Some may be interested in seeing what Chuck O'Neal calls "defamation" in his lawsuit against me and 4 others. Although the filed complaint is public, I took screen shots and blocked out my last name and left out the other defendants. These are the original complaints that were filed against me.
Try to click on the image to enlarge. It looks like the copy was not lined up properly when scanned - sorry about that. When Chuck recently amended the complaint, he added more "defamatory" phrases which came from this blog. I'll post those soon.
Off to choir to tinkle some ivories. Yes, life goes on even amidst a lawsuit.
Off to choir to tinkle some ivories. Yes, life goes on even amidst a lawsuit.
So when they say this might go to trial...do they mean a regular jury trial, like where they call witnesses? If you need witnesses will you be letting the rest of us know? 'Cause I think there's a lot of us that could testify that none of this information is false or malicious. Just as a woman might warn other women about a "bad" choice in a man she dated. Not false, not malicious, just a truthful honest warning to the rest of the general population.
ReplyDeleteMy attorney has filed an anti-SLAPP motion to hopefully stop this from going to a trial. It's a law that prevents people from suing people who are exercising their right to free speech in public forums. The anti-SLAPP motion is designed to stop frivolous lawsuits and the process is faster than typical court cases. If we win and the case is thrown out, my understanding is that Chuck would have to pay the filing fees (two at $505 each) and all of defendant's attorney's fees (there are two attorney's representing in this case).
DeleteIf (and I think that's a big if) I need witnesses, I will be sure to spread the word. I already know at least a handful of people who would testify today if need be.
Just keep in mind - if Chuck is able to stop me from exercising my right to free speech on this blog and on Google reviews by winning this court case, I think a large percentage of blogs and public forums on the internet would be affected. This court case could be used by countless lawyers all over the nation and should be of interest to all bloggers. The things I have posted are what I believe to be true. It's not defamatory. It may be hard for him to read and he may not like it, but it's not defamatory.
Here is more info on anti-SLAPP: http://www.thefirstamendment.org/antislappresourcecenter.html#Remain
Has either attorney for the defense discussed getting public attention on this due to the ramifications of other bloggers/reviewers if he does prevail?
DeleteMy attorney won a Twitter defamation lawsuit last fall in which the anti-SLAPP motion was filed and it received quite a bit of publicity throughout the nation. I read that it was the first Twitter case in Oregon. Because of that case, I discussed the publicity issue with my attorney. There is always the possibility that it could go public because it's so ridiculous (what pastor sues mothers?) and also because of the ramifications of bloggers as mentioned earlier. The information is publicly available at the courthouse. If some news agency or popular blog picked it up, it could go viral. I can't help but think of how this blog has taken off.
DeleteI would think Nancy Grace might want to look into this. i think the judge will accept the anti-SLAPP motion and that will be the end of it. I'm sure your atty has filed for a directed verdict.
DeleteHas your atty discussed the possibility of a counter suit? I just know a lot of "friends of the court" will come out of the woodwork to assist.
This "Rev" and his Church of the Constant Cash Flow need a real old fashioned "Stomping"
Oh goodness - NOT Nancy Grace. Someone with a good journalistic reputation is what you want.
ReplyDeleteYeah Nancy Grace isn't what anyone needs! I've pastored churches and I've seen pastors that run over their people and I've seen people that run over the pastors and the churches. Both sides need to knock this off. God is big enough to take care of the pastor if he is a bad guy. Also, God is big enough to take care of anyone that stirs up discord. Prov. 6 is very clear about those that sow discord among the brethren, whether it is the pastor or a congregant. This all gives a black eye to the body of Christ.
DeleteAnother cult, Scientology, has its leaders suing people for saying bad things about them, as well.
ReplyDeleteTry contacting Anderson Cooper. Be sure to inform him of the pedophile who has access to children. He has run stories about abusive churches before.
