Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa has agreed to pay a $12 million settlement to end a lawsuit brought by a woman who alleged that a former pastor sexually assaulted and attacked her while she was working for the church and its school programs.
The settlement was reached on the eve of a September trial for a civil lawsuit in which a single mother whose children attended Calvary Chapel’s school alleged that she had been “brutally battered and violently raped” by Jacob Harman, a former church pastor, missionary and wrestling coach.
Attorneys representing the woman described Harman in the lawsuit as a “known violent predator” and contended that church leaders had protected him despite “countless complaints and warnings” regarding Harman’s alleged “propensity for violence.” This publication is not identifying the woman since she is an alleged victim of sexual assault.
“What she would want is for other victims to know that they aren’t alone and that there are advocates for them and that they can do this,” said Grady Howe, an attorney representing the woman who brought the lawsuit. “It’s obviously difficult and takes a lot of courage to do it, but I think this shows and sets a precedent that we can hold institutions, (and) we can hold individuals accountable for what these victims are going through.”
Harman, in an interview with this publication, denied the sexual assault allegations, as well as the claim that he had violently attacked the woman.
“It is just awful, the way this has painted me,” Harman said. “I’ve been coaching all my life, and it is just so sad and so dark.”
Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, which is located at the border of Costa Mesa and Santa Ana, said it launched an investigation after the allegations were reported in 2017 that ended with the employee being permanently removed and losing his ordination as a minister.
“We are grateful to have reached a resolution that reflects our commitment to caring for those affected by harmful behavior,” the church said in a statement. “With this painful chapter of our church’s history behind us, we remain fully focused on being more conformed into the image of Jesus and seeing God at work in our lives, our church community, and our city.”
According to the lawsuit, Harman during a car ride in Fountain Valley punched the woman in the head multiple times — causing head and brain trauma – -and then strangled her, lifted her off the ground by her neck, punched her in the wrists, used a “jiu jitsu hold” and kept her overnight in his Huntington Beach home.
At other times, according to the lawsuit, Harman told the woman he wanted her to do tasks related to her role with his wrestling program, Team Thunder, or to assist him in his duties as a wrestling coach at Calvary Chapel High School. But, the lawsuit added, he would isolate her and then physically overpower her and force her to have sex with him, despite her telling him “no,” “don’t do that” or “stop.” If she tried to escape, the lawsuit alleged, Harman would clench her body tighter to him and cause her more pain and distress.
As a single mother who needed her income from the church and the free tuition they provided for her four children, the plaintiff described being afraid to report Harman’s alleged actions. When the assaults and rape began, the woman was already deeply involved with the church and relied on its community for guidance and support, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also alleges Harman told the woman that he would use his influence with Brian Brodersen, pastor emeritus at Calvary, to get her fired if she reported anything, and he threatened that he had access to every room at the church, including the camera room, and could watch her anywhere she went on the campus.
Harman said he had been in a relationship with the woman while her kids were in his wrestling program. He described her becoming angry at him over rumors she believed he had started. Harman said she then went to several police stations to report what he described as increasingly serious criminal allegations, which Harman denied.
Harman previously filed a defamation lawsuit against a family who accused him of sexual assault and described him as a rapist.
In filings related to that lawsuit, Harman denied that he had ever raped or assaulted the woman who would later bring the civil lawsuit that led to the multi-million settlement. And, according to a judicial ruling in the defamation case, the allegations were reported to police in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach and no charges were filed.
While ruling against Harman in the defamation case, a judge wrote that the allegations brought by the woman were “detailed and compelling,” adding that “on at least one occasion, Plaintiff (Harman) sexually assaulted” the woman.
Harman’s attorney, Richard Jorgensen, said the ruling in the defamation case was focused on whether the woman was believable, not whether a specific sexual assault happened on a specific day. By determining the woman was believable, the attorney said, the judge found that the person who accused Harman of being a rapist based on her story had not defamed Harman.
The ruling by the judge in the defamation case was prominently cited by attorneys for the woman in the civil lawsuit against Calvary Church and Harman.
According to the civil lawsuit, Calvary Church hired Harman as a substitute teacher around October 2000 and soon made him a wrestling coach before the church ordained him as a pastor in 2017. The lawsuit alleges that church leaders ignored repeated warnings of Harman’s alleged history of sexual violence and alcohol addiction, along with a previous criminal case where he faced assault charges.
Harman acknowledged having a “sordid past,” with “run-ins with the law” when he was younger and previous DUI’s, but said he turned his life around years ago. He denied having ever committed a sexual assault and said background checks related to his coaching had never flagged him for improper activities.
“I just would hate that my legacy is so tarnished like this, it feels like a drive-by attack,” Harman said. “I have done hard, hard work and counseling to reach this version of myself.”
Both Harman and his attorney said they would have preferred the case to go to trial, but had no ability to stop the church from settling the lawsuit. Harman is not required to pay anything as part of the settlement, his attorney added.