Abuse Researcher David Pooler Under Investigation for Alleged Misconduct
Awake has learned that David Pooler, Ph.D., a researcher we have occasionally interviewed about adult sexual abuse by faith leaders, has stated that he is under investigation for alleged misconduct and abuse of adults.
Pooler was scheduled to speak at the upcoming Restore Conference, an event focused on clergy sexual abuse and church reform, scheduled for April 2026. However, the conference organizer recently released a statement from Pooler, in which Pooler said that he is withdrawing as a speaker in light of a pending investigation by GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment), a leading evangelical organization dedicated to addressing abuse.
According to Pooler’s statement, the investigation was initiated by Restored Voices Collective (RVC), a community for survivors of adult clergy sexual abuse, after “several survivors” involved with RVC alleged that he “engaged in misconduct and abuse with them.” In his statement, he said he will “fully cooperate” with the GRACE investigation and was withdrawing from the Restore Conference to ensure that all attendees would feel safe.
Pooler spoke at Awake’s 2021 Courageous Conversation about abuse of adults, and we have quoted him in multiple posts on the Awake blog. In light of the current investigation, we have removed this content from our website.
It is unclear when the investigation will be complete, and we do not have additional details to share about the allegations against Pooler. If you have information you wish to provide to investigators, you can contact Emily Petrie, J.D., Assistant Director for Investigations at GRACE at epetrie@netgrace.org.
Awake is a community that strives to be compassionate, survivor-centered, faithful, welcoming, humble, courageous, and hopeful. We thank you for choosing your words with care when commenting, and we reserve the right to remove comments that are inappropriate or hurtful.
