A Geelong-based Pentecostal church is being sued in the Supreme Court by a former member who claims he was sexually abused as a child by two of the organisation’s most senior figures.

Our client, who asked to remain anonymous, alleges in his statement of claim that Geelong Revival Centre elders Hank De Vries and John Strumpel abused him on multiple occasions in the late 1980s.

The abuse is alleged to have occurred over the course of four years, starting when the victim was just eight years old.

“De Vries and Strumpel were highly respected leaders at the Centre to which the plaintiff and his family attended religiously,” the claim states.

“The plaintiff respected them and trusted them by reason of their stature within the Centre.”

“The alleged perpetrators were volunteers at the time, with no known prior complaints made against them,” Arnold Thomas & Becker lawyer Madison Duffy said.

“Meanwhile, our client continues to live with the long-lasting trauma of the abuse he suffered as a child, with no one taking accountability.”

Ms Duffy urged anyone who witnessed or experienced abuse connected to the GRC, or who has relevant information, to come forward.

“Your information could make a meaningful difference and help our client seek closure and justice,” she said.

Read the full story in the media.

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