April 10, 2026 (Tehachapi, CA) This is the true story of a sexual assault that took place at Shepherd of the Hills Church in Tehachapi, California. I know the woman personally. I have spoken with her recently about what happened. What I am sharing comes directly from her and from my own direct involvement. This is not secondhand or thirdhand.
I am sharing this because it represents an ongoing physical threat to the congregation and the community, and because the way Jeff Kaplan and the Elder Board handled it represents a serious spiritual threat.
Watch YouTube Video of this article here: https://youtu.be/J56Ls5Hp4vc
My Resignation as Elder
I became an Elder at Shepherd of the Hills Church in 2019. On June 11th, 2023, I resigned as an Elder from Shepherd of the Hills. A copy of that resignation email can be found below. I still was leading the safety and security, livestream, and IT ministries during this time. The reason for my resignation isn’t the focus for now, but may be shared at a later time.
Why She Came to Me
In August 2023, a mutual contact reached out to me on behalf of a woman in the congregation. She wanted to share something with me, something that had happened to her at Shepherd of the Hills.
There is a reason she did not feel comfortable going directly to Jeff Kaplan, Dave Gilliam, Michael Banton, or the Elders. She needed to go to someone else. That alone should give us pause.
I spoke with her directly. I received the details of what happened, including the when, where, how. Then I located the incident on video footage inside the church’s fellowship hall.
The attack was captured on camera.
The Incident
A man in leadership at Shepherd of the Hills sexually assaulted a woman inside the church. This was not an isolated incident. It was actually the second time something had happened between these two individuals, the first being an uncomfortable situation involving inappropriate touching in a vehicle. There appeared to possibly be grooming tendencies present.
The sexual assault itself was clear. It was on video. And I had access to that video.
Informing Jeff Kaplan & the Elders
On Sunday, September 3rd, 2023, I met with Jeff Kaplan, Michael Banton, and the entire Elder Board in Jeff’s office after church. I told them two things:
- A sexual assault had occurred, and I had it on video.
- This was the second incident between these two individuals.
I showed them the video. They were shocked. They were mortified. Dave Gilliam, Jeff Kaplan, Michael Banton, and the rest of the Elder Board all agreed that it was bad and that it needed to be addressed immediately.
I want to be clear about something. There is a false narrative being spread now that the Elders were not all in agreement about the seriousness of this or how to proceed. That is 100% false. I was in the room with all of them. Nobody disagreed. Nobody raised an alternate opinion. Any suggestion otherwise is backpedaling.
At that same meeting, I told Jeff Kaplan that he needed to keep what is called a “living document”, which is a record of every step, every meeting, every action taken to address this. As head of the safety and security team, I requested that he please share this with me so I can ensure this was taking place. He agreed. However, I never received that document as promised. I do not know if it exists.
The First Red Flag: A Week of Silence
More than four days went by. I heard nothing.
On September 7th, I texted Jeff asking for an update. Almost a day later, he responded. He had met with the victim. The conversation, he said, “went well.”
I asked: What about the attacker?
Jeff replied: “I need to set up a time to meet with him.”
A full week passed before Jeff Kaplan met with the attacker. From Sunday to the following Sunday, seven days, the man who had sexually assaulted a woman in that church continued to maintain his position and freely come to/from all church services. He remained in leadership. Nobody had spoken to him.
I do not know what could possibly be so urgent that meeting with an provable perpetrator of sexual assault would wait an entire week. If that does not get you out of bed immediately to address it, what will?
“Face His Accuser” – The Spiritual Failure
During that same week, Jeff Kaplan met with the victim. And what he said to her was devastating.
He told her that she needed to confront her attacker because her attacker, in Jeff’s own words, “has the right to face his accuser.”
Let me be very clear about why this is not just a pastoral failure, but a spiritual one.
Revelation 12:10 (NLT)
“For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down—who accuses them before our God day and night.”
Satan is called the Accuser of the Brethren. That is his title. He is the one who accuses God’s children day and night.
