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Two separate negligence lawsuits filed in Alachua County Circuit Court claim that Calvary Chapel Academy of West Melbourne, left minor students unsupervised during a May 2024 overnight trip to Camp Kulaqua Retreat and Conference Center, allowing three other students to sexually and physically assault at least two boys on multiple occasions.
The complaints (both Fourth Amended Complaints) were filed on behalf of Brevard County families identified only by pseudonyms. In Case No. 2024-CA-003148, John Doe and Jane Doe sue as parents and natural guardians of a minor. In Case No. 2024-CA-003370, the same parents sue on behalf of another minor. Both suits name the same defendants: Calvary Chapel of Melbourne, Inc. and Calvary Chapel Fellowship of Melbourne, Inc. d/b/a Calvary Chapel Academy, the private religious school at 2955 Minton Road in West Melbourne.
The lawsuits, which remain ongoing, were provided to The Space Coast Rocket by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Varun Ramnarine of Morgan & Morgan, after the our March 19 Facebook post seeking firsthand accounts of bullying, sexual harassment, retaliation, and supervision failures at the school. That post drew roughly 50 responses from current and former parents, students, staff, and others. Some of the complaints we’ve received are consistent with he allegations in these two cases.
Allegations center on the same May 6–9, 2024 school trip
According to both complaints, Calvary Chapel Academy organized the overnight trip to Camp Kulaqua in High Springs, Florida. Multiple students and the alleged perpetrators J.T., S.W., and B.W. (all minors and Calvary Chapel Academy students at the time), were sent back to their cabins unsupervised at various times during the trip to change clothes or prepare for activities.
The complaints allege that on May 6, 2024 and continuing on May 7 and 8, J.T., S.W., and B.W. physically and sexually assaulted the two victims while the boys were alone in the cabins. Specific claims include the three perpetrators holding the victims down, sodomizing them, beating them with a closet curtain rod, and causing visible injuries such as a busted lip, bleeding, bruising, and scratching on the arms.
The assaults allegedly continued over multiple days. When one victim reported the abuse to an adult chaperone employed by the school, the complaints state the report was ignored or dismissed as “mere horse play.” Parents say they were not notified until the night of May 8th, more than 24 hours after the first report, and were initially told it was just roughhousing.
School’s advertised “safe environment” contrasted with claims
Both complaints highlight Calvary Chapel Academy’s public marketing, which promises “a safe and secure learning environment,” “godly character in a loving Christian environment,” and “opportunities for each student to grow in care and compassion for others.” Families paid high tuition expecting that standard, the suits say.
Instead, the complaints allege the school and its chaperones breached their duty to provide reasonable supervision and a safe premises, including protection from foreseeable third-party attacks by other students.
Legal claims and next steps
Each complaint includes counts for negligence causing damages to the minor and loss of filial consortium (parental damages). Both seek damages in excess of $50,000, the jurisdictional threshold, with the actual amount to be determined by a jury. The filings note the claims exceed the minimum jurisdictional threshold and that the estimated value far exceeds $50,001 listed on the civil cover sheets for data-collection purposes only.
The Space Coast Rocket has reached out to Calvary Chapel Academy for a statement and will update this story if one is received. These are allegations contained in court filings; no findings of liability have been made.
This is the first in a series
The two lawsuits are the first articles in a series prompted by the overwhelming community response to our March 19 call for information. We continue to hear from parents, students, staff, coaches, and others about patterns of bullying, harassment (including discriminatory slurs), sexual misconduct, retaliation for reporting concerns, failure to investigate complaints, pressure to “handle it internally,” and issues tied to supervision, athletics, and bathrooms/locker rooms.
If you have firsthand information documentation, screenshots, incident reports, dates, or names, please contact us privately and securely:
We protect minors’ identities and handle sensitive tips with care, but we may need to verify details before publishing. Please do not post names of minors in public comments.
We will follow up with as many people as possible. Stay tuned for the next installments in this series.
