KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An investigation concluded sexual misconduct was committed by Jeff Church, the former long-time director of the The Coterie Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri.
Church was found dead inside his home last Christmas Eve, the same day he resigned from The Coterie.
The theater had placed Church on administrative leave after receiving "troubling allegations" against him last December.
Church had served as The Coterie's director since 1990 before his resignation.
After the incident, The Coterie hired Fine Line HR Consulting, an independent firm, to conduct an investigation into the allegations.
The investigation began in December 2022 and wrapped up this month, according to the theater.
The findings of the investigation were released Wednesday.
As part of the probe, 35 witnesses were interviewed, including Church's alleged victims and members of the Coterie's board and employees.
The firm also reviewed documents and other information.
Fine Line HR Consulting set up an email address where witnesses could contact the investigator.
The investigation found that on multiple occasions, Church engaged non-consensual sexual acts against adults.
These incidents mostly happened at private social gatherings at Church's home, according to the investigation.
Church also used The Coterie's Instagram account to engage in inappropriate conversations with a consenting adult.
In one instance, a child actor managed to view the conversations, the probe found.
There was no evidence that found any board members of The Coterie were aware of Church's misconduct.
“We have a tremendous amount of empathy for the victims of these heinous actions,” Theresa Stoker, current Coterie board president, said in a statement. “We want to thank all of those who came forward to share their very personal and painful stories. It took a great deal of courage. Their cooperation was vital in helping us gain a broader understanding, which will in turn help us maintain a positive and nurturing environment at The Coterie for generations to come.”
The Coterie acknowledge that two key witnesses of the investigation were missing, including Church and former executive director Joette Pelster, who also died.
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