The victim in a series of an alleged series sexual assaults by gay employees of St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue has sued the Episcopal Diocese of New York, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, Bishop Matthew Heyd, and several other individuals. Although the plaintiff is named in the lawsuit, we are referring to him by his first name, Andrew, and his last initial, W, in order to protect his privacy. We have redacted his last name and the name of his employer in the lawsuit, which is provided below.

Allegations

The suit, filed by Manhattan attorney Cody Warner, alleges:

• Assault and battery by a priest at St. Thomas, the Rev. Mark Schultz, who is named a defendant in the case and remains an employee of the church.
• Assault and battery by a registered nurse previously employed by St. Thomas, William Davis. Davis previously worked as an addiction counselor at the local VA medical center.
• Assault and battery by Schultz’s same-sex husband, Erich Erving, who lives with Schultz in the same building as students at the St. Thomas Choir School.
• Defamation per se by Bishop Matthew Heyd, who sent an email to all clergy in the Diocese, falsely claiming that Andrew W. physically assaulted multiple church employees and threatened to commit a mass shooting during church services.
• Defamation per se by the Episcopal Diocese of New York, in its role as the supervisor and employer of Bishop Heyd.
• Defamation per se by an as-yet unidentified “John Doe,” who contacted Andrew W.’s employer and falsely claimed that he had threatened to commit various terroristic acts.
• Negligent screening, hiring, and retention by St. Thomas Church for placing Schultz and Davis in positions where they could harm others.
• The Intentional infliction of emotional distress by all the defendants.

The suit also recounts how the Diocese and St. Thomas responded to Andrew W.’s complaints to the church and Diocese about the sexual assault by banning him from all Episcopal Churches and activities within the Diocese.

Context

And while not mentioned in the lawsuit, we are concerned about several related issues:

• Our independent investigatory work suggests Schultz, Erickson, and Davis all have troubling aspects to their past that should have been a warning sign to the parish that they were not safe to be around parishioners — or children at the Choir School. And to be blunt, if we can find this information, there is no reason the parish/Diocese couldn’t have found it. So we’re confident that the parish/Diocese is negligent in its hiring practices.
• This is not a one-off case. We are aware of additional victims who have come forward, and the Diocese also knows that there are other victims, This suggests a systemic breakdown of safeguarding practices within the parish, as well as seriously deficient personal and professional ethics by church staff. Moreover, vestry members and the diocesan standing committee members should be asking tough questions about this egregious breakdown of safe church practices, which has happened on multiple levels.
• Evidence strongly suggests that there is an ongoing criminal investigation into additional allegations of sexual assault at the St. Thomas Choir School.
• The tortious conduct by the Diocese and St. Thomas’ is compounded by an utter lack of transparency and communication over these issues. Sitting in splendid silence neither engenders trust nor promotes healing.
• We have directly contacted the Diocese and objected in the strongest possible terms to Mark Schultz continuing to serve as a priest. We also object to the double standard—if he were alleged to have grabbed a female parishioner’s breasts, for example, Schultz would almost certainly have been suspended immediately, But because the victim in this case is an adult male, suddenly it’s okay. How does that work?
• As documented elsewhere in this blog, Erickson is well-known as the producer of religion-themed gay porn. On what planet is it okay for this knucklehead to live in the same building as the boys enrolled at the choir school?

  

• There is a another lawsuit, previously filed, alleging child sexual assault involving the choir school.
• We have contacted the bishops of New York and demanded an immediate retraction of Heyd’s defamatory statement and an apology to the victim, which would have been the Christian thing to do, the legally smart thing to do, and the only sensible thing to do. The Diocese ignored our request, instead preferring to play games, so a lawsuit is entirely appropriate at this point.
• Speaking of, what kind of idiot sends out messages, as Heyd did, accusing a church member of threatening to commit a mass shooting unless they are ABSOLUTELY sure it’s accurate? And why are the diocesan chancellors not explaining to Heyd the meaning of the phrase, “defamation per se”? And if Heyd really believed that — which we doubt — why didn’t he refer the matter to law enforcement? To be clear, this statement is a fabrication.
• When Andrew W complained to the Diocese about the sexual assaults, the Diocese responded in writing that Schultz’s behavior was appropriate.

