The allegations came from four massage therapists who said that Zacharias “either touched his genitals or asked them to touch his genitals”.
The law firm said it employed a private investigations firm that included former federal police officers. More than 50 people were interviewed, including more than a dozen massage therapists, according to the report.
A digital forensic company examined four cell phones and a laptop used by Zacharias. Evidence was found of “text and email-based relationships with women who were not their wives”, along with more than 200 photos of women, the report said.
Several women accused Zacarias of using ministry funds to give them financial support, obtaining personal information about their lives and using religious language during the meetings, according to the report.
Zacharias, who defended Christianity through books and lectures, died last spring at his Atlanta home at age 74 after battling sarcoma. He was an important figure among Christian apologetics, an intellectual form of Christian theology that defends the faith against those who doubt it, invoking history and logic.
The Miller & Martin report detailed new allegations of misconduct against Zechariah. The report said the Christian leader’s claims that during his marriage he “never engaged in any kind of inappropriate behavior” when confronted with similar claims in the past were “misleading or false”.
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries’ board hired the law firm to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct last fall.
“Tragically, witnesses described encounters including sexting, unwanted touching, spiritual abuse and rape. We are devastated by what the investigation has shown and we are filled with sadness for the women who have been hurt by this terrible abuse.”
The accuser says she is “deeply indebted to all victims and whistleblowers”
The Miller & Martin report describes the case of Lori Anne Thompson, a Canadian woman who accused Zacharias of engaging in “sexually explicit online conversations” and of exploiting “her vulnerability to satisfy [his] own sexual desires. ”
In April 2017, Thompson and her husband wrote to Zacharias to demand “$ 5 million in exchange for releasing claims against him and the ministry”. Three months later, Zacharias sued the couple in federal court for extortion. The couple and Zacarias resolved the dispute confidentially in the fall of 2017, the report said.
Zacharias convinced the RZIM board that he was a victim of extortion and that the matter was not investigated, according to the report. Witnesses from RZIM told investigators that they were “marginalized for raising questions” about his explanations.
The RZIM statement this week said the results of the investigation “made us think very differently” about Thompson’s claims in 2017.
“We believe that Lori Anne Thompson told the truth about the nature of her relationship with Ravi Zacharias,” said the board. “It is with deep regret that we recognize that because we do not believe the Thompson and perpetuate a false narrative both privately and publicly, they have been slandered for years and their suffering has been prolonged and intensified.
In an e-mailed statement to CNN, Thompson said she and her husband “are deeply grateful to all the victims and whistleblowers who spoke not only for themselves, but also for us”.
She called the law firm’s report and board statement “initial steps in what we anticipate to be a long and arduous journey for RZIM toward institutional transparency and accountability.”
The council, citing “a deep need for corporate repentance,” said it hired lawyer and advocate Rachael Denhollander to “educate and advise” the organization and serve as a liaison with survivors.
The board said it also hired Guidepost Solutions, a consulting firm, to assess RZIM’s “structures, culture, policies, processes, finances and practices”.
“We want to help victims of Ravi’s abuse and fully understand what happened in our organization so that we can do everything in our power to ensure that nothing like this happens again,” said the council’s statement.