The Assemblies of God seeks to shield its top leader from being deposed in a court case related to sexual abuse in a popular AOG campus ministry.
The General Council of the Assemblies of God says Doug Clay, general superintendent, has no relevant knowledge of sexual abuse that happened in Chi Alpha’s chapter at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. BNG previously reported on allegations of abuse by Daniel Savala and others not only at Sam Houston but also at Baylor University.
The escalating scandal led to the 2023 resignation of Scott Martin, former national leader of Chi Alpha. The denomination also seeks to quash the deposition of Martin and others.
The AOG is being sued by two plaintiffs who claim they were abused by Savala, who was present at several chapters of Chi Alpha in Texas. Denominational leaders contend Clay, in his role as general superintendent, was far removed from the day-to-day operations of campus ministries.
“This deposition request is simply made for the purpose of harassment,” the court filing says.
Ministry Watch reports the plaintiffs in the case have asked the court to impose extreme sanctions against the AOG for failure to comply with discovery requests. The court has not yet ruled on the request for extreme sanctions or the defendant’s motions to quash discovery.