ReplyDeleteI'm on Julia's side. Because I've seen this, not at this church but others and it's all over the media, everyday we read online or hear on the news about someone in a position of power abused it, politicians, teachers, police officers, businessmen, sports professionals; CHURCH LEADERS are in the spotlight everyday, I can't recall the last time I watched the news and haven't heard about some scandal involving a church and it's people in a position of authority. I say let him sue you, I doubt he will win because you can't take away freedom of speech. regardless of the outcome, he and all these people will get what is coming to them, and it won't be any form of justice we can comprehend or dole out.
ReplyDeleteI believe this lawsuit is clearly frivolous. This Pastor has money to waste paying lawyers & Im sure there's a few families who could use that to stop a foreclosure or pay a hefty medical bill or carry them through a few months until they find work. A lawsuit is clearly causing dissention in this community & that's not God's plan.
ReplyDeleteI am sure all the money came from the donations that people left during services. He is out of line and I hope that she wins this.
DeleteGood Luck. I am on your side. Freedom of Speech is our right and you did nothing wrong
ReplyDeleteSame problem in Las Vegas, but we chose to stay. Its very hard to shun some one who is in front of you, but it is difficult for our children at times. At some point there will be a need for a change but for the time being we just enjoy our fellowship with friends and stay vigilant that the attitudes are not directed at our children. You would think in this city we would have our hands full with Satan's dealings outside the church, but we need to protect ourselves from within too. We try to just leave it all in God's hands.
ReplyDeleteSeems like u want attention. U contridict urself. !st U says its a cult, then say they asked U to leave. MOST CULTS try to "influence" you to stay and threaten you if you should leave. Takeing out of context the mentally challenged member and calling a church organization a cult but have no specific grounds. The church has rules, just like the law. I just can't drive 75 mi/hr in a school zone of 15 mi/hr. Just like cities have laws (whether I like it or not) so does the Bible. Is this a spiritual stand as a minister who REALLY wants to defend the gospel. Ur speech justs sounds like gossip. Could have went else where and trusted that know how to bring down the crooked.Though King Saul was disobedient to God, a man went bragging that HE KLLED THE EVIL KING. And righteous David and future king, said to him, "Were ye not afraid to touch the Lord's anointed ?" God is a just judge. Let HIM do the judging. When Barjesus was misleading the congregation, God allow Apostle Paul to strike him with blindness fo a season (as to say, you lead them in darkness, so you will walk in darkness, literally) This is why it was saying let the women be silent. (Not the women of the gospel, but gossipy women and busybodies in other peoples matters) Paul was not bringing down women, for he himselves had said how the women of the gospel were bold and even stuck their necks out for him to defend the gospel. Anna was a prophetess, Miriam was a prophetess and many more. God has never been against women. But sometimes its in our nature to get in an emotional uphevial (for hell has no fury, like a woman's scorn) and you provoked Mr. Oneal to wrath. But a kind answer turns away wrath. I my self am a prophetess and it's sad to see the church in disarray. Mr. Oneal may not be perfect, but let God be his judge and he is. Likewise yours. IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN WISE TO SUE, BUT MAYBE THIS WAS THE ONLY WAY HE KNEW HOW to end this. Are you a believer? Then belive that God is not mocked. What a man sow, that shall he also reap. God's word is complex, yet with HIS understanding, so simple, even a fool couldn't error. We move by our emotions, and not by the spirit. I pray for both you and the church. Sorry for the book, but nobody seems take a real stand according to scriptures. I speak as a woman, a minister, and a lowly servant. If he is wrong, God will judge. King David had Uriah killed in battle to have his wife, and he paid a dear price, but God forgave him and blessed his seed later to be king, and who willdare put their mouth to speak against him? He paid the price. BUT god let's us learn and teaches us the right way and moves on. Sometime. People are just as hard on believers (especially leaders). And act like they have no room for forgiveness. But thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. God is the LAST word, who search the hearts and try the reigns. This is petty. God is bigger than this, and so is his grace. Use the instruments of your body such as the tongue, to move on and bless God in YOUR own way rather than speak great swelling words. Because all you doing is bringing out all unbelievers, scoffers and mockers and opening a door for them to lash out at "the church" Aren't we getting enough lashing. You are "setting the whole course of nature onfire" because you won't bridle your tongue. I'm pretty sure you got mistreated by somebody else, and some cop could have done you wrong with a teacket, or a teacher mistreated your chlid and so forth, whatever negative that could have happend prior to this....did you blog abot it? If you could spread this gospel like you blog, then you can be a force to be reckoned with against the kingdom of darkness. But I think ya pointin' ya arrow in the wrong direction. GOD Will take care of ONeal and he will take care of you. TYhe eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the GOOD and the EVIL. Believe that. God bless.
