Denver church sued over alleged sex assault of student, handling of accusations; leaders dispute key allegations

A former student and her parents are suing St. John's Lutheran Church and School in Denver, alleging church and school officials failed to protect the girl from a music director who they say sexually assaulted her when she was 13 and then failed to properly respond when concerns about the alleged assault surfaced.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Denver District Court, also accuses St. John's of failing to properly screen and supervise Diego Marroquin, who worked as the church and school's interim music director and technical coordinator.

But in a letter sent Saturday to church and school families, St. John's strongly disputed several of the allegations, particularly claims that Pastor Andrew Farhat or other staff members accused the girl of lying, pressured her to recant or failed to report suspected abuse.

"Two staff members independently reported quickly and appropriately to authorities as required by Colorado's mandatory reporting laws," the church said.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the girl identified as K.V. and her parents, alleges that Marroquin raped the 13-year-old in May 2022 in a balcony overlooking the church sanctuary.

The lawsuit alleges St. John's could have prevented the assault with a basic background check and says Marroquin, who was 34 when he was hired, did not have legal authorization to work in the United States. It also alleges the church and school gave Marroquin extensive, unsupervised access to children, including through one-on-one music lessons.

The lawsuit alleges Marroquin engaged in inappropriate behavior with two other students, including showing underage girls sexually explicit photographs and videos, including videos of himself having sex.

One student, according to the lawsuit, was allegedly shown sexual text messages, photographs of women, naked images and videos of Marroquin having sex with a former girlfriend. The lawsuit also alleges he showed the student a photograph of a naked girl he said was 15.

Another student allegedly was taken to a restaurant after band practice and shown pornographic videos, including a video of Marroquin having sex. The lawsuit alleges Marroquin also showed the student text messages with a 14-year-old girl that included topless photographs.

The lawsuit alleges these were warning signs that St. John's failed to recognize or properly address.

Previous criminal case

The lawsuit follows a criminal case against Marroquin that began after Denver police investigated the allegations.

In 2023, Marroquin was charged with sexual assault on a child under 15 by a person in a position of trust.

He ultimately avoided trial. In January 2025, prosecutors dropped the sexual-assault charge as part of a plea agreement. Marroquin pleaded guilty to felony contributing to the delinquency of a minor with a sexual factual basis and misdemeanor third-degree assault. A judge later sentenced him to four years of sex-offender intensive supervised probation.

Marroquin was subsequently deported to Guatemala, according to the lawsuit.

The new lawsuit includes allegations concerning voice messages Marroquin sent to K.V. in which he discussed their relationship and professed his feelings for her. "You're my friend and I love you and genuinely care for you like a lot," Marroquin said in one message, reviewed by CBS Colorado. "I do love you and I care for you. I'm here for you. I hope we can hang," said Marroquin in other voice messages attached to the lawsuit. 

Attorney Aria Vaughan, who represents K.V. and her family, said those communications are significant because they came directly from Marroquin.

"It's Marroquin in his own words showing exactly how little respect he had for an appropriate adult-child relationship," Vaughan said.

K.V.'s mother said the alleged assault and its aftermath have had a lasting impact on her daughter.

"She has severe anxiety, depression, has anger just mood swings ... She's not the same little girl she used to be," she said.

Her father said the family wants answers from the church and school.

"I think they owe transparency to the church and school members," he said.

He added, "Nobody should go through what our daughter went through -- nobody should be made to feel what we as parents were made to feel."

Lawsuit alleges church failed to screen, supervise Marroquin

The lawsuit alleges St. John's failed to conduct an adequate background check before hiring Marroquin.

It says Marroquin was a Guatemalan citizen who entered the United States on a tourist visa and did not have documentation authorizing him to work.

The complaint alleges a background check and employment verification would have exposed those issues.

The lawsuit also alleges Marroquin routinely had one-on-one access to students through music instruction and that church and school officials failed to adequately supervise those interactions.

The complaint says church officials knew Marroquin was communicating inappropriately with underage girls.

It alleges church pastor Andrew Farhat specifically warned Marroquin not to text minors but failed to monitor whether he followed that instruction.

The church, however, says its current safety procedures are rigorous.

"Every staff member is a trained mandatory reporter, and our vetting, supervision, and safety standards are rigorously enforced every single day," the church said.

Dispute over church property

The lawsuit also raises a separate and potentially significant financial issue involving church property.

According to the complaint, St. John's leadership began discussing its lack of sexual-assault liability insurance in 2024.

Minutes from an October 2024 meeting of the church's Board of Administrative Services, cited in the lawsuit, stated: "We lack sexual assault liability insurance. We are looking at options for separating Operating Entity from the real estate."

The complaint says board members continued discussing the issue in 2025. According to the lawsuit, April 2025 minutes said placing the property in a separate LLC was worth considering because of the church's fiduciary obligation to protect itself and because "it's a deterrent to lawsuits."

In May 2025, the board allegedly decided to move forward.

On July 1, 2025, according to the lawsuit, St. John's transferred ownership of two properties at 700 and 750 South Franklin Street to an entity called 700 South Franklin Street LLC.

The lawsuit says the properties had a combined appraised value of approximately $29.3 million and were transferred for $10.

The plaintiffs allege the transfer was designed to protect church assets from potential litigation.

"They transferred $29 million in property to an LLC for $10. St. John's doubled down on protecting itself instead of kids," said Vaughan.

The lawsuit includes a claim alleging the property transfer was fraudulent and intended to hinder or delay the family's ability to collect on any judgment.

The church did not publicly address the property-transfer allegations in its Sept. 5 letter.

Church says it will fight lawsuit in court

An attorney for St. John's said the church would not address every allegation publicly while the lawsuit is pending.

"Our executive and legal team will work through the specifics of the lawsuit diligently and truthfully at all times, as is our duty," the church said.

The church's Sept. 5 letter concluded by saying protecting children remains "a sacred stewardship" and that its leadership would address the lawsuit through the legal process.