Church Abuse Scandal May Run Deeper at Victory Christian Center

The church abuse case at Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Okla., is getting uglier. Tulsa police say there could be another suspect—and perhaps more victims.

Charisma News reported earlier this week that five Victory Christian Center employees are facing criminal charges for allegedly waiting more than two weeks to report a rape claim on the church campus. Those arrests included the son and daughter-in-law of pastor Sharon Daugherty.

A then-Victory Christian Center employee, Chris Denman, allegedly raped the girl at the church, TulsaWorld reports. Denman was fired and the police were notified. He was charged with several felonies, including first-degree rape, forcible sodomy, lewd molestation and use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime.

Former Victory Christian employee Israel Shalom Castillo, meanwhile, is facing felony charges for allegedly making a lewd or indecent proposal to a child and using a computer to facilitate a sex crime, according to TulsaWorld. He turned himself in on Thursday.

Now, police say there could be at least two more victims.

“We’re trying to get these girls in for interviews,” Sgt. Brandon Wykoff, a detective in the Tulsa Police Department’s Child Crisis Unit, told TulsaWorld. “We’re not exactly having cooperation with some of the parents.”

In the course of investigating allegations of a rape at the Victory Christian Center campus, Victory World said its staff discovered that Castillo was inappropriately communicating with a member of the church’s youth group. Both Castillo and Denman were fired.

“Prior to their hiring, Denman and Castillo both passed a screening process that included personal references and a nationwide background check. No history of any criminal activity was found,” the church said in a statement. “Along with working with DHS to evaluate our reporting process, Victory Christian Center will perform a full review of our policies to ensure the safety of our children and youth.”