Child sex abuse lawsuit against Charlotte-based missionary group could hinge on Nigerian law
A Charlotte-based Christian missionary organization is accused of failing to protect students from sexual predators years ago at two schools in Africa.
Plaintiffs now in their 50s and 60s are suing SIM USA. They enrolled as boarding students at two schools that served missionaries’ children in Nigeria from the 1960s to the 1980s. The oldest was 10 years old when abuse began, but some were as young as five, according to their complaint.
But in court filings, SIM USA argues that it cannot be sued in North Carolina in this case. Its attorneys cite a North Carolina statute that forces local courts to defer to other jurisdictions’ rules when approached about issues that occurred outside the state – in this case, over 5,000 miles away.
“We value every person as an image-bearer of God, and have no tolerance for abuse of any kind, “ SIM said in a written statement emailed Sunday to The Charlotte Observer. “We were surprised to have been named in litigation regarding alleged abuse in two schools located in Nigeria between 1962 and 1981. While some SIM USA staff children attended these schools, SIM USA did not manage either school. Both were run by a separate, independently operated entity.“
SIM USA CPA Nathan Krupke denied the plaintiffs’ claim that the missionary organization even assisted in either school’s management.
“We were, and are, a separate sending entity and not involved in field operation,” Krupke wrote in an email to The Observer.
Abused at schools?
SIM USA keeps its headquarters in Charlotte, less than a mile from the South Carolina border. It traces its roots to an 1890s trio of missionaries, according to its website, and has since expanded to support over 4,000 people in 70 countries.
The interdenominational organization also helped manage two Nigerian schools – Kent Academy in Miango and Hillcrest Academy in Jos, the plaintiffs claim in court records. Children of missionaries could live on campus and attend American-style classes.
Sexual predators worked at those schools, the plaintiffs allege. Adults there were “inspecting” naked children, beating them and sneaking into their dormitories,the lawsuit says .
Five plaintiffs attended Hillcrest Academy in Jos, Nigeria, and in their complaint accused several school employees – James McDowell, dorm supervisor Richard Devries, dining hall manager Allen Fliestra and staff member “Doc” Shank – of molesting them.
One former student enrolled at nine years old, and alleges that for two academic years he spent nights with McDowell, who would take him from his dormitory at night, drive the boy to buy cigarettes and alcohol, then sexually assault him in the car, the lawsuit says..
Another former Hillcrest student was 10 years old when she enrolled. Devries sexually assaulted her in her dorm room, she alleges, and brought another assailant to her room to do the same. She also accused Fliestra of molesting her in the dining hall and his on-campus home.
Three more plaintiffs accused Shank of forcing them to bare their buttocks for spankings. One said he fondled his victim while inflicting the punishment, and two said Shank also subjected them to sexually invasive “inspections” after mandatory nightly showers.
A sixth plaintiff said he was subjected to the inspections by three employees at Kent Academy: Earl Day, Wilfred Husband and Jeanette Silver. According to his complaint, Silver also snuck into the boys’ dorm room at night with a flashlight to molest the plaintiff and his fellow students.
None of the accused are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Some have died, and The Charlotte Observer tried to but did not reach others with contact information obtained from public records. But in an April 2021 letter to parents, Hillcrest told parents that McDowell had posted in a private Facebook group that he molested two students there, ultimately leading him to step down in 1984.
“Today I have reached out to them to express my apology, seek forgiveness and offer restitution,” McDowell wrote, according to the school’s letter. “To the entire community I apologize with a broken heart for this breach of trust which these days is considered criminal.”
NC law presents challenges
The plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in December 2021, just days before the close of a two-year period that let adults of any age sue over childhood sex abuse. The SAFE Child Act, which North Carolina lawmakers unanimously passed in 2019, opened a two-year “lookback window” that temporarily nullified the statute of limitations for survivors.
A three-judge panel ruled in December that the provision that suspended the statute of limitations was unconstitutional, a decision which the North Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to reassess.
Parties in dozens of lawsuits filed using the window are waiting for their decision, which lawyers on either side can use to get local courts to dismiss or continue their cases.
But the SIM case presents an additional legal challenge.
Its lawyers argue that North Carolina’s law requires the state court to follow Nigeria’s lead when it comes to statutes of limitation.
While there are exceptions for cases in which parties traveled between jurisdictions – as is common for missionaries – NC law dictates that a local court generally couldn’t try a case about events that wouldn’t be eligible for a lawsuit in the place where they occurred, plaintiffs attorney Bobby Jenkins said.
Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin on Tuesday asked lawyers to submit more information about Nigeria’s law, according to Jenkins. What they file could determine whether the case must be dismissed, or join dozens of other window lawsuits awaiting the state Supreme Court’s decision.
Note: The first paragraphs of this story were modified for clarity after its initial publication.
This story was originally published August 1, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
