Gillispie Law Firm

06/05/2026

You were told you were the problem. That's why you were sent there. That's why nobody listened when you tried to say something was wrong.

Decades later, you're starting to put words to what actually happened inside those walls. And you're wondering if you're the only one.

You're not. Not even close.

For two decades, researchers, investigators, and courts have documented the same pattern across residential treatment facilities, ther**eutic boarding schools, and faith-based youth programs in state after state. Arkansas cases, including the Lord's Ranch litigation, reflect the same structural conditions that show up everywhere these programs operate. The isolation. The credibility suppression. The way reporting itself got turned into evidence against the kids who tried.

If you're a survivor finally naming what happened, or a parent whose child came home different and later said something that stopped you cold, this article is for you. No pressure. No clock. Just the validation that what you remember fits a pattern thousands of others remember too.

Read the full breakdown here: https://gillispielawfirm.com/blog/sexual-abuse-in-residential-treatment-facilities-a-documented-pattern-and-what-arkansas-cases-reflect/

06/03/2026

Most families call the first lawyer they find. Then they spend the next two years wondering if they made the right choice.

If you're considering a civil claim involving a residential treatment facility in Arkansas, the consultation belongs to you, not the firm. You're not auditioning. You're evaluating.

There are specific questions that reveal whether an attorney has actually handled this type of case or is learning on yours. There are clauses in the fee agreement worth reading slowly. There are things the firm should be doing in the first 90 days that you'll never see unless you know to ask.

This guide walks through all of it, written for parents and adult survivors who want operational clarity before they pick up the phone.

Read it before your first call.

https://gillispielawfirm.com/blog/residential-treatment-facility-sexual-abuse-claims-in-arkansas-what-families-should-know-before-hiring-an-attorney/

06/01/2026

You spent years asking yourself why you stayed quiet about what happened in that church.

The truth is, the silence was not a failure on your part. Researchers studying clergy abuse have been documenting the same pattern for decades. Survivors of church abuse are among the slowest to come forward of any group studied, and many wait twenty, thirty, even forty years. The tighter the church, the more spiritually significant the person who harmed you, the longer the silence tends to last.

If you grew up Assemblies of God, you already know why. The pastor was not just an adult. The church was not just a building. Speaking up did not just mean telling a secret. It meant risking everything that held your world together.

You were not on the wrong timeline. You were on the only one you could survive.

Read what the research shows about delayed disclosure in clergy abuse cases, and what it means for survivors from Assemblies of God churches.

https://gillispielawfirm.com/blog/why-survivors-of-clergy-sexual-abuse-often-wait-years-to-come-forward-and-what-that-means-for-assemblies-of-god-cases/

05/30/2026

The church may have known. And kept quiet anyway.

If you are a survivor of sexual abuse in a church setting, you already know that what happened to you was not just one person’s failure. In many cases, there were people in leadership who received complaints, saw warning signs, or quietly moved an offender to another role rather than removing him entirely.

Civil law has a specific remedy for that kind of institutional conduct. It is called punitive damages, and it exists for exactly this reason: to hold organizations accountable when their behavior goes beyond carelessness and crosses into deliberate choice.

This article breaks down what punitive damages are, what Arkansas law requires to pursue them, and why early legal consultation matters if you believe the institution that failed you knew more than it ever admitted.

If that describes your situation, read this before you decide your case is not worth pursuing.

https://gillispielawfirm.com/blog/what-are-punitive-damages-in-a-church-sexual-abuse-case-and-when-do-courts-award-them/

05/24/2026

If you or someone you know spent time at Lord’s Ranch in Warm Springs, Arkansas, this name may mean something to you.

Emmett A. Presley served as the Director of Social Services at Lord’s Ranch for more than two decades. He is now the prime defendant in multiple federal civil lawsuits filed by former residents who allege he used his position as their counselor to sexually abuse them as children.

The complaints describe specific tactics, specific victims, and a facility leadership that the plaintiffs allege was fully aware and did nothing.

One plaintiff lost both parents before arriving at the Ranch. According to the filed complaint, Presley told him that if he submitted to abuse, he would be allowed to call his grandmother. Then he pretended to dial.