ReplyDeleteWhen the word ABUSE. Is used, it becomes more than an opinion. I guarantee if it was said (which we have seen) the president was creating an abusive environment and was a bully, oh it would be a hugh and a cry. Because the word abuse IS damaging in itself. If the same words and intent were applied to te president, it sound as if you were calling him a dictator, in your opinion that is. Same words, different level of authority. We have to give in an account to irresponsible and dangerous words, oppinion or way not. You'd be suprise how you can bring out the same point in an indirect and non-antagonistic way. IT SEEMS you made it personal, and now, he's taking it. Very personal. At the end of the day, just as you had feelings, well...seems he is human as well. You said if he just had admitted "you were right and he was wrong and you left because you both didn't see eye to eye, then he wouldn't have heard from you all and that would have been it. Well, if "abuse" hadbeeen taken place, all it would have taken for you to "go away " was him admitting he's wrong?" Wouldn't that mean afterward, you are turning the blind eye? Long as you got what you wanted? Abusive enviroment? Abuse is more than opinion.
ReplyDeleteKeep fighting the good fight sister.
ReplyDeleteNo offense, but isn't it against the law for sex offenders to be near children in such a setting? (without safeguards) If that was going on, like you say, why didn't you inform the police?
ReplyDeleteJust wondering.
I didn't find out that he was an offender until weeks after we had left the church. When I found out, it got me rattled because he was in the nursery on the very last Sunday I was there nursing my baby.
DeleteThat would have been the straw that broke the camels back for me and my family, too!
DeleteHow would you, or anyone else for that matter, EVER be able to address THAT situation with the pastor if he wasn't even willing to talk to you about the less complex issues you had? (perhaps the sexual matter was the reason why he refused to talk about the simplier things for fear that opening up ANY communication might lead into conversation about the sexual issue)
If the person was indeed an offender, and you didn't know that until after you left, then there is a heck of alot of cover up going on there!!
I would have totally flipped upon finding something like that out, too, and especially knowing that, when you were nursing your baby, you see the person in question, there with you (OMGosh, are you KIDDING ME?!?! Awkward moment for sure!. I, too, would have been asking, 'what the HECK is going ON there?!?!' Whew, all I know is that as a mother, there isn't much I wouldn't do to protect my kids (they're adults now but I still find the mama grizzly in me coming out sometimes!), even if it means bringing sensitive subjects into the light!!
It surely doesn't seem, by what I have read, that you could just freely walk into Chucks office and say, 'we need to talk'. Subjects like that are extremely sensitive and difficult, even for the most seasoned (judges, lawyers, police, social workers, counselors, etc..)
~to be cont;
Cont:
DeleteYes, I can absolutely see, in my mind, how it could have played out in your mind and caused you to go into protective mode/warn others/red flag mode. You found out AFTER you left that there was a questionable person with access to innocent little ones!! Leaders over there need to read up on what the law of the land says about abuse of that nature! I doubt seriously that you were looking to 'make waves' or make 'false accusations' against an innocent person..
Depending on what others were already saying about the person (offender) though, it was Chucks responsibility, as church LEADER, to get that situation addressed, put some clarity on it, and get it shut down if it was inaccurate OR get proper procedures put in place to protect everyone from it happening, if it were true. If the person had done wrong by another and offended, (mentally challanged or not!!) and Chuck or anyone there knew it, then they had, not just a legal obligation but a MORAL obligation to put protective measures in place.. No Julieanne, YOU did nothing wrong by becoming alarmed, YOU were NOT the one running the show over at that church, (they've proven THAT to you in no uncertain terms, w/lawsuit, for sure!!) therefore YOU are under NO obligation to 'shut up and dont talk about that'...just because it makes THEM 'uncomfortable' to talk about.
you say the person was in the nursery when you were in there nursing your baby, well, that is proof that there were NO protective measures in place to protect you, other children, or even the 'offender', against further problems.
