Denver church sued over alleged sex assault of student, handling of accusations; leaders dispute key allegations
A former student and her parents are suing St. John’s Lutheran Church and School in Denver, alleging church and school officials failed to protect the girl from a music director who they say sexually assaulted her when she was 13 and then failed to properly respond when concerns about the alleged assault surfaced.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Denver District Court, also accuses St. John’s of failing to properly screen and supervise Diego Marroquin, who worked as the church and school’s interim music director and technical coordinator.
But in a letter sent Saturday to church and school families, St. John’s strongly disputed several of the allegations, particularly claims that Pastor Andrew Farhat or other staff members accused the girl of lying, pressured her to recant or failed to report suspected abuse.
“Two staff members independently reported quickly and appropriately to authorities as required by Colorado’s mandatory reporting laws,” the church said.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the girl identified as K.V. and her parents, alleges that Marroquin raped the 13-year-old in May 2022 in a balcony overlooking the church sanctuary.
The lawsuit alleges St. John’s could have prevented the assault with a basic background check and says Marroquin, who was 34 when he was hired, did not have legal authorization to work in the United States. It also alleges the church and school gave Marroquin extensive, unsupervised access to children, including through one-on-one music lessons.
The lawsuit alleges Marroquin engaged in inappropriate behavior with two other students, including showing underage girls sexually explicit photographs and videos, including videos of himself having sex.
One student, according to the lawsuit, was allegedly shown sexual text messages, photographs of women, naked images and videos of Marroquin having sex with a former girlfriend. The lawsuit also alleges he showed the student a photograph of a naked girl he said was 15.
Another student allegedly was taken to a restaurant after band practice and shown pornographic videos, including a video of Marroquin having sex. The lawsuit alleges Marroquin also showed the student text messages with a 14-year-old girl that included topless photographs.
The lawsuit alleges these were warning signs that St. John’s failed to recognize or properly address.
Previous criminal case
The lawsuit follows a criminal case against Marroquin that began after Denver police investigated the allegations.
In 2023, Marroquin was charged with sexual assault on a child under 15 by a person in a position of trust.
He ultimately avoided trial. In January 2025, prosecutors dropped the sexual-assault charge as part of a plea agreement. Marroquin pleaded guilty to felony contributing to the delinquency of a minor with a sexual factual basis and misdemeanor third-degree assault. A judge later sentenced him to four years of sex-offender intensive supervised probation.
Marroquin was subsequently deported to Guatemala, according to the lawsuit.
The new lawsuit includes allegations concerning voice messages Marroquin sent to K.V. in which he discussed their relationship and professed his feelings for her. “You’re my friend and I love you and genuinely care for you like a lot,” Marroquin said in one message, reviewed by CBS Colorado. “I do love you and I care for you. I’m here for you. I hope we can hang,” said Marroquin in other voice messages attached to the lawsuit.
Attorney Aria Vaughan, who represents K.V. and her family, said those communications are significant because they came directly from Marroquin.
“It’s Marroquin in his own words showing exactly how little respect he had for an appropriate adult-child relationship,” Vaughan said.
K.V.’s mother said the alleged assault and its aftermath have had a lasting impact on her daughter.
“She has severe anxiety, depression, has anger just mood swings … She’s not the same little girl she used to be,” she said.
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