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Falls lawsuit alleges sex abuse by pastor
By ED RUNYAN
WARREN
A Newton Falls woman’s lawsuit in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court accuses a man of sexually abusing her from 1971 to 1982 while he was “minister, pastor or other agent or servant” for a Newton Falls church.
Melissa Irons, 44, of Benita Avenue says she learned in 2007 that the man she accuses — James D. Peace of Scott Street, Newton Township, formerly of Newton Falls Church of God — is her father, the lawsuit states.
Peace had told her he was her uncle, it adds.
The lawsuit, filed Friday, says the abuse took place in Trumbull County and other venues inside and outside of Ohio, on Newton Falls Church of God property and on youth trips sponsored by the church while Peace was a youth minister.
Attorneys Michael P. Marando and Mark A. Hanni of Youngstown filed the suit. It seeks monetary damages of at least $25,000.
The lawsuit names as defendants James D. Peace; Newton Falls Church of God, 46 W. Broad St.; Chestnut Ridge Church of God, 7215 Chestnut Ridge Road, Hubbard Township; and others.
Neither Peace, nor any official from either church, could be reached Friday for comment, including calls to Peace’s home and the home of a representative of Chestnut Ridge Church of God.
The lawsuit said Irons and her mother reported the abuse to the Newton Falls church in 1982, and the church promised to “take care of the situation” as long as she kept her allegations quiet.
Around 1993, Irons said she learned that Peace was ordained as a minister at the Chestnut Ridge Church of God in Hubbard Township, as well as Newton Falls Church of God and Church of God Inc., the lawsuit says.
In 2007, when she was told that Peace had sexually abused or attempted to sexually abuse another person, she confronted the Hubbard Township church, which resulted in an investigation by the church, the lawsuit said.
The investigation indicated that Peace was guilty of “ethical or moral failure” 30 years earlier, and the church said in a letter to Irons that Peace’s license as a minister in the Church of God was revoked as of June 2007, the lawsuit said.
Despite the letter, Irons said she later learned that Peace was serving as a “worship pastor” for Chestnut Ridge Church of God.
The Ohio Secretary of State website lists James D. Peace of Newton Falls, as having a current minister’s license.