Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, led by prominent pastor Greg Laurie, faces explosive allegations after two Romanian men filed federal lawsuits claiming years of sexual abuse and trafficking at a shelter run by former Harvest pastor and missionary Paul Havsgaard.
The lawsuits, submitted in U.S. District Court, claim that Havsgaard preyed on vulnerable children at the Bucharest facility over nearly a decade, subjecting them to repeated sexual and physical abuse and orchestrating their coercion into sex work.
Plaintiffs Marian Barbu and Mihai-Constantin Petcu say they, along with dozens of others, endured a regime of severe abuse. The court filings allege that Havsgaard lured street children with offers of food and shelter, only to subject them to what Barbu described as “a torture chamber inside a prison.” The complaints detail not only sexual misconduct—such as Havsgaard entering bathrooms while boys showered, leering, or masturbating—but also cruel punishments. According to the filings, children were forced to kneel on walnut shells or were tied to furniture as part of the regular abuse.
Both men also claim Havsgaard “pimped out” older boys for sex work, facilitating paid encounters via video chats or in local bathhouses and collecting a cut of their earnings. The lawsuits contend that Havsgaard justified his actions by telling children, “I know what God wants; what I want, God wants.”
Harvest and Greg Laurie are named in the lawsuits for alleged negligence—specifically for failing to supervise Havsgaard despite repeated warnings from donors, visitors, and others. According to the complaints, church officials not only ignored red flags but also sent $17,000 per month to Havsgaard’s personal bank account and allowed him to bring children back to California, where he used their stories to fundraise for Harvest.
A spokesperson for Harvest Christian Fellowship responded to the allegations by stating: “This misplaced lawsuit wrongly targets Harvest and our pastor as a form of financial extortion. It does not seek the truth, nor does it seek to stop the purported wrongdoer.” The church further insisted, “Most of what is in the lawsuits about our church is absolutely and entirely false; some of it is plainly slanderous.”
Harvest claims it offered to cooperate with authorities and reported the allegations to law enforcement. However, it alleges the plaintiffs and their lawyer have declined voluntary interviews with U.S. agencies. The church also insists the Romanian shelter was functionally independent, not under direct Harvest oversight, and accuses plaintiffs of misrepresenting its relationship in the filings.
Jef McAllister, attorney for Barbu and Petcu, says he will file additional suits on behalf of at least 20 others claiming similar abuses. He explains, “Some of them are still illiterate even though they lived in these homes where they were supposed to get an education,” and most victims remain impoverished and emotionally scarred. “They’ve had a hard slog. They would really like to get some sense that they’ve been heard and that the injustices they’ve suffered are recognized.”[source]
Harvest asserts it will “vigorously defend” itself in court, citing Scriptures and maintaining faith in God while facing what it calls damaging and false accusations.
The outcome of these lawsuits could have far-reaching implications for the accountability of megachurches and the supervision of overseas missions—raising urgent questions about oversight, reporting, and the pursuit of justice for vulnerable children.
