Kelowna pastor, Harvest Church deny sexual abuse lawsuits, threaten to sue for defamation

A Kelowna pastor faced with civil lawsuits alleging historic sexual abuse is publicly denying the accusations.

Art Lucier and Kelowna’s Harvest Ministries International issued a statement on social media, both denying claims of sexual abuse and church coverups, after being reached by iNFOnews.ca. 

“We wish to make it very clear that we categorically deny these slanderous accusations. These allegations are completely and totally false,” the April 30 statement reads.

Two women recently filed separate lawsuits against the church organizations and Lucier, alleging abuse going back more than 20 years. Their claims haven’t been proven and none of the defendants have responded in court. The suits do not say if they have reported the matter to police, nor whether police are investigating.

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The timeline places the alleged abuse in Kitimat, where Lucier previously worked as a Harvest church leader before moving to Kelowna. As the church said in its public statement, the suit claims they were sexually abused by Lucier and that the church covered up reports of such incidents.

The church’s social media statement, signed by Lucier and the Harvest Ministries International board of directors.

“Let this serve as notice to anyone who posts, shares, or writes defamatory statements about this matter:  We will no longer tolerate any form of slander, and those who engage in such conduct could be held accountable through legal action,” the statement reads.

Hours before the public statement was released, iNFOnews.ca reached out to the church and to Lucier for a response to the allegations made in the lawsuits.

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Lucier’s lawyer responded on his behalf.

“We unequivocally deny any wongdoing by my client, and have good proof of same. I have instructions to sue for defamation, both the plaintiffs in this matter, and anyone including members of the press who repeat these false allegations,” Kelowna lawyer Stan Tessmer said in an emailed statement.

The church did not respond.