A former Kansas City theatre director has been found dead only days after allegations of sexual assault against him surfaced on social media.
Jeff Church, 63, served as the artistic director of the Coterie Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri for more than three decades but resigned shortly before he was found dead at his home by police on Saturday afternoon, The Kansas City Star reported.
The office of the medical examiner has not shared the cause of death publically.
His passing comes days after social media allegations that the children’s theatre director had sexually assaulted younger men for decades.
Local radio broadcaster Mark Manning of KKFI 90.1 wrote on Facebook that Mr Church assaulted him 31 years ago when Mr Manning was 27 years old. He added that he was aware of many other victims.
Mr Manning told The Star that he made the decision to share his story as a way of supporting other victims – Dashawn Young was one of the first to speak out regarding the alleged abuse.
“It’s been going on for over 30 years,” Mr Manning told the paper. “Most of these people were young theater artists trying to find their way through their theatrical career and a person in a very great authority position of directing them and deciding who gets paid and who gets the job [was] interfering in people’s lives.”
Mr Manning added that three people got in touch with him after his Facebook post to say that they had experienced similar things.
The abuse allegations against Mr Church were initially published by The Pitch – which reported that at least 12 people have shared allegations with the outlet.
Actor KC Comeaux wrote on Facebook on Friday that “he has groomed, abused, and assaulted, numerous young men over the course of 30+ years. Myself included”.
“If you, or someone you love has fallen victim to Jeff Church, I want you to know you are not alone. I, and countless others are here to support you and help healing in any way we can,” he added.
Following the allegations, the theatre released a statement on 23 December and Mr Church’s biography has been removed from the theatre’s site.
The Coterie Board of Directors said that “this week, we learned of serious allegations against our producing artistic director. These are very troubling allegations that must be fully, and robustly, investigated”.
“We have, therefore, placed the producing artistic director on administrative leave and engaged an experienced outside investigator to conduct a thorough review of the facts,” they added. “One of the key components of our mission is to use the arts as an essential force in promoting justice for all. We are fully committed to pursuing the investigation in this spirit. We ask for everyone’s support, patience and partnership as the investigation proceeds.”
“It’s truly a tragedy for our community,” Mr Manning told The Star. “I don’t want to see a whole theater company be destroyed because of one person and the horrible things that they did over a long period of time to a lot of different people, both men and women.”
On 24 December, the board issues a subsequent statement, saying that they had “accepted the resignation of Jeff Church effective immediately. The Coterie remains committed to investigating the serious allegations against him over the coming days”.
The first allegation surfaced on 20 December, when Mr Young said Mr Church had sexually assaulted him at a 2017 pool party when Mr Young was 22 years old.
Mr Young said in a video that has since been removed that he and Mr Church had been on two dates but that they weren’t in a relationship.
The Pitch reported that Mr Young alleged that Mr Church tried to initiate sex when Mr Young was changing out of his swimsuit in Mr Church’s bedroom. According to Mr Young, his clothing had been moved from the side of the pool to the bedroom.
About a dozen previous staff members at the theatre confirmed to The Pitch that the allegations against Mr Church were “Kansas City theater’s worst kept secret”.
“I was watching the Weinstein thing on TV,” Mr Young told The Pitch. Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape charges on 19 December.
“I couldn’t get Jeff’s face out of my mind. I knew I had to say something. All I can see is his face, when he was on top of me, with this disgusting grin,” Mr Young said. “I tried to laugh it away, and asked him repeatedly to stop, but he kept laughing while saying ‘I don’t care what you want.’ This was The Great Jeff Church, who I’d looked up to since I was a kid.”
The Coterie’s Board of Directors added in a statement that “our Coterie Theatre community — and the broader Kansas City arts community — are processing countless emotions following this terribly tragic series of events”.
“For those brave souls who publicly spoke their truth: we see you. We hear you. We support you as you work to heal from unimaginable pain. We hope you are uplifted by the love and support of the arts community that surrounds you,” the board said.
