School, Lindsay Roberts deny all
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KELLY KERR / Tulsa World Richard and Lindsay Roberts stand outside the CNN building in New York City after their appearance on “Larry King Live” earlier this month. |
By APRIL MARCISZEWSKI World Staff Writer
10/14/2007
Last Modified: 10/15/2007 10:14 AM
Read the latest stories, view the revised lawsuit and other documents and watch slide shows and video.
Oral Roberts University and its president's wife, Lindsay Roberts, issued written statements Saturday saying that claims and accusations added to a lawsuit Friday are untrue.
A report attached to the lawsuit Friday contains allegations that Roberts, 51, spent a great deal of time with an underage male.
"I live my life in a morally upright manner and throughout my marriage have never, ever engaged in any sexual behavior with any man outside of my marriage as the accusations imply," Roberts said in her statement.
"Allegations against me in a lawsuit yesterday are not true. They sicken me to my soul," she said.
The lawsuit, as amended Friday, also added ORU's board of regents as a defendant and contained a new legal claim that the board had neglected to oversee, authorize and supervise the conduct of the defendants ORU, President Richard Roberts and university administrators Mark Lewandowski, Wendy Shirk and Jeff Ogle, as evidenced by those parties allegedly allowing a "convicted sexual deviant unrestricted access to the students of the university" as a "mentor" hired by Richard Roberts to work with students.
A written statement attributed to the university says, "The allegations that the university employed a sexual deviant are untrue."
The plaintiffs, three former ORU professors, support their claim of negligence by alleging in the suit that the board allowed ORU and Richard Roberts to fire ORU's comptroller and then shred and destroy "voluminous materials and documents . . . constituting spoilation of evidence."
The two-sentence statement from ORU also says, "The allegations that the university purposely or improperly destroyed documents are also untrue."
The allegations and claims are part of a lawsuit filed Oct. 2 in Tulsa County District Court by John Swails, Tim Brooker and Paulita Brooker, who claim that they were wrongfully fired or forced to resign from ORU. Brooker charges that Richard Roberts required him to involve his students in a Tulsa mayoral campaign in violation of federal laws for tax-exempt organizations.
The three also claim that they were fired or forced to resign after they turned over to the board of regents a report at least partially written by Lindsay Roberts' sister, Stephanie Cantees.
Richard Roberts said the 3-year-old report from Cantees listed untrue rumors that she was letting him know about. Richard Roberts claimed that the report referenced in the lawsuit contained additional false allegations that he had never seen before.
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Dozens Hurt as Severe Storms Lash Plains
Posted: Thursday 10/18/07 08:17 AM EDT
Filed Under: Nation News
A severe weather system -- "some sort of tornado or microburst," as one police officer puts it -- tears through Oklahoma, collapsing tents at a festival in Tulsa. The storms injure more than 30 people, damage homes and cut power to thousands.
Isn't it a little strange that this tragedy happened not long after a minister of God, Richard Roberts, along with his wife Lindsey, were accused of misusing university funds for their family's personal use, including many other accusations as well. And what if Richard and his wife are innocent? Could this latest storm serge in Tulsa, which is their home and location of their church and the Oral Roberts University be the "Wrath of God" upon those who we were so quick to judge? If so, it wouldn't be surprising that the God they worship and serve is angry with their accusers and sought vengance upon them. After all, he says in his word, "Vengance is Mine, saith Jehovah!" If Richard and his wife are innocent of these charges and have been wrongfully accused, we all need to repent and seek their forgiveness.
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