Education · Denver, CO Metro · September 10, 2026
Lawsuit: Denver Lutheran school dismissed 13-year-old's assault report, later moved assets
A lawsuit filed against St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Denver alleges the school failed to properly vet its interim music director, Diego Marroquin, who was not legally authorized to work in the U.S., before letting him work unsupervised with children. According to the complaint, a 13-year-old student was sexually assaulted by Marroquin in 2022 and became pregnant. When her parents reported it, school officials allegedly told them their daughter was lying and pressured her to recant. Pastor Andrew Farhat reportedly said in a message, "I knew it was a lie so I wanted to squash it right away." Marroquin continued working at the school until police were involved; he was later arrested in Texas, pleaded guilty to a lesser felony in 2025, and was deported to Guatemala. The suit further alleges the church transferred $29.3 million in property for $10 in May 2025 to shield assets from litigation, since it lacked sexual-assault liability insurance. The church has denied the allegations in a letter to member families but has not addressed the property transfer, per the Denver Post.
Source: friendlyatheist.com
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Why Bible-Believing Christians Should Care
Christians should never assume a church's name or reputation guarantees it will protect children or tell the truth when abuse is alleged. Scripture demands both protection of the vulnerable and honest accountability from those entrusted with spiritual authority; a pastor allegedly pressuring a 13-year-old to recant a true report, and a board allegedly restructuring assets to avoid liability rather than pursue justice, represents a profound betrayal of that trust. Institutional self-protection is not the same as biblical shepherding. Congregations should not wait for a lawsuit to ask hard questions about how their own leadership would respond to an allegation like this.
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. — Matthew 18:6
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Every strategy in this chapter depends finally on a spiritual virtue that no governance document can supply. In the case studies of captured institutions, leadership usually failed not for lack of information but for fear of losing status. They feared being called bigots more than they feared compromising the truth.
— Chapter 17, “The Mandate of Courage”
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