International Churches of Christ is an association of socially conservative non-denominational churches in 137 countries. They were sued in March 2023 for covering up child sexual abuse for over twenty-five years. The International Christian Church is a splinter group started by the founder of ICOC after he resigned from the ICOC.
In 2022 and 2023, a series of lawsuits were brought against the ICOC and ICC by former members alleging sexual abuse of children as young as three that was covered up by church officials. They allege that church members were indoctrinated into a rigid belief system that isolated them from outsiders, facilitating the sexual abuse of children and discouraging reporting the abuse. One of the abusers they are alleged to have protected was featured on America’s Most Wanted.
- Lawsuit 1 – Salud Gonzalez v. ICOC
- Lawsuit 3 – Jane Roe 1 v. ICOC
- Lawsuit 4 – Jane Roe 1 v. ICOC
- Lawsuit 6 – Jane Roe 8 v. ICOC
- Dordulian Law Group: Lawsuits Allege Churches of Christ Leaders Concealed 25 Years of Child Sexual Abuse
- Guardian: US Christian group accused of covering up sexual abuse of minors
- LA Times: Church leaders concealed sexual abuse, lawsuits allege
Los Angeles, California · Tuesday, February 28, 2023