There is NO ROOM in matters like this, to take chances or turn the other cheek, not when it is something of that nature (sexual), and small children still in need of a 'nursery room' are involved! SHAME on whoEVER believes it is, it is FLAWED THINKING!!
This is a rotten situation and something that the ones in CHRARGE should have gotten a handle on loooong BEFORE it came to this! Common sense asks: are they 'suing' because they are mad that YOU had the guts to stand UP to a sensitive situation and SAY SOMETHING that THEY FAILED to talk about (even if in a private office with closed door, they could have done it in an appropriate way, so that's no defense for them) for discussion, for the GOOD of their OWN CHURCH PPL?!?!
I am shocked and appalled that they would try to shut you up by bringing a lawsuit since that is the last thing that will ever 'make this go away'!
Congrats to THEM for finally bringing all of their 'mess' into the public arena because now, finally, the truth will come out! shame shame shame on that man!!
Stay strong JulieAnne!
Well, this is a very sad situation. Had I known of the sex offender, I would have been happy to help in any way I could. I'm not afraid of being in the same room as a sex offender with my child; however, what if I asked the sex offender to watch my child while I excused myself to the bathroom, etc?
DeleteExactly. And how would you be feeling now had you done that? Pretty bad, and all because you just didn't know who/what you were dealing with. What if, God forbid, there are/were others who weren't quite so fortunate? Pretty scary thought.
DeleteThese are tough situations that people in all areas of life,(not just pastors & churches) across this nation, are having to face and deal with. No, it is not an easy topic to discuss, but a pastor especially, needs to be totally and completely 100% up to speed on exactly how to address it best... honestly, it should be getting addressed thru sermons on Sunday mornings,if you think about it, that way the whole congregation knows how to handle it, should need arise, and what proper procedures should be put in place for the protection of ALL involved, including the offender.
I am so sorry that you and your family were shunned; it seems quite obvious to me that it IS because you stood up for the most innocent among us; the children, which, by the way, were/are very blessed to have you in their corner to look out for them, and for which you should NEVER APOLOGIZE!
You're a good, Godly woman, JulieAnne, with a heart for the innocent, don't ever doubt that! :)
p.s. what if your actions actually spared some other family or person a bad situation? wouldn't all this be worth it then?! Gods hand IS IN this, you will see!!
The sex offender was an individual who had molested two of his younger siblings. Because the parents of these children were heavily involved with the nursery "ministry", he had spent much time in the child care area. He often was left in charge of some of the children, taking them out to the outside play area, supervising while adults used the restroom, etc. No idea how long the Pastor/Elders knew of the abuse. Reportedly they attempted to deal with it by keeping him in a locked room at home, requiring him to copy passages of scripture and hiding him from authorities so he could not be prosecuted. It is my opinion that families of young children who might have been harmed by him were targeted to be coerced into leaving the church before the truth about this situation got out, in order to "protect" the church.
Deletesounds alot like the catholic church; protect the church but not the kids. needs to be shut down
DeleteMore power to you, Julie Anne. The church's complaint is just silly and I don't really see how the suit could be anything but dismissed as frivolous.
ReplyDeleteBest,
~janet~
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMay I ask if there is a legal fund I can contribute in order to reduce your costs? Thank you for standing up.
Hello: Thank you for your interest in donating to our legal defense fund. We have it set up with Paypal and there is a link on the right sidebar of the blog.
DeleteOr you can send directly to bgbcsurvivors@gmail.com at paypal.com
Thank you so much for your support!
Julie Anne
Hello,
ReplyDeleteYou should check out how many people have given the church a review now.
I wish you the best.