Jeff Church, the longtime Artistic Director of the Coterie Theater in Kansas City, was found dead on Saturday, December 24, days after being accused of multiple s*xual assaults. Allegations of his widespread s*xual abuse of multiple young men spanning over 30 years of Jeff’s tenure started circulating on social media last week.
On Saturday afternoon, local police found the 63-year-old former director dead at his house on West 63rd Street after receiving a call. Jeff resigned from his position in the children’s theater the same day, hours before his death. Missouri Police confirmed Jeff’s death to the public on Monday, December 26.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of s*xual abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
According to the Kansas City Police Department’s statement on Monday, December 26, emergency medical services rushed to the scene at Church’s house, where they confirmed his death. The medical examiners haven’t yet determined the cause of his death, and the investigation is still in process.
Several people who were allegedly assaulted by Jeff Church took to social media to share their stories last week.
On Saturday, Coterie Threatre released a statement on its Instagram page addressing the allegations against Jeff Church. The theater informed the public that they accepted Church’s resignation and would look further into the allegations. Jeff’s biography page from the theatre’s website has also been taken down.
The statement emphasized that the theater is taking these allegations very seriously and will immediately start with the investigations, irrespective of the holidays. The theater did not accept any calls to share their comment on Jeff’s death.
Several victims shared their traumatizing memory of assault by Jeff Church weeks before his death
Jeff Church had been in the directorial role at the Coterie Theater for over 30 years. Throughout his career, he produced and directed several musicals and plays around the city.
A string of accusations against Church began to surface when a Florida-based actor and former resident of Kansas City, Dashawn Young, shared a video on Facebook on December 20 detailing his story. Young accused Church of s*xually assaulting him in 2017 at a pool party when Young was 22.
The video was later taken down, but it prompted other victims to come forward and share their stories as well.
Young mentioned that he went on two dates with Church, but at the time of the assault, they did not have a consensual relationship. He alleged that he went to change clothes in Church’s bedroom after the party, and the former director unexpectedly tried to have s*x with him.
Young’s story was published on the City pitch, which also spoke to several former employees of the theater. All his victims called Church’s predatory behavior the worst-kept secret of the Kansas City theater.
They blamed the theater and everyone who knew about Jeff Church’s actions and remained silent out of fear of retaliation from the director. Church wielded great power in the theater scene of the small city, which he used to manipulate young men.
On Friday, December 23, the Kansas City Pitch published a story entailing multiple accusations of s*xual assault against Church. After the story was published, numerous other accounts of harassment and abuse started surfacing on social media. Church was placed on “administrative leave” by Coterie while an investigation followed by the allegations was conducted.
Mark Manning, a radio host at KKFI 90.1 FM, shared a long post on Facebook two days after the story came out on City Pitch and said he was assaulted by Church in 1991 at the age of 27. He wrote:
“To all of the victims of s*xual assault, please, please, please do not blame yourself for telling the truth. Please do not punish yourself, or allow ANYONE else to punish you for speaking up.”
Manning also spoke about a few others he knew Church had harassed and abused. He claimed that three of the victims also reached out to him after his post on Facebook.
Another actor, KC Comeaux, who previously worked with Jeff Church, took to Facebook to demonstrate how Church had done the same to him when KC was in his early 20s.
Shea Coffman, another former performer at Coterie, sent the City Pitch an email saying that Church made numerous unwelcome encounters in 2007. He refused Church’s advances, after which Coffman was omitted from a production at the theater. The City Pitch spoke to several other victims who faced the same trouble when they said no to Jeff Church’s advances.