Woman was sexually abused when she reported for court-ordered treatment, NM lawsuit says
A New Mexico woman says she was sexually abused by the former director of the program she was sent to for court-ordered drug treatment, according to a new lawsuit.
The woman, who isn’t named in the lawsuit, was ordered to complete in-patient treatment run by Steelbridge Ministries, and felt coerced into sexual activity with the group’s then-executive director, according to the lawsuit, which was filed on Dec. 2 in Bernalillo County.
The former director is named in the 11-page lawsuit, along with Steelbridge and Legacy Church, which has multiple locations in New Mexico. Steelbridge is part of Legacy Church, the lawsuit said.
The former director — who hasn’t worked for Steelbridge for several years, according to the lawsuit — couldn’t be reached by McClatchy News, which isn’t naming him since he hasn’t been criminally charged.
Steelbridge didn’t immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Barry Bitzer, an executive pastor of Legacy Church, told McClatchy News in a phone call on Dec. 5 that the church hadn’t yet been served with the lawsuit.
A statement provided to KOAT that’s attributed to attorneys for Steelbridge and Legacy said the allegations are “spurious” and “constitute false statements of fact made to third parties that wrongfully damage the reputation of the ministries,” the station reported.
The woman has dealt with substance use disorder since about 2017, the lawsuit said.
She cycled through “incarceration, homelessness, and drug rehabilitation centers,” and was ordered by a judge in 2020 to complete a Steelbridge treatment program, the suit said.
While in the program, the former director began providing her with pastoral counseling and started introducing “inappropriate sexual topics,” the lawsuit said.
Within a couple weeks, he started giving her “special privileges,” including taking her offsite, even though that wasn’t allowed early in her stay, the lawsuit said.
Then he “quickly transitioned into making sexual demands,” the lawsuit said.
The woman felt coerced because the man “wielded the power to approve her graduation from the program and, conversely, to send her back to jail if he chose to allege that she failed to meet the program’s requirements,” the lawsuit said.
It accuses the former director of continuing his abuse, granting the woman more privileges by “paying her to clean his home” and engaging in sexual contact with her there.
The woman eventually left the program early and was sent to jail, the lawsuit said.
The former director’s tenure at Steelbridge allegedly ended after the woman confided in someone about the sexual contact, and it was reported to church leaders, the lawsuit said.
The woman is now in stable recovery, Levi Monagle, one of her attorneys, told McClatchy News in a phone call on Dec. 5. She felt compelled to take action to help other women, Monagle said, and “she’s steeled for the fight to come.”
Bernalillo County includes Albuquerque.
Barber may have sexually assaulted 20 unconscious men and is on the run, CA officials say
Man sexually assaults 14-year-old daughter of boss he was living with, CO cops say
Stranger gropes 12-year-old girl sitting at bus stop, California officials say
