Church volunteer on leave amid sex abuse investigation at Holly Springs church

Detectives with the Holly Springs Police Department are investigating claims of sexual misconduct involving a minor by a volunteer at Vertical Life Church.

Police have not filed any charges and the investigation remains ongoing. However, Vertical Life Church confirmed one of its volunteers has been placed on leave.

“Any time there is a potential issue in question, or a situation needing either an internal or external investigation or both, the staff or volunteer in question is placed on leave till the investigation is completed and clarity is brought to the issue in question,” said Lawrence Swicegood, the church’s media relations director, in a statement to WRAL Investigates.

Jordan and Matt Watkins claim their 3-year-old child was assaulted in a church bathroom by a Sunday school leader between August and October 2021.

Vertical Life Church operates out of Holly Grove Middle School at 1401 Avent Ferry Road in Holly Springs.

It was shortly after the Watkins joined the congregation when they noticed their child’s behavior started changing.

“Anger, sadness, clinginess, fear,” Jordan Watkins said. “Our child was talking about things sexual in nature [and] we had not even had ‘the talk’ yet.”

The parents say they witnessed the volunteer entering the bathroom alone with kids on multiple occasions.

In December 2021, they raised concerns with church leadership about potential misconduct.

“She kind of almost laughed it off,” recalled Watkins of her first interaction with a church minister.

In February and March, the family met with Pastor Jeremy Robertson and other church leaders.

The church called Child Protective Services on April 8 after Mr. and Mrs. Watkins submitted a written report with allegations of sexual abuse.

The Holly Springs Police Department launched an investigation the same day.

“With how quickly this happened for us, I would not be surprised if there are other children,” Watkins said.

In May — about a month after police got involved — the family stopped attending the church.

That same month, Vertical Life Church changed its policies for volunteers. In a newsletter, the church stated volunteers “will no longer change diapers or do special bathroom trips” and “the bathrooms in the VKids area are closed outside of classroom bathroom breaks.” The church also installed cameras in the kids areas.

“There’s a lot of really bad things that happen to kids and it’s unbelievably sad, and the last place that should ever happen is within the church walls,” said Matt Watkins, the child’s father.

Vertical Life Church declined an on-camera interview because of the ongoing police investigation.

“The safety of our congregation and our children is of supreme importance at Vertical Life Church and anything or anyone that compromises this is not tolerated. When an allegation was brought to our attention of a possible sexual misconduct incident by a church volunteer on a minor, we immediately began looking into this serious matter to determine if it were true,” said Swicegood, the church’s media relations director.

Holly Springs police confirm the investigation remains open and ongoing after nearly eight months.

Cristin DeRonja, executive director at SAFEchild, said the fact gathering phase of a police investigation typically takes two to three months. It can take several more months and sometimes more than a year for charges to be filed.

“While we want to expedite treatment, we want to expedite healing — those are the two most important things for a child — it takes a while to make sure a thorough law enforcement investigation is conducted in a way of supreme integrity,” she said.

SAFEchild supports families and victims of child abuse and neglect. DeRonja encourages people to report all case of suspected abuse to law enforcement.

“What our responsibility is ethically and legally as a community member is sharing your concerns about the welfare of a child with law enforcement and child welfare,” DeRonja said.

The Watkins family said they are putting their trust in the legal system.

They hope sharing their story will give other victims the courage to come forward for help.

“It is worth speaking up,” Jordan Watkins said. “It is worth shining light or else there is going to be no change.”