A Dallas County grand jury declined to indict megachurch pastor Rickie Rush in two criminal cases, including an allegation he raped a teenager 15 years ago.
The decision, handed down in a closed-door court proceeding late last week, means jurors found prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to show probable cause that Rush, the 63-year-old founder of the Inspiring Body of Christ Church, committed crimes.
Rush declined to be interviewed. His attorney called the allegations baseless and on Tuesday praised the grand jury’s action in a statement to The Dallas Morning News.
The decision “finally lifts this cloud as he continues his unabated and relentless work of bringing God’s word and purpose to the community,’’ said Rush’s attorney, Michael Heiskell.
The pastor has overseen the southern Dallas megachurch, known as IBOC, since 1990. At its peak a decade ago, the church boasted more than 10,000 members. His popular sermons have drawn local celebrities and elected officials who sought his political support.
The News began reporting allegations of abuse from former church members in 2020. Rush’s attorney has said the accusations against him are part of a smear campaign.
The accuser in one case has not been publicly identified. In the second case, former church member Marcus Bell Jr. alleges that Rush raped him when he was 13. On Friday, a prosecutor told Bell’s aunt, Renee Phillips, that his case would not go to trial.
Over the last four years, Dallas police detectives have faced obstacles in pursuing the allegations. Several accusations were too old to prosecute. The pandemic delayed in-person interviews. Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot’s recusal from the case, citing a personal relationship with Rush, led to more delays.
Prosecutors could revive the case if new evidence emerges. But that is small comfort for former church members who say they have struggled for years to summon the courage to go public with their stories.
Bell’s family and his attorney say they are troubled by how the Grayson County DA Brett Smith’s office handled his case since it replaced Creuzot in January.
Bell’s aunt and his mother, Donna Fields, are former church members and said Rush sexually assaulted them when they were teenagers. Given Rush’s history with the family, the sisters said they are dismayed prosecutors never discussed the case with them or Bell. Bell’s lawyer said prosecutors did not follow basic protocol for handling sexual assault crimes.
“The prosecutors blew it,’’ said the lawyer, Pat Lee of Dallas. “If you don’t talk to the victims how do you get to know them and take the case seriously? It’s ridiculous.”
John Flynn, president of the National District Attorneys Association, agreed that best practice is for prosecutors or a victim advocate to talk with accusers.
“I can generally tell you that it is extremely unusual for a prosecutor’s office not to speak to the victim before you put the matter to a grand jury,” Flynn said.
The Grayson County DA office said in a news release on Friday that prosecutors conducted “in-person” interviews, but did not say with whom. They declined to discuss the case. In another statement this week, prosecutors said they relied on recorded interviews Dallas police conducted with Bell.
The DA’s office also said it reviewed reports made available by the Dallas police, as well as documents the grand jury subpoenaed. It did not describe the records. Dallas police officials would not comment.
The News has identified a dozen former church members who said they were sexually or physically abused by Rush. The first story, published in September 2020, detailed allegations that Rush sexually abused Fields and Phillips. Therapists for the sisters characterized Rush’s behavior as classic sexual grooming. But the sisters’ allegations were too old to prosecute.
The News also disclosed accounts of church members who said that when they were children, Rush beat them with wooden paddles, some while handcuffed or restrained.
A report last year delved into Bell’s story. He said the rape came after a week of beatings by Rush in 2007 that left him so bruised he was barely able to walk. A half-dozen former church members told The News Rush often whipped Bell with paddles under the guise of discipline.
After the beatings, Bell’s parents said, he attempted suicide and was hospitalized at a psychiatric center. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery for demanding a cellphone at gunpoint and went to prison for nearly five years. He is scheduled to be released next month.
Ruby Johnson, a therapist who submitted an assessment to the judge during Bell’s prosecution, said she believed his mental health problems stemmed from abuse by Rush. She said the DA’s office did not contact her during its investigation of Rush.
Johnson said she was troubled by prosecutors’ decision not to meet with Bell and the grand jury’s conclusion. Grand jury proceedings are secret by law, and Grayson County officials declined to disclose to The News whether they recommended an indictment to the jury.
“To me this could be another way of the system saying your voice doesn’t matter,’’ she said. “How do you humanize the victims if you don’t talk with them?”
Lee, Bell’s lawyer, said it also was important for prosecutors to interview Bell’s mother and aunt to understand how their cases are connected to Bell’s.
And he questioned why prosecutors didn’t wait to present a case to the grand jury until Bell is released from prison next month. Bell could have testified, Lee said.
Fields said she is crushed by the latest news.
“It’s a slap in the face,’’ Fields said. “As big a case as this is, you think someone would have made us feel our family’s allegations are being taken seriously. If they cared, they would have reached out.”
