Judge dismisses case against former Greater Grace pastor accused of child sexual abuse

A judge in western Massachusetts has dismissed the criminal case against Eric Anderson, the former high-ranking Greater Grace World Outreach pastor accused of child sexual abuse.

Anderson, 81, who once led the East Baltimore megachurch’s Bible college, was facing two counts of indecent assault and battery of a child for misconduct that allegedly happened nearly 50 years ago, when Anderson lived and worked at the church’s former headquarters in Massachusetts.

Berkshire County Superior Court Judge Jane Mulqueen noted in July that the allegations against Anderson stretch back decades and granted Anderson’s motion to dismiss the case. The evidence, she said, was insufficient to support the allegations.

The Banner first reported misconduct allegations against Anderson, two of his sons and several other pastors and prominent megachurch figures two years ago. The allegations also appeared in a December investigative report commissioned by the church’s leaders. Anderson pleaded not guilty at an arraignment last September.

Following Anderson’s arrest last year, Greater Grace head pastor Thomas Schaller released a statement with other church elders urging anyone with information about the former pastor to share it with law enforcement. An independent investigative report published in December strongly criticized church leaders’ handling of abuse allegations and called on them to step down. So far, they have not.

Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue acknowledged in a statement that sexual abuse cases dating back many years can be hard to prosecute. He called the judge’s ruling disappointing and said he remains committed to pursuing justice for survivors. The office is now considering whether to appeal.

“It will not change my pledge to move forward in cases of sexual assault regardless of the challenges they may pose,” Shugrue said.

Attorney Joshua Hochberg, who represented Anderson, could not be reached for comment.

Former church member Erika Slater accused Anderson of ushering her behind his desk and groping her several times in the spring of 1980, when she was in first grade and he was her school principal.

Slater said she is grateful for all the support she has received since speaking out and said she believes justice is still within reach. She also implored former church members who have information about her case to “search the heart” and give a statement to police.

“To the courageous victim survivors,” Slater wrote in a statement, “I will always stand with you.”

“Reporting is always right,” she added. “Find your voice. Reclaim your healing.”

Members of The Millstones, the group of former Greater Grace church members who investigated the organization’s handling of abuse allegations, called it “truly appalling” that people who bravely spoke up about Anderson’s alleged abuse won’t have their day in court.

In a statement, they applauded the survivors’ bravery.

“Their courage and persistence will forever eclipse the failures of the justice system and inspire us to keep fighting,” they wrote.

The Millstones previously said Anderson was one of the first alleged perpetrators they learned about.

“He’s been the source of immense pain and suffering across multiple generations,” they wrote in an August 2025 statement.

Anderson’s wife previously told The Banner that her husband called Slater’s allegations “total garbage.”

Long before Erika Slater described the alleged abuse to The Banner, she posted about it anonymously on a now-defunct website called FACTnet.

Using the pseudonym Preston, she wrote about being a young child in the church. Slater’s family, like so many early church members, moved from place to place, sleeping in dorms or shared housing with other families.

Slater’s posts alluded to being abused in one shared living space, in a narrative written from her perspective as a child. “I don’t like the top floor. Sometimes he locks me up there,” she wrote in a post from November 2005. “Sometimes I run for the door and he laughs at me because he is stronger. He touches me and I don’t like it.”

She later told members of The Millstones that she was writing about Eric Anderson.

Slater is now a paralegal and child abuse caseworker who helps other survivors of abuse. She previously said she hoped coming forward would encourage others to report sexual abuse to law enforcement, even if they were not ready to speak about the allegations publicly.

She said that over the last two years she had communicated with dozens of former members of the church who said they had survived sexual abuse.

Last year, civil lawsuits piled up that accuse church leaders of failing to protect former members from abuse they say they suffered as children, and church leaders expelled two pastors accused of sexual misconduct.

This story has been updated.