Parents of a teenage girl is facing a potential lawsuit for sending their daughter to a Christian camp, according to recent reports.
The lawsuit was filed by the teen's cousin, Joey Jordan, an actor who plays the role of Winn Schott on the show, 'Supergirl.' Jordan claims that his cousin, 17-year-old Sarah, was sent to the Christian camp in East Texas by her parents in an attempt to take away her same-sex attractions. Jordan started a GoFundMe page on June 4 called 'Save Sarah' to raise $100,000 to file the lawsuit. Within five days, it had reached $64,252.
“Instead of preparing for college and competing in the state debate tournament, [Sarah will] be doing forced labor every day and enduring Bible-based ‘therapy’ for her ‘disease’,” Jordan said.
According to the post, her parents were described as folks “who believe that homosexuality is a sin and abnormal.”
Patrick Von Dohlen, president of the San Antonio Family Association, told local news Station KENS 5 that Sarah’s parents' method of discipline were for her own good and safety.
Dohlen stated, “In this case, it’s natural for her to like boys. It’s not natural for her to like girls.”
Sarah "tried to run away [from the camp], but she was caught by the staff and returned to the facility," Jordan described in the GoFundMe page.
The camp, called Heartlight Ministry, countered such accusations, stating that the counseling facility is for teenagers who are troubled with “a wide range of behavioral and emotional issues.”
Mark Gregson, Heartlight’s founder and executive director stated, “It is disheartening to see that this young woman has had elements of her story made widely public without her consent. The assertion that this teen was held at Heartlight Ministries against her will, or that Heartlight provides any ‘treatment’ services for sexual identity, are categorically untrue.”
Sarah no longer attends Heartlight Ministries, and the GoFundMe page has since stopped receiving donations. A legal hearing is still set for July and attorney Christine Andresen of the CHA Law Group, which is known for prosecuting LGBT cases, was hired to pursue the case. If the lawsuit is dropped, the remaining donations will go towards Sarah's college tuition, according to the GoFundMe page.
