move forward," he said. "It’s not like we won’t take it and say 'Too bad, forget it.'"

It's also unclear whether the reports fall within Arizona's statute of limitations.

According to state code, sex-abuse charges must be filed within seven years of the abuse being "discovered" if the victim is older than 15. Since police just learned of the allegations, it's possible that clock would start now. 

Either way, the fact that the women reported assaults decades after they say they happened will make the investigation more difficult, Hoster said.

There's no way to collect physical evidence, he said, so investigators must rely entirely on interviews.

So far, seven women have publicly accused Hughey of sexual assault or misconduct.

Hoster said police have not received formal complaints involving Hughey's time at Highlands Community Church. 

Highlands officials have said the church was not aware of the allegations against Hughey until he gave them a written statement after being contacted by the Modesto Bee. 

In the statement, Hughey said he "sinned'' during his time at First Baptist Church in Modesto, California by having "consensual relations" with college-aged staff.

Hughey has not commented on the allegations since then.

In a statement posted to their website, Highlands officials said they'd received no reports of sexual abuse by Hughey at their church.

Highlands officials said a third-party investigation will be conducted by MinistrySafe, which specializes in child sexual abuse prevention and education in religious settings.

The company is expected to identify any areas of concern and "provide guidance" if evidence of wrongdoing arises.

"We believe it is the Church’s obligation to lead in any realm related to justice for and protection of any person who has been harmed," Highlands officials said.

Officials from Scottsdale Bible Church also said they intend to investigate all allegations "using outside experts."

Both churches have asked that anyone with information contact them.

One of the victims said she is talking to others about reporting their experiences to police. The Republic is not naming her because it generally does not identify possible victims of sexual assault.

"We thought we were the only ones, too, but now we know we’re not," she said.