In yesterday’s post on Rod Parsley’s desperate plea for financial support, we mentioned that part of his financial crisis stemmed from the fact that he recently had to pay a $3.1 million settlement to the family of a young boy who was injured by a substitute teacher while attending day care at Parsley’s World Harvest Church (WHC).
Parsley’s claim that the settlement was part of a “demonically inspired financial attack” being carried out against him by the Devil becomes even more outrageous if you read the court decision in question.
As Richard Bartholomew pointed out, the court decision [PDF] makes for grim reading.
WHC had employed a man named Richard Vaughan to perform various tasks at the school and “although Vaughan was not a licensed teacher and never had a job that required him to work with young children, WHC assigned Vaughan the task of supervising young children, usually placing him in the ‘Extended Care’ program for children in Kindergarten through sixth grade.”
In late October 2005, when Vaughan was alone and in charge of the “Cuddle Care” classroom, a three year-old boy suffered a skull fracture:
According to Z.C.’s mother, when she picked up Z.C. from the Cuddle Care classroom at approximately 6:00 p.m. on October 13, 2005, he was waiting anxiously for her at the classroom door with his left eye swollen shut, his nose draining, and his face red and puffy. Vaughan, the only adult in the room, was not consoling Z.C. and did not offer Z.C.’s mother any explanation regarding Z.C.’s condition. When Z.C.’s mother asked Vaughan what had happened to Z.C., Vaughan hesitantly told her another boy, E.Y., had pushed Z.C. She asked Vaughan if anyone had paperwork or documentation regarding the incident, but he replied “no.” When she told Vaughan that she needed to take Z.C. to Children’s Hospital, Vaughan told her repeatedly that Z.C. was “fine.” Over Vaughan’s protestations, she took Z.C. to Children’s Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured skull and concussion and was held overnight for observation.
The ruling stated that “Vaughan’s trial testimony regarding the incident was inconsistent both with previous accounts he gave and with the testimony of other witnesses” and that nobody from WHC even inquired about any injuries supposedly suffered by the other child (E.Y.) and that “E.Y.’s father insisted his son had not collided with Z.C. and had not been injured in any incident with Z.C.”
Importantly, that is not the incident that cost Parsley $3 million, but was rather cited in the case as proof of WHC’s negligence and liability for the subsequent injuries to another child at Vaughan’s hands a few months later:
WHC conducted no investigation of the incident, did not make further inquiries of Vaughan concerning the matter, did not provide him with further training to prevent serious injury from occurring to another child, and, most importantly, did not change how it supervised Vaughan after the incident. Approximately three months later, the very next time WHC permitted Vaughan to be alone with the young children in the Cuddle Care classroom, Vaughan physically abused A.F.
The situation involving A.F. is even more disturbing:
Shortly before 6:00 p.m., Michael Faieta picked up his daughter and then picked up A.F. in their respective classrooms. A.F. was in the Cuddle Care classroom alone with Vaughan, who had taken over for the afternoon teacher sometime after 4:00 p.m. According to Mr. Faieta, A.F. was anxious and upset, his eyes were red, and he clung to his father’s side as his belongings were gathered. Vaughan did not give Mr. Faieta any paperwork or say that A.F. had experienced any problems that day, and he did not indicate he had seen any sort of rash or other marks on A.F.’s body.
Upon their using the restroom on the way out of the building, Mr. Faieta observed the numerous fresh cuts, welts, and red marks on A.F.’s back, buttocks and thighs. The marks were linear and consistent with being hit with a ruler. In the car on the way home approximately an hour later, A.F. told his father that Vaughan had “spanked” him with a “knife.” At home, upon being shown pictures of various objects, A.F. pointed to a ruler as the object used to “spank” him. After A.F.’s mother, Lacey Faieta, arrived home and looked at the marks on A.F., she spoke with their pediatrician and the police, who advised her to take A.F. to Children’s Hospital. The emergency physicians at Children’s Hospital found A.F.’s injuries to be consistent with physical abuse, and the matter was forwarded to Franklin County Children Services (“FCCS”) and the Columbus Police Department (“CPD”) for investigation.
When A.F’s parents tried to find out what happened to their son, WHC threatened to have them arrested for tresspassing if they stepped foot on campus again:
When, however, Lacey Faieta returned to WHC two days later and attempted to meet and discuss the matter with Jack Johnson, WHC’s headmaster, he refused, telling her he had been advised not to speak with the Faietas. The next week WHC sent the Faietas a letter ordering them not to come on the property and threatening them with criminal prosecution for trespass if they returned to the school. The letter contained no exceptions and provided the Faietas with no means to schedule any further meetings with WHC personnel. The Faietas received no further communication from WHC.
This year, Parsley had to cut a check to the Faieta’s for the injuries their child suffered at his World Harvest Church … and Parsley cites it as proof that the Devil has released a “demonically inspired assault against us.”
