He was a celebrity pastor at one of Canada’s biggest megachurches. Inside the sexual abuse allegations that brought down Bruxy Cavey, his flock has taken a hard look at how he has conducted himself as leader.
“He used to go on dates,” said one worshipper who requested anonymity out of fear. In fact, she was one of the few women who was not part of the congregation that Bruxy and his wife were attending.
She said he would sometimes invite her out for a date, and as a result of that, they started dating. But because of her faith and the nature of the church that the couple attended, she declined his advances. She was not the only woman who said she felt bullied or unsafe during his relationship with her. Several of the women who knew the couple from his time in the church claimed they knew of his abuse and did not speak up. Some said they were terrified to.
Bruxy Cavey was arrested last year in connection with allegations of sexual misconduct, and the former pastor has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of sexual violation of a minor in the first degree and breach of trust.
This week, the Crown demanded that his bail be revoked, and three of the women who filed the police report against him were granted a protection order that bars him from contacting them again. With his bail revoked, they say the risk of harm has increased for them.
“He didn’t care one way or another and could have killed one of us and didn’t. He didn’t go to our funerals, he didn’t visit our family,” the woman said. “He was a good pastor, but he was certainly not a man of God.”
Cavey and his wife, Michelle, were forced to retire this past summer, but the church continues to function and he continues to speak at his megachurch.
“He has become a very, very respected pastor, but he’s still a pastor in the eyes of God,” said the woman, who said she hasn’t been back to that church. “But to me he can’t go back to the church. There