ST. PAUL - A teenage girl says a religious leader sexually abused her the past three summers at a Christian retreat north of Detroit Lakes.
A federal civil lawsuit was filed Wednesday, five months after the Becker County attorney decided there was not enough evidence to press criminal charges, by the St. Cloud girl and her mother. They sued the leader of Gospel Crusades for what the federal lawsuit calls repeated incidents of sexual abuse while she was 11, 12 and 13 years old.
Documents with the suit contend that the Rev. Gerald Derstine kissed her on the mouth and touched her breasts, among other improper activities, at Gospel Crusades' Strawberry Lake Christian Retreat.
St. Paul attorney Patrick Noaker said the goal of the suit is two-fold: to make the retreat center safe for children and to get money to fund the St. Cloud girl's treatment. Fellow attorney Sarah Odegaard said the girl is not being treated, although the lawsuit claims she suffered "emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, humiliation and psychological injuries."
Noaker said he wants to make sure no other youths are abused.
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Derstine's secretary said that the 81-year-old minister was not available to comment and no one else in the organization would talk about the case.
In a letter Noaker said Derstine sent to the girl's family, the minister said he only was trying to be a father figure to the girl, who did not have a father at home.
The girl told her mother about the incidents last year, which prompted a criminal investigation.
The Derstine letter asked the girl and her mother to drop the criminal complaint against him.
Becker County Attorney Mike Fritz said that authorities looked into the allegations.
"There was an investigation, and it was reviewed and based upon the information that we had at that time, in meeting with law enforcement officials, it was determined that there was not a sufficient amount of evidence to sustain our burden of proof at the time of trial," Fritz said.
Fritz said that he will watch progress of the federal civil case to see if new evidence comes forward.
Don Davis reports for Forum Communications Co. Reporter Riham Feshir contributed to this story.
