A Volunteer’s Fight for Justice Against Lakewood Church
A volunteer has filed a lawsuit against Lakewood Church, a renowned Houston megachurch, demanding $10 million in compensation.
The volunteer, Daniel Guzman, alleges that the church’s negligence and “criminal conduct” led to false accusations of child molestation against him.
Guzman has taken legal action by filing a complaint against Lakewood Church in Harris County Court.
The specifics of the alleged incident are not described in the complaint, as Guzman vehemently denies its occurrence.
According to the Houston Chronicle, another volunteer reported witnessing Guzman inappropriately touching an autistic child.
This prompted her to notify both the church and the police.
However, due to the child’s inability to speak, the investigation yielded inconclusive results.
Guzman claims that this non-incident supposedly took place around February 13, 2010.
It was not until over a year later, in May 2011, that he was arrested.
Guzman was released on $10,000 bail, and in July of that year, a grand jury in Harris County chose not to indict him, as reported by the Chronicle.
The lawsuit asserts that Lakewood Church “abandoned” Guzman after he was falsely accused of s**ually harassing, abusing, assaulting, or molesting a minor child on their premises.
Guzman contends that the defendants delayed reporting and investigating the incident, failed to take appropriate action, and ultimately neglected him, causing him harm through inaction.
Guzman further alleges that similar incidents had occurred at the church in the past, but Lakewood Church failed to implement any corrective measures to prevent such problems from recurring.
He claims that the church neglected to secure video footage and evidence, neglected to provide sufficient training and personnel, exacerbated the situation by failing to offer assistance when necessary, and took an excessive amount of time to report the incident.
Additionally, Guzman asserts that Lakewood Church forced him into a more difficult situation.
Javier Marcos, Guzman’s attorney, explained to the Chronicle that his client had to leave Texas due to the false allegations.
As a result, Guzman has faced severe consequences, including the revocation of his licenses in real estate and mechanics, making it nearly impossible for him to find employment.
Marcos emphasized that if Lakewood Church had properly trained their employees or followed established procedures for reporting such accusations, this unfortunate situation would not have escalated to its current state.
In the lawsuit, Guzman seeks damages for lost wages, damage to his reputation, loss of future earning potential, missed opportunities, harm to his professional licenses, and the emotional toll of enduring ridicule, anxiety, pain, and
