Kansas City’s Coterie Theater alleges ex-director Jeff Church ‘forced himself’ on adults

Three months after a wave of accusations publicly surfaced against Coterie Theater’s former producing artistic director Jeff Church, the theater’s board of directors says an internal investigation confirmed “multiple occasions” when he “engaged in nonconsensual sexual acts against adults.”

The investigators, hired by The Coterie, found that those “sexual acts” occurred “mostly at private social gatherings” at Church’s place of residence. Thirty-five people were interviewed, including people who worked with Church for decades, and internal documents were reviewed to draw those conclusions.

The accusations against Church, a long respected figure in Kansas City’s arts scene, rocked the local theater community, as some say they knew of Church’s behavior for years.

Others, including current supporters, say the allegations do not align with the man they knew. A longtime attorney and friend of Church told The Star on Wednesday he was skeptical of the investigation and viewed The Coterie’s statement as attempting to improve its reputation.

While several witnesses did not observe any inappropriate behavior, The Coterie said, “the investigation found credible those witnesses who reported that Church forced himself on non-consenting adults.”

Allegations concerning sexual misconduct involving children were not corroborated. The Coterie also concluded, based on the investigator’s findings, that no one on the board knew of the allegations previously and that no alleged misconduct happened under The Coterie’s roof or at sponsored events.

On Wednesday, The Coterie’s Board of Directors shared the findings on the theater’s website. The investigation was conducted by Fine Line HR Consulting, a Kansas City-based firm.

Absent from The Coterie’s statement were many specifics regarding the way the investigators made their determinations. The report itself was not being released “out of respect for the privacy of witnesses who asked to remain anonymous,” The Coterie said.

Theresa Stoker, president of The Coterie’s board, called Church’s actions “heinous” and said they left board members feeling “deeply troubled.”

“We want to thank all of those who came forward to share their very personal and painful stories. It took a great deal of courage,” Stoker said in a statement, adding: “We are determined to foster an environment where creatives can do their best work to entertain and delight our young audiences.”

Church, 63, died by suicide on Dec. 24, just days after accusations of sexual misconduct were widely shared over social media. Over his 30-year career, accusers said, Church groomed, abused and assaulted young men.

One of the first to publicly accuse Church was KKFI 90.1’s Mark Manning, who wrote in a Facebook post that Church assaulted him 31 years ago when he was 27. Several people, including Manning, said they know of others.

Actor KC Comeaux also accused Church of assaulting “numerous young men over the course of 30+ years. Myself included.”

Meanwhile, supporters of Church, including longtime friend and attorney Larry LaVigne II, believe he never engaged in sexual misconduct and that his accusers were consenting adults.

In a statement Wednesday, LaVigne, who is representing the family and Church’s estate, said they sympathize with victims of rape. But the estate “vehemently maintains that Jeff Church did not engage in sexual misconduct, with children or adults.”

LaVigne cast doubt on the findings of the investigation, saying he and others were not invited to participate in the process. He also challenged the assertion by The Coterie that the investigation was “independent,” adding that “the process seemed to be devoid of legal principles.”

“The plan to keep the report private bodes well for the Coterie, because a public release would show that the investigator’s process was shoddy, lacked direction, and failed to fully involve parties with knowledge of relevant events,” LaVigne said in the statement.

“To date, the estate has not seen or heard any concrete evidence of Jeff Church’s sexual misconduct.”

The Star’s Lisa Gutierrez and Kynala Phillips contributed to this report.