Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
After a comprehensive investigation, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries has released its report on alleged sexual misconduct by its late founder.
The lengthy report published by Miller & Martin LLC details accounts by multiple female massage therapists who accused Zacharias of frequently exposing himself to them during massage sessions at the spas he once co-owned.
“Eight therapists reported that Mr. Zacharias would start the massage either completely nude or would remove the sheets during the massage,” the report said. Six therapists reported that he always or almost always was aroused during the massage. In other instances, four therapists claimed that the late apologist would go further than asking the therapists to touch him. Five other therapists said Zacharias “touched or rubbed them inappropriately.”
READ: How should we respond to the Ravi Zacharias scandal?
One woman who was interviewed by the law firm confirmed that Zacharias raped her. Although the firm withheld from including all of the information about the woman’s assault in an effort to maintain her anonymity, the report notes that Zacharias had “engaged in sexual intercourse” with her “over a period of a year.”
She explained how their relationship first began as a “normal massage therapist-client” relationship. She even noted that for a while she looked up to him as “a father figure.” The woman explained that Zacharias then offered to help her financial situation in return for sex. The woman noted that the late apologist would even use “religious expressions to gain compliance” because she was raised to be a person of faith.
The report notes that Zacharias would call her his “reward” for his service to God and added that he would cite godly men in the Bible who had multiple wives. If she were to speak out against Zacharias, however, he warned her that she would “be responsible for the ‘millions of souls’ whose salvation would be lost if his reputation was damaged.”
In a statement accompanying the report, RZIM issued an apology for denying the sexual misconduct allegations that had surfaced in the months following Zacharias’ death last May. They also apologized to Lori Thompson, a Canadian woman who accused him of engaging in an inappropriate online relationship with her in 2017.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
Photo courtesy: Ravi Zacharias Ministries Facebook
