A lawsuit filed by six women in Craighead County Circuit Court accuses Refuge Church in Jonesboro, along with regional and national leaders of the Assemblies of God, of dismissing reports of Waller’s abuses — enabling him to groom, molest, and secretly film girls for 15 years. The abuse finally ended in 2015 when Waller’s wife went to police after finding images of naked children on his computer.
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. More than a decade before police found dozens of videos of naked children on the computer of longtime children’s pastor Tony Waller , girls at his Assemblies of God church in Arkansas repeatedly warned adults about what was happening behind closed doors, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
The abuse finally ended in 2015, when Waller’s wife went to police after finding images of naked children on his computer. A year later, Waller pleaded guilty to raping two girls and was sentenced to life in prison.
Stephanie Davis, who says her family went to a senior pastor after Waller drugged and secretly recorded her naked around age 12, filed the lawsuit to hold church leaders accountable and force the Assemblies of God to adopt stricter policies to protect children. The General Council of the Assemblies of God, the denomination’s U.S. governing body, said it didn’t learn of allegations against Waller until 2015 and implemented enhanced child safety policies, including background checks, mandatory reporting, and security cameras.
Refuge Church, formerly known as Jonesboro First Assembly of God, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Mike Glover, the former longtime senior pastor of Refuge Church, is named as a defendant in the lawsuit. He hired Waller to serve as children’s pastor at Jonesboro First Assembly in 1999 and began to receive troubling reports about Waller’s conduct within a year.
Jonesboro police and elementary school officials opened an investigation into Waller’s behavior around an 11-year-old girl whom he’d met through a church ministry, according to a police report reviewed by NBC News and cited in the lawsuit
Assemblies Of God Tony Waller Sexual Abuse Refuge Church Jonesboro Child Protection Mandatory Reporting Background Checks Security Cameras
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