If you were there, you deserve to know what the court record says. Read the full breakdown at the link.

https://gillispielawfirm.com/blog/emmett-presley-arkansas-state-university-faculty-member-and-lords-ranch-defendant/

05/22/2026

KATV is reporting on the civil lawsuit we filed this week on behalf of six women who allege they were sexually abused as children by Tony Waller, the former children's pastor at Refuge Church of the Assemblies of God in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

The Assemblies of God General Council told KATV it first became aware of the Waller situation in 2015. Our complaint alleges they were directly involved in handling the matter as early as 2004, when a hidden camera, a written list of n**e exercises, and direct reports of sexual assault were brought to church leadership. The evidence is in the complaint.

"They'll fight, they'll kick and scream, they'll deny, they'll explain away. But at the end of the day, there's no putting this cat back in the bag for Assemblies of God," said attorney Joshua Gillispie.

If you attended children's programs at Refuge Church, knew Tony Waller, or have information relevant to this case, please reach out to us confidentially. Speaking with an attorney does not obligate you to take any action.

Read the full KATV story here:

Six Arkansas women are suing an Assemblies of God church in Jonesboro, as well as state and national denomination leadership, alleging church leaders covered up

05/21/2026

KAIT8 is reporting on the civil lawsuit we filed yesterday on behalf of six women who allege they were sexually abused as children by children's pastor Tony Waller at Refuge Church of the Assemblies of God in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

The complaint alleges that church and denomination leadership were warned as early as 2000 and discovered direct evidence of abuse in 2004. Waller continued in his role for another decade. He is now serving a life sentence for child r**e.

If you attended children's programs at Refuge Church, knew Tony Waller, or have information relevant to this case, please reach out to us confidentially. Speaking with an attorney does not obligate you to take any action.

Read the full KAIT8 story here:

Six women filed a civil suit May 20 in Craighead County alleging church officials allowed children’s pastor Anthony “Tony” Waller to sexually abuse them despite warnings years earlier, the complaint says.

05/21/2026

Today we filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of six women who allege they were sexually abused as children by a children's pastor at Refuge Church of the Assemblies of God in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

The complaint alleges that church and denomination leadership were warned as early as 2000, discovered direct evidence of abuse in 2004, and chose to handle it internally rather than call the police or report it as required by Arkansas law. Tony Waller continued in his role for another decade. He is now serving a life sentence for child r**e.

If you attended children's programs at Refuge Church, knew Tony Waller, or have information relevant to this case, we encourage you to reach out. All inquiries are completely confidential and speaking with us does not obligate you to take any action.

Read the full article here:

Six women have filed a civil lawsuit alleging the Assemblies of God enabled 15 years of sexual abuse at a Jonesboro, Arkansas church. Read the full complaint.

04/18/2026

They found a hidden camera in a church bathroom. Girls had already come forward. Leadership knew.

And they sent him back anyway.

That's what a lawsuit filed against Refuge Church of the Assemblies of God in Jonesboro, Arkansas, alleges — and it's not an isolated story. A major NBC News investigation identified nearly 200 Assemblies of God ministers and staff accused of abusing more than 475 people over 50 years. The pattern alleged across case after case is the same: internal counseling instead of a police report, forgiveness extended to the abuser, and children left in harm's way.

If you or someone you love attended an Assemblies of God church and experienced abuse, the legal record matters — and so do your rights. Read the full breakdown at the link.

https://gillispielawfirm.com/blog/assemblies-of-god-abuse-claims-what-lawsuits-and-investigations-have-alleged/

04/18/2026

A parent drops their child off at church and feels nothing but peace.

That peace is not a mistake. It is what the church spent years building — and in too many Assemblies of God congregations, it is exactly what a predator relied on.

At Jonesboro's Refuge Church, a children's minister installed hidden cameras in bathrooms, forced young girls to undress while he filmed them, and physically molested children over a period of years. When survivors reported it to church leadership, they were not believed. The abuser was given a two-to-four week suspension and sent right back to the same children.

This was not one man acting alone. This was a system — from the local church to the Arkansas District Council to the national General Council — that chose to protect itself over protecting children.

If your child was abused in an Assemblies of God church, or if you are an adult survivor who has been carrying this for years, you deserve to know what actually happened and what your options are. Arkansas law may give you more time than you think.

Read the full article at the link below. Then call Gillispie Law Firm for a free, private consultation. You are not committing to anything. You are just getting the information you deserve.

https://gillispielawfirm.com/blog/assemblies-of-god-youth-ministry-and-sexual-abuse/