Ravi Zacharias sexually abused women under the guise of needing their services as massage therapists, a law firm hired by his organization has revealed.
Zacharias died from cancer in May 2020.
The disgraced late Christian apologist regularly texted and emailed “women who were not his wife” and collected “over 200 ‘selfie’-style photographs of women” on his mobile phones and laptop.
The evidence the Miller & Martin PLLC law firm was able to collect suggests Zacharias preyed on various women for at least 10 years. Some of these women worked at spas in which he had invested.
In addition to detailing sexual acts the Christian apologist would request from some of these women, the RZIM founder used faith to manipulate them into compliance.
“Only one of the witnesses we interviewed said that Mr. Zacharias engaged in sexual intercourse. This witness reported details of many encounters over a period of years that she described as rape,” the law firm revealed.
The report adds:
According to this witness, Mr. Zacharias used religious expressions to gain compliance, as she was raised to be a person of faith. She reported that he made her pray with him to thank God for the “opportunity” they both received. She said he called her his “reward” for living a life of service to God, and he referenced the “godly men” in the Bible with more than one wife. She said he warned her not ever to speak out against him or she would be responsible for the “millions of souls” whose salvation would be lost if his reputation was damaged.
The board of the nonprofit Ravi Zacharias International Ministry released an open letter in response to the law firm’s findings. The international board, whose members are not publicly known, did not contest the listed evidence or claims made by women in the report.
Read more about the case:
Ravi Zacharias Hid Hundreds of Pictures of Women, Abuse During Massages, and a Rape Allegation (Christianity Today report)
Report of Independent Investigation into Sexual Misconduct of Ravi Zacharias (pdf from Miller & Martin PLLC)
Open Letter from the International Board of Directors of RZIM on the Investigation of Ravi Zacharias