  

• The Diocese is still playing games with the Title IV clergy disciplinary complaint that Andrew W filed back in the first few weeks of 2025. The Warren Commission Report, which investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy, only took ten months, despite interviewing thousands of witnesses.
• More than seven months after the initial Title IV complaint was filed, the Diocese still has not conducted the professional pastoral care assessment required under church canons in all cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct. Again, why? Why is it so hard for the Diocese to act with integrity?
• The Title IV process in the Diocese has been marked by incompetence and corruption at every turn, as well as an effort to investigate not the underlying wrongdoing, but instead to investigate Andrew W. This is a profound misuse of Title IV, a breach of trust, and a sordid reflection on Bishop Shin’s lack of personal integrity, as he is the bishop handling the case. The only legitimate issue is the behavior of the clergy involved, and we categorically reject diocesan efforts to blame the victim.
• There has been an abject lack of pastoral concern for the victim in this case, combined with a concerted effort to cause him additional trauma and interfere with his career. How this reflects the church’s mantra of “loving, liberating, life-giving” is beyond us.
• Barb Kempf, the intake officer for bishops, continues to slow walk a related Title IV clergy disciplinary case against Heyd. How does that benefit anyone, including the church? We also remind all involved that the canons set a 45-day timeline for the issuance of an intake report, and require the immediate provision of a pastoral response. Why is this not happening?
• We remind all involved of Carl Turner’s defamatory message in the church newsletter about Andrew W. While the message does not mention Andrew by name, its subject was completely clear. Thus, Turner needs to resign, effective immediately, as his behavior in no way mediates Christ or the message of the Gospels.

  

• We are confident that the discovery process will reveal additional misconduct by Turner.
• We believe at least one of the individuals in question will face criminal charges in this matter. We have also uncovered evidence that suggests that person has previously been sued for sexual assault.
• Similarly, we are confident that Schultz, Erving, and Davis have sexually assaulted other individuals. Not only do they think this behavior is funny, but third-party evidence suggests that sexual harassment by gay church members is a routine event at St. Thomas.
• The alleged statement by William aka “Bill” Davis about how “all the action happens upstairs” at St. Thomas is both disturbing and telling. This is a church, not a place for random sexual encounters. Moreover, Davis’ repeated sexual assaults, together with these comments, make us suspect Davis is a predator and a sociopath.
• Nor should we forget Matthew Moretz’s efforts to shut down Andrew W’s efforts to get help. If this is his idea of what it means to be a priest — or a Christian — no thanks, he can keep it.
• We have heard disturbing reports of behind-the-scenes conversations at St. Thomas’ in which vestry members and others have allegedly called the victim “unbalanced” and otherwise made defamatory, ad hominem attacks against him. Not only is this an egregious violation of the Baptismal Covenant, but rest assured — anyone who would do would be equally willing to do the same to other victims of sexual assault. This conduct is unacceptable and warrants an immediate written apology.

In short, this case is a debacle of lies, corruption, deceit, bullying, spiritual abuse, defamation and more.

The Diocese needs to act with integrity. Heyd and Shin need to resign

We hope that Heyd will show some measure of integrity and act quickly to settle this case, issue a public apology/retraction, and take responsibility for his misconduct by resigning as bishop diocesan. Similarly, the debacle of the Title IV case in this matter is entirely the fault of Bishop Shin, and he needs to resign, immediately.

If, however, Heyd and the rest of this sordid bunch think they will benefit by dragging out this case, they are in for a rude awakening. We and other media outlets will work our backsides off to ensure that people worldwide recognize a painful reality: The Episcopal Diocese of New York is a toxic cesspool, a nest of vipers, and a whitewashed tomb.

In other words, it’s time for persons of integrity and goodwill to leave the Episcopal Church in search of a spiritual home with integrity.

As for fellow media outlets, if you want help covering this story, hit us up. We are happy to assist in any way possible.

Update:

We have removed existing comments and blocked further comments on this post. While we are deeply grateful for the support of readers, speculation about the victim and his behavior, no matter how well-intended, is not helpful.