WACO (TX)
Ministry Watch [Matthews NC]
May 13, 2026
By Kim Roberts
Another John Doe files abuse lawsuit against Assemblies of God.
Daniel Savala, the accused sexual abuser associated with the Chi Alpha college ministries of the Assemblies of God denomination, has pleaded guilty to one count of continuous trafficking of persons.
Savala, 70, entered a plea agreement for the felony charge and will be sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole, according to NBC News reporting.
Under Texas Penal Code §20A.03, continuous trafficking of persons is a first degree felony and punishable by 25 to 99 years in prison.
In 2023, both Savala and former Baylor University Chi Alpha campus minister Chris Hundl were indicted in McLennan County, Texas, for indecency with a child and trafficking of persons.
The indictment stated that over the course of two years, from May 2021 through April 2023, Hundl and Savala engaged in the continuous trafficking of underage persons at least two times, and also engaged in indecency with the same victims. Savala’s charges were enhanced because of his previous conviction in Alaska of sexual abuse of a minor.
Savala pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in 2012 in Alaska, but later allegedly served with five Chi Alpha Ministries college chapters. He was arrested in June by the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Task Force.
Chi Alpha, a network of Christian ministries sponsored by the Assemblies of God has a presence on more than 300 college campuses. It has been the subject of scrutiny since several leaders associated with the ministry have been implicated in sexual abuse scandals.
Some of Savala’s victims gave statements in court before he was sentenced.
“You’re not the ‘holiest man alive,’” said Joseph Cleveland, who accused Savala of grooming and sexually abusing him for a decade beginning in 2004 when he was 15, according to NBC. “You’re not a ‘guru.’ You’re not even a man of God. You’re a charlatan.”
Cleveland is also choosing to forgive Savala. “Not because you deserve it,” he said. “If it was up to me, I wouldn’t do it. But I do know that God is better than you. God is better than the church that harbored you.”
The General Council of the Assemblies of God said in a statement to NBC that it was pleased to hear of Savala’s conviction.
“The Assemblies of God stands in strong opposition to the teachings and practices he followed,” the statement said.
Ronald Bloomingkemper has created a website, XA and the Lions Den, to give survivors of sexual and spiritual abuse in Chi Alpha a place to commune.
About Savala’s guilty plea and sentence Bloomingkemper said, “Thirty years in prison for a [70]-year-old man is not just a sentence. It’s a final verdict on a lifetime of grooming, manipulation, and stolen innocence. Daniel’s conviction was not about revenge. It was about justice.”
Bloomingkemper also expressed concern about the people who “looked the other way” or “covered up” Savala’s abuse, saying they “lacked the discernment and courage to stop it while it was happening.”
He also praised the survivors who spoke up. “For countless survivors, this was the first time in years, sometimes decades, they heard the system finally say, ‘We see you. What happened to you mattered.’”
The Assemblies of God is part of an ongoing lawsuit in Harris County, Texas, filed by two plaintiffs who claim they were abused by Daniel Savala while he was involved in Chi Alpha’s Chapter at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.
Ongoing discovery is still happening as part of that lawsuit.
Another lawsuit was filed at the end of April by John Doe 3, a resident of Bexar County, Texas. It claims the plaintiff was a minor when he was abused by Savala and that Jonathan Bryce, a credential minister with the Assemblies of God, allegedly knew about and participated in the abuse.
He is suing the General Council of the Assemblies of God, the South Texas District, and Chi Alpha for negligence and for vicarious liability for the actions of some of its leaders.
Doe is seeking damages for physical pain, mental anguish, lost wages, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, attorney’s fees, and exemplary damages.