BROWNSBURG (IN)
Indianapolis Star [Indianapolis, IN]
March 24, 2026
By Kristine Phillips
Denis Roy, a former senior pastor at Brownsburg Vineyard Church, committed clergy sexual abuse or misconduct against multiple women in two states over the past two decades, according to an investigation commissioned by the church’s parent organization.
The probe also found that leaders and elders from multiple churches, many of whom were Roy’s friends and mentors, had varying degrees of knowledge about his behavior. Yet, the investigation found, they ignored red flags and allowed Roy to remain in leadership positions.
Clergy sexual abuse is generally thought of as an exploitation of children, but it also happens to adults. Yet, most churches don’t have policies that cover adults, including the elderly and other vulnerable individuals, who could be victims of sexual, spiritual or psychological abuse, said Mark Sloan, who has spent the last 15 years training churches, schools and other Christian ministries in abuse prevention and best practices.
We talked to Sloan about what churches can do to address and prevent adult clergy sexual abuse. Here’s what he said:
A cultural change
“This is where it starts,” said Sloan, director of safeguarding at GRACE, an organization that trains, equips, educates and investigates churches. “We need a culture… in which leaders engage the whole community in upholding standards of safety and respect for anyone.”
Abusers are almost always someone who is trusted in the community. They groom not just their potential victims, but also the entire community. “There’s a dynamic of deception and manipulation, which makes it difficult to spot or stop,” Sloan said.
Preventing and addressing clergy sexual abuse is challenging unless church leaders are committed to promoting a culture of safe and healthy behavior among everyone. “The hard truth is leaders who would abuse their power in some form have a vested interest in not fostering that culture,” Sloan said.
Education, training and clear standards of conduct
This involves educating church communities about the dynamics of adult clergy sexual abuse.
“It’s not an affair. It’s abuse of power,” Sloan said, “because that pastor holds a formal spiritual authority over that person. Most people just haven’t thought or haven’t been trained in those dynamics.”
There should also be clear standards of conduct, especially when power disparity is at play, and clear definitions of common types of abuse, including emotional and spiritual, Sloan said. Boundaries that make clear what’s appropriate and what isn’t should be well defined. For example, Sloan notes, a pastor does not need to be counseling people in his home.
Creating a safety team
Sloan often recommends that churches create a team of men and women to whom people can report concerns. This team, he said, should include not just church staff, but also lay people with relevant professional experience, such as social workers, trauma therapists and law enforcement officers.
“I think you have a much better opportunity to hold people accountable when a leader is abusing power if you have a team like that that’s very diverse, that is well respected,” Sloan said.
Sloan said having a safety team would also make it harder for a singular leader to dismiss allegations or concerns.
Clear protocols when abuses are reported
Churches should put in place best practices and protocols to follow when abuses do get reported.
First, Sloan said, when abuses are reported, alleged abusers should not be involved in making decisions on what happens next.
Second, when people are credibly accused, they should be immediately placed on leave.
Third, if the victim is a child or vulnerable adult, churches must report the alleged abuse to relevant external agencies, such as the Indiana Department of Child Services and Adult Protective Services.
And fourth, seek independent consultation or investigation into the alleged abuse, preferably by an outside team of experts. Too often, church leaders investigate their own, Sloan said, and this is “usually a disaster.”
This is important because church leaders lack expertise in investigating abuses, and often, they themselves have been groomed into believing abusers’ minimization of their conduct.
“They’re in the worst possible position to investigate potential abuses of power for that very reason,” Sloan said.
Finally, when someone is found to have abused his or her power, there needs to be real consequences, Sloan said.
“Pastors who abuse power, in our view, should not be pastors anymore,” he said.