Former staff say they gave Las Vegas church leader their concerns over youth pastor’s behavior with children

Leaders at a now-closed Las Vegas church rehired David Vander Meer as a youth pastor despite concerns relayed to at least one of them about his behavior with children, according to former staff.

Jess, 45, and Evan Valentine, 49, said they shared those concerns with Legacy Vineyard Church pastor Denise Diamond after Vander Meer sought to work for the church again following what was then believed to be the accidental hiking death of his wife.

Denise Diamond could not be reached for comment. Her husband and the church’s retired senior pastor, Barry Diamond, declined to address the Valentines’ allegations in a follow-up interview. Through an attorney, the Diamonds objected to accounts the Valentines gave.

Barry Diamond previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he was not aware of David Vander Meer’s alleged misconduct until after he was rehired.

At the time of Bernadette Vander Meer’s death, however, the Valentines said neither they nor others in the congregation suspected foul play.

“We were all so heartbroken over her death,” Evan Valentine said. “I could not believe in my own mind that somebody could do something like that.”

Appeared frail and devastated at funeral

Authorities now allege that David Vander Meer pushed his wife off a cliff at Zion National Park on Aug. 22, 2006, causing her to fall roughly 1,200 feet from Angels Landing. Her death was initially ruled an accident.

A Las Vegas Review-Journal obituary described Bernadette Vander Meer, 28, as a devoted wife and daughter who worked at New York-New York.

The Valentines said David Vander Meer appeared frail and devastated at his wife’s funeral, reinforcing their belief that her death had been accidental.

However, last year, Utah prosecutors reopened the case after receiving a tip from Barry Diamond, leading them to consider David Vander Meer a suspect. They said he was motivated by his affair with a girl from his youth group, whom he began pursuing when she was 14.

On June 22, authorities arrested David Vander Meer on murder and insurance fraud charges outside a Summerlin yoga studio where he worked. At the time, he also was employed as a counselor at Somerset Academy Lone Mountain.

Two days after his arrest, David Vander Meer was found alone, face down and unresponsive in his cell at the Clark County Detention Center.

Authorities have not officially released his cause of death, but a Metropolitan Police Department report said he left behind a suicide note.

‘A child predator’

David Vander Meer had worked as a youth pastor at Legacy from the late 1990s until the early 2000s, according to court records. When he left in 2002 to start a church called New Song with others, Evan Valentine replaced him as Legacy’s full-time youth pastor.

It was shortly after the transition, the Valentines said, that children in the group had begun telling them stories about gatherings David Vander Meer had hosted where he encouraged underage drinking and gambling.

At least two girls in the group also said he had made sexual comments to them or made them feel uncomfortable, according to the Valentines.

Years later, right after Bernadette Vander Meer’s death, they said Denise Diamond had proposed that David Vander Meer rejoin the staff, working alongside them to lead the youth group.

Jess and Evan Valentine said they immediately objected to his returning as a youth leader, telling Denise Diamond about the alleged parties and inappropriate remarks.

“They basically put a person, who, in my mind, was a child predator, back with kids,” even though the Valentines had conveyed what they had heard, Jess Valentine said.

Through their attorney, the Diamonds said they had allowed David Vander Meer’s return to Legacy out of “compassion for a grieving widower.”

They also said the grooming of the teen congregant occurred solely within his tenure at New Song, which they said spanned from either 2001 or 2002 until 2006.

“They had no knowledge of what had occurred at New Song,” Henderson attorney Kevin Anderson said in an emailed statement. “They had no suspicion that David was in any way responsible for Bernadette’s death.”

Anderson also wrote that “the specific assertion that the Diamonds knew of Vander Meer’s misconduct when he returned to Legacy is false.”

The attorney called Evan Valentine a “former employee with a grievance” but would not elaborate.

Valentines say ‘nobody knew about affair’

An affidavit prepared by a Utah investigator said Barry Diamond learned that David Vander Meer was throwing parties for underage church members and fired him in 2007 or 2008.

At the time, David Vander Meer was still dating the youth group member, who was then an adult. They married in 2008.

The affidavit states that David Vander Meer became the girl’s youth pastor when she was about 14. While the exact start of their relationship is unclear, the girl told police that Vander Meer began flirting with her and giving her gifts around that time, likely in or around 2000.

This suggests that his involvement at Legacy overlapped, since, according to the affidavit, she also said their relationship turned sexual in 2002, when she was 16.

According to the Valentines, the girl was a member of the Legacy youth group at one point.

Prosecutors said David Vander Meer and the girl sometimes had sex inside “the church” — though it is unclear whether it was New Song or Legacy — while it was closed.

Court records indicate that David Vander Meer had gone to great lengths to hide the relationship from other congregants. Both the Valentines and the Diamonds have said they did not know about the relationship.

‘Constantly trying to get more’ of the kids’ time

As more details emerge about David Vander Meer’s death and the murder case against him, Evan Valentine reflected on the toll he said the man’s actions had taken on the church and his family.

The damage, he said, was compounded when Denise Diamond gave them an ultimatum: Support David Vander Meer’s return or leave.

“It was very hurtful for us,” Evan Valentine said. “We said absolutely not, we will not be involved with that whatsoever.”

The next day, he said, he packed up his desk and resigned.

Evan Valentine described David Vander Meer as overly handsy and immature for his age. During his first stint as a youth pastor, David Vander Meer spent most of his time — including days off — with the youth group, the Valentines said.

When the couple stayed late, they said, David Vander Meer lingered; when they arrived early, he was already there.

“I can see why Bernadette felt neglected, because he was always at the church,” Jess Valentine said. “After group, he’d try to get the kids to go out to eat or come over. He was constantly trying to get more of their time.”

Court documents allege that, around the same time, David Vander Meer had begun grooming the 14-year-old girl, giving her gradual physical affection such as knee touches and hugs.

After Bernadette Vander Meer died, the teen — then an adult — began attending church services with David Vander Meer.

“Looking back now, we see all the things that we had concerns about,” Jess Valentine said.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.

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