McAllister Olivarius represents survivors in ongoing proceedings filed in the U.S. District Court (Central District of California) arising from allegations of child sexual abuse and institutional failures at Harvest Christian Fellowship and its former overseas children’s homes.
These matters are the subject of independent reporting published in late December 2025 by The Roys Report. The articles examine court filings, public records, and witness accounts, situating the litigation within broader discussions of safeguarding and accountability in religious institutions.
Delayed reporting of abuse allegations
On 29 December 2025, The Roys Report published an investigation into evidence that Harvest Christian Fellowship allegedly waited two decades before contacting U.S. law enforcement about suspected child sexual abuse by a former minister.
The reporting states that while credible allegations were raised with church leadership in the early 2000s, police were not contacted until 2024. Drawing on public documents and interviews with former staff, the article explores internal decision-making, severed institutional relationships, and a prolonged “culture of silence.”
Included in The Roys Report’s top investigations of 2025
On 30 December 2025, The Roys Report named its Harvest coverage in its “Top 10 Investigations of the Year,” identifying the litigation as one of the most consequential accountability stories of 2025.
Continue reading more on this case and see the complaints here.
In light of the complex and disturbing allegations in the complaints, McAllister Olivarius seeks additional information from anyone who can shed light on:
- possible misconduct by Paul Havsgaard before he left for Romania in 1998 or after his return to California in 2008;
- the operation of the Harvest Homes in Romania between 1998 and 2008;
- the decision making at Harvest Christian Fellowship concerning the supervision of Havsgaard and the operation of the Harvest Homes.