“This month, two Romanian men filed lawsuits in California federal court, claiming they were sexually abused as children in Romanian orphanages connected to Harvest Church. The lawsuits allege that the church and its leaders—including Greg Laurie—failed to prevent the abuse, even though they supported the programs financially. Former pastors Richard Schutte and Paul Havsgaard are also named.

The lawsuits do not claim Laurie knew about the abuse directly but argue that the church should have acted on warning signs. Harvest responded by calling the claims “sensational” and “a form of financial extortion,” saying the focus should be on the alleged abuser.

Havsgaard, who worked at Harvest for nearly 20 years, later opened ten orphanages in Romania. The lawsuits claim he abused dozens of children there, using his religious authority to cover his actions. Attorney Jan Cervenka, representing the plaintiffs, says Harvest supported Havsgaard financially but failed to oversee him.[] Church leaders were allegedly aware of problems before Havsgaard went to Romania in 1998 and again in 2004 but took no action. A 2004 internal audit reportedly found evidence of abuse, including reports from children and hotel receipts.

The law firm representing the victims plans to file 20 more lawsuits related to Romanian orphanages once run by Havsgaard. Harvest acknowledges funding these orphanages but denies responsibility for oversight, noting that the nonprofit running them was independent.”

Abuse Allegations Shake Beloved Megachurch in California

[Substack:Jessica Reed Kraus 9/27/2025]

“A former Riverside megachurch pastor has been accused of sexually abusing and trafficking children for years at a shelter he ran in Bucharest, according to lawsuits filed by two Romanian men in U.S. District Court in California.

The complaints, filed Tuesday by 33-year-old Marian Barbu and 40-year-old Mihai-Constantin Petcu, said former Harvest Christian Fellowship pastor and missionary Paul Havsgaard severely abused them and dozens of other children at the shelter over eight years. The lawsuits also name the church’s founder and senior pastor, Greg Laurie, a well-known evangelist and author, as well as other senior church leaders, saying they failed to prevent abuse.

The lawsuits accuse Havsgaard of luring struggling street kids with fast food and the promise of shelter and education. The men are “hurt, angry and still suffering from PTSD and social difficulties,” said Jef McAllister, a London-based lawyer with the law firm representing Barbu and Petcu.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Barbu and Petcu have done.

The church provided no contact for Havsgaard, and The Associated Press was unable to reach him through emails and phone numbers found via online searches. Harvest Christian Fellowship said in a statement that the allegations in the lawsuit were shocking but that Havsgaard should be the target, not the church or its famed founding pastor.

“This misplaced lawsuit wrongly targets Harvest Riverside and our pastor as a form of financial extortion,” the statement said. “It does not seek the truth nor does it seek to stop the purported wrongdoer.”

The complaints allege negligence on the church’s part, accusing Laurie and other senior church leaders of failing to supervise Havsgaard despite repeated red flags and reports from donors, visitors and others that they suspected sexual abuse and saw poor living conditions at the shelter.

The lawsuit said Laurie not only kept Havsgaard in Romania with minimal oversight, but that the church also deposited $17,000 each month to Havsgaard’s personal bank account. Havsgaard also returned to California, bringing some of the children he was accused of abusing, to raise money for Harvest citing his work rehabilitating street children in Romania, the lawsuit said.

The church said it did fund Havsgaard’s initiative for “a period of time,” as they have supported numerous missionaries around the world, but “most of what is in the lawsuits about our church is absolutely and entirely false; some of it is plainly slanderous.”

The church said it has tried to engage with the plaintiffs and reported their allegations to law enforcement, but the men and their lawyer have refused to cooperate with U.S. authorities.

Barbu said in his complaint that life at the shelter was like “a torture chamber inside a prison” and that Havsgaard would show up regularly in the bathroom while boys were showering or undressed, stare at them or masturbate in their presence. Both plaintiffs have also accused Havsgaard of “pimping out” older boys for sex work via video chat or at bathhouses and taking a cut of their earnings.”

“The complaints detail sexual assault, inappropriate touching and abuse where children were made to kneel on walnut shells or were tied to their beds or radiators. According to the lawsuit, Havsgaard told the children while abusing them: “I know what God wants; what I want, God wants.”” 😱

““Some of them are still illiterate even though they lived in these homes where they were supposed to get an education,” he said. “They have issues with trust. They look after each other.”

Most of them are living in poverty and are looking for financial help and vindication, McAllister said.”

Lawsuits accuse former California megachurch pastor of child sex abuse in Bucharest
[AP 9/17/25 by Deepa Bharath]

“In total, 23 former residents of the homes will be bringing complaints.

The federal complaints detail how Paul Havsgaard, a long-time Harvest pastor and associate of Laurie, was sent by Laurie to Romania in 1998 to run Harvest-sponsored homes for vulnerable children. After attracting street kids with a McDonald’s meal and promises of safe shelter, he carried out sexual and physical abuse on an “industrial scale.” According to the complaints, church leaders in California failed basic tasks of supervision, yet profited from the money they raised through charitable appeals and the false impression that they were doing good works. The complaints allege that Havsgaard may be one of the most prolific child sexual predators alive in the United States today, responsible for thousands of individual acts of abuse.

