Pastor Reed Bogard Hillsong Church Rape allegation : The former Hillsong Pastor Reed Bogard has resigned after he was accused of Rape. After Reed Bogard resigned as lead pastor of the now-defunct Hillsong Dallas Church in January 2021, an internal investigation by Hillsong Global showed that he was accused of rape by a junior female staff member. He is married father of three and had a long sexual affair with the female Junior member while serving at Hillsong NYC years back.
The former staff when contacted by Christian Post, said she has been trying to move on with her life. The lady confirmed she participated in a deposition concerning the allegation but would not say more.
She said: “I think at this stage … I’m not going to comment. Everything that you have in that deposition is obviously something that I did, and I said in the context of a legal deposition. I think I just want to leave it at that.”
The investigation was conducted by the New York City law firm Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman, LLP, and the findings are highlighted in a report reviewed by CP. The investigation was commissioned by Hillsong Global in October 2020 after senior church officials learned that the former junior member of the staff alleged that her first act of sexual intercourse with Bogard in his car was non-consensual.
Hillsong leaders were made aware years earlier of a sexual relationship between the two parties, but an investigation was not conducted by the church at the time. According to the report submitted to George Aghajanian on January 11, 2021, Hillsong Church Australia first learned of the sexual affair between Bogard and the junior staff member in the second half of 2014.
Investigators said: “At the time, the Church did not conduct any meaningful inquiry into the details or circumstances of the affair, and no one with appropriate training was assigned to look into matters,”
Hillsong Church said Brian Houston, who resigned after it was revealed that two women made serious complaints of misconduct against him, was not aware of the rape claims against Bogard when he was chosen as the lead Pastor of Hillsong Dallas.