Today, we are mediating a case involving the United Methodist Church. We filed a sex abuse lawsuit against the church on January 29, 2013 on behalf of an adult man who was sexually abused as a young boy by Methodist pastor William Walker. Walker died of complications from AIDS, which the church disclosed after his death.
In the lawsuit, we allege that Walker molested our client on more than 50 occasions in the mid-1980’s when William Walker was pastor of First United Methodist Church in Eugene, Oregon. Our client was only 14 years old at the time the abuse began. The abuse was ongoing and took place over a number of years and in various locations including the church grounds, at Camp Magruder (a church camp on the Oregon Coast), in Walker’s car, at his home, and elsewhere.
Our client showed the courage and fortitude to come forward after another person came forward with a similar tale of abuse.
The Register-Guard published an article on Walker shortly after his death in 1992. The story noted:
Following the death on July 4 of Rev. William Walker, a prominent Eugene pastor at First United Methodist Church, it was discovered he not only died of AIDS but had used his ministerial position to make sexual advances to at least 12 men, including 6 ministers. Walker infected his wife Carol with AIDS; she died in 1990. In November a church superintendent told parishioners that Walker had been accused of making sexual advances to 2 male teenagers at a Methodist church camp 17 years earlier.
Pastor William Walker was able to continue molesting children, men, and women for so long because his church did nothing to prevent him from gaining access to unsuspecting people. He was an omnisexual predator who caused great suffering and tragedy.