(RNS) — A Texas police department has declined to file charges and closed its investigation into allegations of abuse involving the founding family of a major Christian television network.
Last fall, Jonathan Lamb, son of Daystar Television Network founders Marcus and Joni Lamb, and Jonathan’s wife, Suzy, publicly accused Daystar leaders of covering up abuse involving their daughter dating back several years.
The Tarrant County district attorney’s office said it found “insufficient evidence” to bring charges.
“After a thorough investigation over the last year and a half, the Colleyville Police Department has concluded our investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse involving a child in the Lamb family,” Sgt. Dara Nelson, public information officer at the Colleyville, Texas, police department, told RNS in a Thursday (May 15) email. “The victim has not made an outcry and detectives obtained no evidence of a crime during the investigation.”
Leaders at Daystar — which is headquartered in Bedford, Texas, and claims its network is available in 2.3 billion homes worldwide — have denied any wrongdoing.
“Although saddened by those who were led to believe the gossip, rumors and false allegations promulgated on social media, Daystar appreciates the love and support it has received from countless viewers and ministry partners and will continue in its mission to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ around the world,” Daystar leaders said in a statement posted to X on Wednesday.
Texas has no statute of limitation in cases of child sexual abuse, Nelson told RNS in an email. “If any new evidence emerges in this case, it will be thoroughly investigated,” she wrote.
In a post on X, Suzy Lamb called the action by the Colleyville police “a formality,” adding that abuse cases can take years to investigate. Lamb also disputed the claim that the investigation cleared anyone.
“When our child is ready to speak – she will and the case will be wide open again,” she wrote. “Till then we rest and trust God to bring justice.”
The allegations were part of a larger dispute between Jonathan Lamb and his mother, Joni, over control of the network after the 2021 death of Marcus Lamb, who died after being hospitalized for COVID-19.
Jonathan Lamb was fired from the network in November 2024. He told The Dallas Morning News the firing came after he refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement. He also said he told his parents about a relative who allegedly abused his daughter and they downplayed the incident.
Joni Lamb, president of Daystar, denied any wrongdoing. She told supporters in a video last fall that her son was fired over job performance issues and because he was angry at not being named his father’s successor and over his mother’s remarriage.
“Rather than take any steps to improve his performance at Daystar, it seems clear now that Jonathan was focused on fabricating a smear campaign,” Joni Lamb said in the video.
A number of high-profile Christian preachers, including Joyce Meyer, distanced themselves from Daystar after the allegations of abuse became public.
In a statement, Daystar said it cooperated fully with the investigation and said the accused relative, referred to as “Pete,” also cooperated with investigators.
“As it has said from day one, Daystar Television Network takes all allegations of sexual misconduct very seriously,” the network said. “We grieve for and give credence to the voice of every victim of abuse. In this matter, however, there is simply no evidence that any alleged abuse was ever committed by ‘Pete.’”