This woman was not an “accuser.” She was a victim of a sexual assault captured on video. She was a wounded sheep. And instead of protecting her, the shepherd asked her to sit across from the wolf, and called it pastoral care.
I have spoken directly with her about this. She told me that Jeff’s words made her feel ostracized. She felt like the church was trying to make her out to be the bad person. She felt like they were trying to protect the attacker, not her, the victim.
That is not pastoral care. That is re-traumatization.
Matthew 11:28 (NLT)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Jesus did not say, “Go sit with your attacker.” He said, “Come to me.” The contrast could not be clearer.
She Goes to the Police
She decides to call law enforcement. She does this out of frustration, mainly because Jeff was not meeting with the attacker, because a full week had passed with no action, because she felt nobody was taking it seriously.
Jeff Kaplan personally told me that he was frustrated that she contacted the police. He wanted to know what her “end game” was. I told him the truth: I think she wants someone to take it seriously.
She then contacted me and left a voicemail. In that voicemail, she asked for one thing: a copy of the video. Not to harm the church. Not to go to the media. She said, verbatim, “just to protect myself.”
All she wanted was to protect herself.
I went to Jeff and the Elders to request permission to share the video with her. They refused.
Here is what Jeff texted me: “The elders are opposed to passing along the video. We are concerned that instead of pursuing reconciliation and resolution, she may choose to escalate the situation legally and potentially allow the video footage to get into the wrong hands, which would harm our church’s testimony.”
Notice: not God’s testimony. The church’s testimony.
A woman was sexually assaulted. She asked for the evidence to protect herself. She was denied, and implied to be a liar.
Proverbs 28:13 (NLT)
“People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.”
The Elders chose concealment over confession. Reputation over righteousness.
Luke 12:3 (NLT) – Jesus speaking:
“What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”
What was concealed is now being proclaimed. Jesus said this would happen.
The Attacker’s Response
When Jeff Kaplan finally met with the attacker, a full week after being notified, the man refused to watch the video. To this day, as far as I am aware, he has never seen what he did.
But yet, he denied everything. And then he said this to Jeff:
“She isn’t even my type. I’m not even attracted to her.”
As if being attracted to her would somehow justify the assault. As if that logic makes any sense at all.
He denied it. He refused to look at the evidence. And he excused himself with a statement that only made things worse.
Michael Banton’s Attempt to Conceal the Video from Police
Between late September and early October, I received a phone call from Michael Banton in the middle of a workday. He sounded panicked, but that was just my perception.
He told me that a police detective was on his way to the church to speak with Jeff about the situation. Jeff had called Michael as soon as he found out (not sure why).
I asked: What’s the problem?
Michael Banton said: “We should absolutely not show the police detective that video. We should make him get a search warrant.”
I argued with him. I told him that was bordering on obstruction of justice. I asked: Why are you trying to protect this guy?
He continued to yell and argue, saying the church could be liable. I told him: you called me for my opinion. Here it is. You absolutely should show the video. Let the police do their job. She called the police for a reason.
Psalm 82:3-4 (NLT)
“Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.”
Thankfully, Jeff didn’t listen to Michael Banton, and showed the detective the video anyway.
Isaiah 1:17 (NLT)
“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.”
After this phone call, I texted Michael Banton and told him not to call me like that again yelling and shouting in the middle of a workday. He said he was “choosing not to participate” with my text message. I left it alone.
The Detective’s Conclusion
I later asked Jeff what happened with the police detective. We were at Murray Family Farm in October 2023, standing between the lobby and the pumpkin patch, waiting for our wives.
Here is exactly what Jeff told me:
The detective came. Jeff showed him the video. The detective agreed it was very bad. He had been in his field for about 20 years, and he confirmed that the video showed exactly what the victim said it showed.
The detective said he would place the man under arrest for sexual assault, but because the woman had decided not to pursue it, he could not.
She dropped the charges for two reasons. First, she did not want the embarrassment of going through a legal process. Second, and this is critical, she called the police because she wanted Jeff Kaplan and the church to take it seriously. She felt they were not taking it seriously. She was right.
No Consequences. No Protection. No Justice.
