A former Hillsong NYC staffer has accused ex-Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz of "bullying, abuse of power, and sexual abuse" while she was a nanny in his house for seven years.
Lentz, according to Leona Kimes, sexually molested her on many occasions. She started working as the Lentzes' nanny and cleaner in 2011, spending up to 19 hours a day at their house.
"While there were joyful moments during that time, no one knew that I also experienced a great deal of pain," in a Medium post. "During the years I spent serving them, I was subjected to manipulation, control, bullying, abuse of power, and sexual abuse. Having told almost no one before this, I am just now able to share what I experienced in their home as the result of intense therapy."
"I was physically violated by his unwanted and repeated sexual touching of my intimate areas," she said.
In response to Kimes' charges, a legal counsel for Carl and his wife, Laura Lentz, informed RNS that the Lentzes "vehemently deny the allegations and, in addition to that, have irrefutable proof the events did not happen as they are being described."
The claims are the latest in a long line of issues that have plagued the multinational church which was founded in Australia in the 1980s by Brian and Bobbie Houston and has since grown into a multimedia empire with 130 locations across the globe.
Laura Lentz had reportedly learned of her husband's alleged inappropriate conduct by 2016, and Kimes said that the couple discussed the problem with her.
"I was blamed and silenced," Kimes said in her statement. "I was the problem."
Repeatedly, she placed the responsibility on herself for the harassment.
"I would leave church on Sunday full of shame after hearing his sermon. I would think it was all my fault, only to get a flood of messages from him that afternoon," she said.
The Lentzes spoke with Kimes again in 2017 to discuss the problem.
"He took full responsibility for taking advantage of me and putting me in a situation that was so heavy for me," said Kimes of Carl.
He has even contemplated confessing to the leaders but concluded it wasn't necessary "after talking it through with his wife." They promised to set boundaries for her.
Shortly after that, Lentz' wife informed Kimes that she "should repent and dismissed (her) from all of (her) duties in the house."
Kimes said, "I'd been fired from their family, but not from their staff. I felt like it was my fault, leaving me full of shame. I wasn't given another role, and thought we could resolve it, though I wasn't sure how. I just knew we were all going to keep quiet."
Kimes and her husband Josh went to Boston later that year to pioneer and oversee the Hillsong campus there.
Josh was recruited as an assistant pastor at Hillsong NYC in 2013. Leona did not inform her husband of Carl's alleged sexual assaults and that she was hesitant to speak to higher-ups. She shared with RNS that she was scared of losing her family, which contributed to her anxiety. She also expressed concern that he might lose his job.
In November, Carl was sacked for "moral failings." Leona then mustered the courage to tell her spouse and the Hillsong leadership about her case.
Rachael Denhollander, an abuse advocate and attorney who has worked with religious groups to help victims of sexual abuse, said that in religious institutions where "abuse and power dynamics" are common, victims typically do not report their abuses.
"When you have somebody who is ostensibly speaking as a spiritual authority, then it starts meshing with your beliefs, your convictions and how you define yourself," said Denhollander. "It makes it difficult to be able to point to something and say 'this is wrong,' because you've been conditioned to believe your godliness is dependent on your submission, essentially, to what is taking place."
A statement was sent to the RNS about the charges against Carl by Leona, which was subsequently posted on the church's website. Since coming out, Leona felt that she has been "met with compassion, particularly by Brian and Bobbie Houston."
"Even with all I've been through, I still love it. Hillsong is my church, and I will remain on staff, working toward a stronger future," she said.