The complaints relate that Havsgaard raped his own sisters when he was a teenager and sexually assaulted his foster daughter while a Harvest pastor. Despite repeated warnings and evidence of abuse, Laurie and his former missions pastor Richard Schutte kept Havsgaard in place in Romania with minimal oversight. Harvest deposited some $17,000 each month in Havsgaard’s personal bank account and did not require detailed accounts as he siphoned off funds to pay for gifts for his sexual favorites.[What the ?He raped his own sisters!! and he sexually assaulted his foster daughter! Monster!]In turn, Havsgaard returned to California frequently to raise money for Harvest and burnish its reputation, often with children in tow whom he sexually assaulted in California too.

The complaints allege that finally, in 2004, other American ministers were sufficiently concerned by what they were hearing about Havsgaard that they intervened with Harvest and caused Schutte, Laurie’s lieutenant in charge of foreign missions, to send an inspection team. When Schutte joined his inspectors in Bucharest, they told him that Havsgaard was a pedophile, and that Havsgaard “needs to be on that plane with you when you leave tomorrow. He doesn’t need to be another day in Romania. He is an embarrassment to every single missionary and Christian worker.”

But Laurie, Schutte and Harvest did nothing to protect the children, the complaints allege. Harvest leaders in California told the inspection team that Havsgaard was too important to Harvest’s fundraising to remove. Harvest cut down its subsidy of the homes but left Havsgaard in place to continue raping and recruiting more victims for another four years, until he returned to California in 2008. [Absolutely unbelievable!]

Meanwhile, the complaints allege, Harvest gave the cruel and violent pedophile some $200,000 in severance payments. The children were thrown back onto the street, traumatized, with no support and no place to go. The year after Havsgaard’s return to California, despite knowing what he had done in Romania, Laurie publicly praised him as “a pastor who faithfully served the Lord for many years at Harvest Christian Fellowship, the church where I pastor,” and compared his work in Romania to that of Moses with the Israelites, because his “life demonstrates the power that just one godly person can have.”

Romanian Survivors File Lawsuits Against California Megachurch and Pastor Greg Laurie Alleging Decades of Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up
[Press Release McAllister Olivarius 9/22/25]

Sick, Sick Bastards!!

REFORM Puzzle Pieces

UPDATE:“McAllister Olivarius has filed lawsuits on behalf of Romanian survivors of child sexual abuse.

The complaints are:

• Barbu v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Petcu v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Aeroaiei v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Constantin-Alin Nitu v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Razvan-Gheorghe Nitu v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Vasile v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• A. Busca v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Dragne v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Caragea v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• A.-C. Busca v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Ionescu v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Badaluta v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Ionita v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Popescu v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Turuianu v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Tudosie v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Otcuparu v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Ghenciulescu v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Tici v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Pirvu v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Langa v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al
• Mihaila v. Harvest Christian Fellowship et al

List of defendants:

• Harvest Christian Fellowship
• Greg Laurie
• Richard Schutte
• Paul Havsgaard.”

McAllister Olivarius Files Lawsuits Against Harvest Christian Fellowship and Greg Laurie on Behalf of Survivors of Child Sex Abuse
[McAllister Olivarius 9/19/25]

UPDATE 2:“Paul Havsgaard, who made headlines last fall when lawsuits from his alleged victims started piling up, said in a Jan. 20 letter that he is living paycheck to paycheck. He reportedly is now dependent on Social Security and a military pension.[Aw! Poor Baby!]

“I am not an attorney, nor can I afford to hire an attorney,” Havsgaard, 76, wrote the court. “I have repeatedly denied all of these horrific accusations and attested to my innocence.”

U.S. District Judge Sunshine Skyes received the letter at the federal courthouse in Riverside, California, on Feb. 2, court records show, more than six weeks after Havsgaard was supposed to respond to a summons.”

***********************

“Now 34, Barbu remembers Havsgaard touching his penis. When he objected and started crying out, he claims, the minister choked him and said, “It will be over soon.”

Another plaintiff, 28-year-old Alexandra-Elana Langa, remembers that Havsgaard would strip her and spank her violently while touching himself over his pants. After, Havsgaard would stop her from putting her clothes back on, take her into his arms and tell her she was his daughter, Langa told attorneys, according to the complaint filed in federal court.

“Alexandra lived in constant fear of the sexual environment at Harvest and that she would be sexually assaulted, as well as, physically assaulted,” the lawsuit says.

Langa left the orphanage when she was 9.

The 20 other plaintiffs have similar stories about growing up in Havsgaard’s care, with accounts of extensive abuse and long-term consequences for their mental health.

Havsgaard did not respond to specific allegations in his letter. He said he is angry at the accusations, characterizing them as not only false but wildly unfair. He claims he was really the only one who cared about children suffering in Romania. ”

Former missionary and pastor at Greg Laurie’s megachurch says he needs financial help to fight pedophilia lawsuit/
[[Julie Roys.com substack 2/14/26 by Daniel Silliman]