Rick Trotter leads the Fellowship Memphis congregation in song during Sunday services in October 2006 when he was named the new voice of the Memphis Grizzlies. (Mike Brown/The Commercial Appeal)

Alleged victims say they were discouraged from reporting incident

By Jody Callahan of The Commercial Appeal

Former Grizzlies announcer Rick Trotter used a hidden camera to record numerous women and minors in a restroom at Fellowship Memphis in 2010, several alleged victims told The Commercial Appeal.

And those alleged victims said that after the camera was discovered, church co-founder John Bryson, and possibly others, discouraged the victims from going to the police.

Four of Trotter's alleged victims told their accounts to The Commercial Appeal this week. The women would only talk under condition of anonymity, saying they feared possible reprisals or being ostracized from local religious organizations affiliated with Fellowship.

Much of what they said was corroborated by a former staff member of Fellowship Memphis, although he said he could not speak to the Bryson allegations.

Numerous attempts to reach Bryson and other church members and officials through phone, email and social media were unanswered this week. However, late Thursday, Bryson and Downtown Church pastor Richard Rieves released a joint statement that read, in part, "Let us first say we are here for the victims. Trotter's actions are contrary to our values, and we are deeply sorry for the suffering of the victims."

Trotter, 40, was arrested Tuesday, accused of filming "upskirt" videos while women were kneeling during services at the Downtown Church earlier this year.

Trotter was later released on $70,000 bond for the four misdemeanor counts of photographing without consent. He returns to court Sept. 20. He has been dismissed from both Downtown Church and the Grizzlies. Neither Trotter nor his wife, Heather, could be reached for this story.

But according to the four who talked to the newspaper, Trotter also recorded unsuspecting victims as they used the restroom at Fellowship Memphis, where he was a staff member at the time. The church was then housed at the former Crichton College on Highland.

In the statement, they acknowledge the bathroom incident but provide few details.

"In February 2010, it was reported that Trotter was engaged in inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature at the corporate headquarters of Fellowship. Specifically, a single incident of Trotter recording people in a bathroom was reported," the statement said, adding that Trotter was soon fired.

According to the Memphis Police Department's Lt. Karen Rudolph, no one ever contacted police to report the incident or file a complaint. The church's statement makes no mention of contacting police after the camera was discovered at Fellowship.

One adult victim who spoke to the newspaper said Bryson contacted her to tell her she was on the recordings.

"I was really upset. I asked about pressing charges, but they discouraged us from doing that. They really didn't give us any of the information," she said, adding that church members "weren't allowed to talk about it. I tried to find out additional information as to what I could do about it. They said the only person I could talk about it with was a counselor, and they wouldn't give me any more information."

Another alleged victim was only 16 at the time of the recording, she told The Commercial Appeal, adding that her parents were also discouraged from going public. A second victim told the newspaper that she was 15 when she was recorded.

"I was a little disturbed. I was really angry actually. I also found out what lengths the church went to cover it up and keep it quiet," said the woman who was 16, adding that she and her family left Fellowship. "That made me even more angry and upset with the church that they would cover that up. It was disgusting."

In the statement, Bryson denied that any minors were recorded, and said the church "asked whether (the victims) wanted to press charges. The victims were also offered independent professional counseling paid for by the church. It is our understanding that none of the victims at that time chose to press charges."

The adult victim said they were discouraged from filing charges to avoid affecting Trotter's life and career.

"They said that no one would consider pressing charges because it would ruin his life and he had a family. They said they had already consulted with the police and they were told to destroy the evidence," she said.

According to one of the alleged victims, Trotter mounted his smartphone on a wall in the bathroom behind a bookcase during summer 2010. He then arranged items on the bookcase to hide the camera, the victim said. The bathroom was coed, and was apparently connected to a church office.

One day, however, a church intern was in the bathroom and noticed that the bookcase was askew. She looked more closely and discovered the camera — which was still recording — then reported it to Bryson and another church official, a victim said.

Two of the alleged victims said Bryson and possibly other church officials looked at parts of the video, and then notified some of the women who had allegedly been recorded.

After that, Trotter and his wife met with some of the alleged victims at their house, three of the alleged victims said, a process that at least one of the women refused to take part in. The church statement doesn't mention those sessions.

"They made us meet with him, with Rick Trotter. Sit down with him and his wife. That's terrible. I couldn't handle that at the time," said the adult woman, who left the church almost immediately after this happened.

The statement says Trotter was fired after the discovery of the phone, but that the church paid for him to attend a three-month rehab for sex addiction. After that was completed, Trotter read a letter of apology in a members-only church meeting. One of the victims said Trotter also met with people after that admission to talk to them individually.

In the statement, the two pastors acknowledge that Downtown Church leaders knew of Trotter's past when he was hired.

"The leaders openly discussed Trotter's prior sexual misconduct and the counseling he attended for sexual addiction. Trotter gave permission for both parties to openly discuss his sexual misconduct. Downtown Church also spoke with several counselors, including two that worked closely with Trotter during his time in counseling, to determine the effectiveness of the treatment as well as his readiness to re-enter the ministry."

The adult victim said she was "disappointed" by the fact that Trotter was allowed to move to another church despite the past incident.

"I think I'm more disappointed that he was allowed to continue and work with families and children who were left vulnerable, because no one would take a stand," the adult woman said. "I'm more disappointed about that than I am with anything."

The woman who was a minor at the time said she used to be proud to hear Trotter's booming voice announcing Grizzlies games, but that changed after she was told about the recordings.

"At first, it was pride because I knew who he was," she said, "but then after, it was disgust at what had happened."