Christian Retreat: A Place for Sexual Abuse?

Reverend Gerald Derstine, 81, minister and founder of the Gospel Crusade's Strawberry Lake Christian Retreat and Conference Center in northwestern Minnesota, has been accused of sexually assaulting a pre-teen girl that he has counseled since the age of three because of "her fear of men."

Jeff Anderson, an attorney experienced in handling cases of Roman Catholic Church clergy abuse, will file a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court.  The claim also sights the Florida-owned Gospel Crusade Inc. and other entities that longtime minister Derstine chairs, or are under his direction.

Derstine has been running the Minnesota retreat some 45 years.

Derstine is alleged by Anderson's firm to have begun by "recruiting and grooming" and then moving onto the sexual abuse and exploit of an 11-year-old female child from Minnesota between the August of 2007 to July 2009.

Derstine, as reported by the Star Tribune, claims that all is false and was brought on by the retreat firing the girl's mother last summer. She had been the laundress at the camp for only about six weeks when she was let go for using foul language and having violent outbursts, both of which she was reportedly unable to control. Derstine believes that the real culprit is the mother's anger over getting fired. 

Having profitable ministries in both Florida and New York make him a good target for the family that wants to "get some money" contends Derstine.

A case had been filed and dropped once before, maintains Derstine. The local law enforcement responded, checked his computer for evidence, and then decided not to pursue a case against him.

Mike Fritz, Becker County Attorney, has confirmed that his office did look into the previous allegations and did not pursue charges at that time. Fritz is now closely monitoring this civil case to see if it could provide some corroborating evidence, enough to reopen the criminal case against Derstine.

Derstine states that he has never been accused of any type of sexual misdeeds before.

If you, or someone you know, has been the victim of sexual abuse, contact a Personal Injury Attorney near you for help.