Six Women File Civil Lawsuit Against Assemblies of God Over Alleged 15-Year Child Sexual Abuse at Jonesboro Church

Complaint names Refuge Church, Arkansas District Council, and national denomination leadership as defendants

JONESBORO, Ark. — A civil lawsuit was filed today in the Circuit Court of Craighead County on behalf of six adult women who allege they were sexually abused as children by Anthony “Tony” Waller, the former children’s pastor at what is now known as Refuge Church of the Assemblies of God in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

The complaint is a refiling of an earlier action that was voluntarily dismissed in February 2026. This version names two additional plaintiffs and was filed in Craighead County, where the alleged abuse occurred.

Waller is currently serving a life sentence in Arkansas after pleading guilty in 2016 to child rape. When police arrested him in 2015, they found more than 400,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material in his possession, much of it recorded inside Refuge Church itself using hidden cameras he had installed in bathrooms and shower facilities on the church campus.

The six plaintiffs — Stephanie Davis, Samantha Davis, Elizabeth Dryer, Victoria Collins, Taylor Perrin, and Jane Doe 1 — were members or regular participants in children’s programs at the church during Waller’s tenure, which spanned approximately 1999 to 2015. All were minors at the time of the alleged abuse.

What the Complaint Alleges

The lawsuit does not focus solely on Waller. Its central argument is that the Assemblies of God, at multiple levels of its organizational structure, knew Waller posed a danger to children and chose not to act.

According to the complaint, the Jonesboro Police Department personally visited Refuge Church’s senior pastor, Charles Michael “Mike” Glover, in April 2000 to report that Waller had been banned from a local elementary school over suspicions he was attempting to sexually abuse an 11-year-old girl. The complaint alleges that Glover informed church and denomination leadership of the warning, and that Waller nonetheless continued serving as children’s pastor without restriction.

The complaint further alleges that around 2004, two of the plaintiffs discovered a hidden camera inside a bathroom storage closet while playing hide-and-seek. According to the filing, Glover was presented with the camera, a written list of nude stretching exercises Waller had taped to the bathroom wall, and direct accounts of sexual misconduct from plaintiffs and their mothers. The complaint alleges that neither Glover nor any denominational official reported the matter to police or to the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline, as required under Arkansas law. Instead, the filing states, Waller was suspended for two to four weeks before being reinstated to his position with full access to children.

The abuse of a second generation of young girls at the church is alleged to have continued through approximately 2014.

The defendants named in the complaint include Refuge Church of the Assemblies of God, the Arkansas District Council of the Assemblies of God, the General Council of the Assemblies of God, former senior pastor Mike Glover, and the churches’ respective liability insurers. Causes of action include negligent hiring, negligent supervision, negligent retention, general negligence, the tort of outrage, and violations of the Arkansas Child Maltreatment Act. The plaintiffs are seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.

A Pattern the Complaint Ties to Denominational Policy

The complaint draws on the Assemblies of God’s own governing documents to argue that the denomination’s response to Waller was not an isolated failure but a reflection of institutional policy. According to the filing, the General Council twice voted — in 1997 and again in 1999 — against a resolution that would have barred the hiring of ministers with prior criminal convictions for child sexual abuse. The denomination’s bylaws, as described in the complaint, established a confidential rehabilitation process for ministers accused of sexual misconduct that prioritized restoration over removal and barred publication of disciplinary actions on ministerial rosters.

“The Assemblies of God caught this predator red-handed in 2004,” said Joshua D. Gillispie, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “Instead of calling the police or protecting vulnerable children, they actively chose to shield the denomination’s reputation and treat a child molester with tenderness and forgiveness at the expense of children’s innocence.”

Co-counsel Joseph Gates added: “Here, the Assemblies of God allowed this Jonesboro church to become the hunting grounds for a prolific child predator for more than 15 years, and they did so knowingly.”

The case has been assigned case number 16JCV-26-1412 in the Circuit Court of Craighead County. The allegations in the complaint are claims made by the plaintiffs and have not been proven in court. The defendants have not yet responded to the filing.

Did You Witness or Experience Abuse at Refuge Church?

Attorneys on this case believe there may be additional individuals who witnessed misconduct at Refuge Church or who experienced abuse they have never reported. If you attended children’s programs at the church, knew Tony Waller, or have information relevant to this case, you are encouraged to reach out confidentially. Speaking with an attorney does not obligate you to take any legal action. All inquiries are handled with complete discretion.

Case Details Court: Circuit Court of Craighead County, Arkansas Case Title: Stephanie Davis, et al. v. Refuge Church of the Assemblies of God, Inc. of Jonesboro, Arkansas, et al. Case Number: 16JCV-26-1412 Filing Date: May 20, 2026

Legal Counsel for Plaintiffs Joshua D. Gillispie, Hannah M. Bone, Caitlin A. Malott Gillispie Law Firm 1 Riverfront Place, Suite 605, North Little Rock, AR 72114 (501) 244-0700 | josh@gillispielawfirm.com

Joseph Gates, co-counsel Gates Law Firm PLLC