I asked Jeff: Why is this man still in leadership? He has not been asked to step down. He has not been asked to take a temporary leave of absence. No counseling. No meetings with the Elders. Nothing. It is as if it never happened.
Jeff’s response?
“I think it’s best to leave well enough alone.”
I went to Michael Banton. I said: You are an elder. You represent the safety team. You need to do something to prevent this from happening again.
Michael Banton said: “We are keeping our eyes on him.”
Keeping your eyes on someone is a response mechanism. It is not a prevention mechanism. There are cameras everywhere at Shepherd of the Hills. The assault happened anyway. “Keeping your eyes on him” did not stop it from happening the first time. What will stop it from happening again?
Obviously, the victim and her family left the church. The attacker is still serving in leadership at Shepherd of the Hills to this day.
The Ongoing Physical Threat
I want to be very clear about something.
This is not just about what happened in the past. This is an ongoing physical threat to the congregation and the community.
A man sexually assaulted a woman inside the church. He refused to watch the video. He denied everything. He faced no consequences. He was never asked to step down. He knows he was protected. He knows he got away with it.
What is stopping him from doing it again?
If you attend Shepherd of the Hills, or if you are thinking about attending, you need to ask yourself: Is my wife safe? Is my mother safe? Are my children safe?
The Elders are “keeping their eyes on him.” But keeping your eyes on someone does not prevent an assault. It only means you might see it happen again.
Matthew 7:15-16 (NLT)
“Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit.”
The fruit of this leadership is a covered-up sexual assault, a protected attacker, and a victim who was told to sit across from the man who hurt her. That is not the fruit of shepherds. That is the fruit of wolves.
The Spiritual Threat
The way Jeff Kaplan and the Elder Board handled this represents not just a failure of leadership, but a spiritual threat to everyone under their care.
When a shepherd tells a victim that she must confront her attacker because he “has the right to face his accuser”, that is not biblical. That is not pastoral. That is harmful.
When Elders conceal evidence and protect an attacker over a victim, they are not acting as under-shepherds of Christ. They are acting as enemies of the flock.
Ezekiel 34:2-4 (NLT)
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. You have not strengthened the weak. You have not healed the sick. You have not bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for those who are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.”
The woman who was assaulted was weak, injured, and traumatized. Jeff Kaplan did not strengthen her. He demanded she sit with her attacker. The Elders did not bind up her wounds. They denied her the video evidence and left the attacker in leadership.
This is ruling with harshness and cruelty. This is not shepherding.
Ezekiel 34:10 (NLT)
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and they will no longer be able to feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.”
God says He will consider corrupt shepherds His enemies. He will hold them responsible. This is not a small matter to God.
Why I Am Speaking
Some may look at what I am doing and think it is self-serving and vengeful. They may say I am doing this because I was wronged.
I want to be honest with you. If it were only about me, if I were the only one who had been wronged, I would probably leave it alone. I would pray for them. I would trust God to handle it.
But this is not just about me.
People are being put in harm’s way. This is not a one-time failure. Looking back, this is becoming a pattern. A trend. And when people are at risk, when someone who has committed a sexual attack is still serving in leadership, when victims are being re-traumatized by the very shepherds who should protect them, silence is not an option.
1 Timothy 5:19-20 (NLT)
“Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses. But those elders who are sinning you must reprove before everyone, so that the others may be warned.”
The accusation is confirmed. The video, Elders, and police are the witnesses. The Elders sinned by covering this up, by protecting the attacker, and by re-traumatizing the victim.
I am doing what Scripture commands: rebuking them publicly, so that others may be warned.
A Final Word
If you attend Shepherd of the Hills, you deserve to know the truth. If you are considering attending, you deserve to know what is happening behind the scenes. If you have donated to this church, you deserve to know how your money has been used, to protect an attacker, not a victim.
I am sharing this because the truth matters. Because victims matter. Because churches that cover up sexual assault and protect attackers are not safe, physically or spiritually.
Proverbs 28:13 (NLT)
“People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.”
There is still time for confession. There is still time for repentance. But concealment is not the path of mercy. It never has been.
More is coming.