From April through October this year, I served on a temporary committee for the OPC Presbytery of the Southeast, investigating allegations by Stephanie Chernyavskiy against her adoptive parents, the elders of her former church, and a number of other individuals, with accusations spanning roughly two decades and at least four states.
After six months of investigation, at our October presbytery meeting our committee returned a 40-page report, with 49 additional pages of recommendations and appendices. Our conclusion: “the most serious allegations against the people and entities named in our mandate are either unfounded or impossible to prove” (NIC Report, page 3).
It is not my intention to relitigate the contents of the report, which I think stands well on its own. However, in the last few days Mrs. Chernyavskiy has publicly accused our committee of intentionally ignoring her witnesses and evidence as part of a cover-up, writing on Facebook, “Unfortunately the committee of five men declined to interview or speak to my wittnesses and did not include any of my evidence in their report.” This accusation has been amplified across social media, and I believe some response is appropriate. (To be clear, the temporary committee was dissolved once our work was done, so I speak only for myself in what follows.)
The Timeline
Our committee was established in April of this year. Shortly afterward, Mrs. Chernyavskiy contacted our presbytery to say she was unwilling to speak with us or share any evidence until the conclusion of an ongoing criminal investigation in Kentucky sparked by her accusations. This investigation ended when a grand jury voted not to indict, and on June 13 Mrs. Chernyavskiy reached out to say she was ready “to share evidence, witness statements, and other forms of evidence such as photographs and emails, messages, etc.”