Sex Abuse by Clergy and Other Institutions Should Face Judgment

When federal agents arrested two self-proclaimed church leaders in August, they described an elaborate scheme of sexual abuse by clergy that was cloaked in religion and built on trust and manipulation.

David E. Taylor and Michelle Brannon are now accused of using their ministry, Kingdom of God Global Church, which operated in Texas, Florida, Michigan and Missouri, to run a multimillion-dollar forced labor operation. The organization also served as a front for money laundering and fraudulent donations.

Prosecutors say the pair used physical and psychological abuse to coerce followers to work long hours, isolate them from their families and divert millions of dollars to fund lavish lifestyles.

The case is a warning about what happens when unchecked authority, blind faith and institutional neglect collide, raising questions about how institutions should be held accountable when they fail to protect the people who trust them most.

Did you or a loved one suffer sex abuse as a child? Know your rights.

Contact our Sexual Assault Legal Team.

Examples of Sex Abuse By Clergy

Sex abuse by clergy is not confined to one denomination or era, but rather is a global, systemic issue that continues to unfold:

• The Catholic Church: Thousands of cases of sex abuse in the church have been documented worldwide. Reports from the United States, France, Germany, the Philippines, Chile, Australia and Ireland have revealed that church leaders often transferred accused priests rather than remove them, allowing abuse of children to continue.

• The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC): In 2022, an independent investigation found that SBC leaders had ignored and stonewalled survivors for decades, maintaining a secret list of more than 700 accused pastors and church workers. Many survivors say their complaints were dismissed or suppressed to protect the church’s image.

• Jehovah’s Witnesses: Court documents and investigations have shown that the organization’s internal policies discouraged members from reporting sexual abuse to law enforcement, keeping allegations within church tribunals that favored accused elders over victims.

• Other faiths and ministries: Evangelical and non-denominational ministries, including some megachurches, have faced similar scandals involving claims that charismatic leaders exploited followers or used spiritual manipulation to commit sexual assault.

Clergy Abuse Lawyers Hold Institutions Accountable 

Across the United States, survivors of sex abuse by clergy are finding justice through the courts with the help of dedicated clergy abuse lawyers who specialize in exposing institutional wrongdoing.

Clergy abuse lawyers play a vital role in these cases, not only by representing survivors but by uncovering the internal policies and decisions that enabled abuse to continue. Through discovery and litigation, they reveal the documents, correspondence and testimony that show how institutions failed in their duty to protect children and church members.

Catholic Church Lawsuits & Sex Abuse By Clergy

The Catholic Church has been at the center of some of the most high-profile lawsuits involving sex abuse by clergy. These lawsuits and settlements illustrate both the scale of abuse and the ways institutions have been held accountable.

Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel clients welcomed a landmark $880 million settlement in 2024 that resolved more than 1,300 sex abuse lawsuits filed by individuals who were victimized by priests and other adults within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The Catholic Church sexual abuse settlement marked the largest single payout by any archdiocese in the United States.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans recently agreed to put about $180 million into a trust for more than 500 survivors as part of its bankruptcy process as part of a Catholic Church sexual abuse settlement to resolve many claims of clergy sexual abuse.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York reached a $323 million settlement in 2024 to resolve a wave of abuse claims by more than 523 victims.

After emerging from bankruptcy, the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, approved a $31 million settlement fund for survivors of sexual abuse. The diocese faced 60 sexual abuse lawsuits, largely regarding allegations of sex abuse of dozens of boys at the Mount Saint John School in the 1990s.

How We Help Sex Abuse Victims 

Our national sexual abuse lawyers work one-on-one with survivors, offering a direct, personal level of care and discretion. We use our decades of experience battling big organizations to fight on behalf of survivors, aggressively taking on those responsible for causing pain and suffering. If you are a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, we can help.