National Post
· collected 2026-08-18 · by Investigative Journalism Bureau
Kofi Danso, a pastor at Miracle Arena For All Nations Church in Vaughan, Ontario, is accused by over a dozen people of sexual misconduct and financial manipulation, according to an investigation by the Investigative Journalism Bureau. The allegations include grooming, unwanted touching, and arranging sex with visiting pastors or within the church office, with some incidents dating back more than a decade. Danso denies all allegations through his lawyer, citing Ghanaian cultural norms that refer to senior leaders as "papa" or "dad," but multiple women describe being told to call him these terms in a context they now see as coercive. The investigation also found that the church has housed refugees and immigrants on-site, with some expected to work for the Danso family in exchange for housing.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Jodi says she remembers her hands shaking as her married pastor — the man she had for months been told to call “dad” — pulled her onto his lap on a cream-coloured couch in his ministry office.
asserted
she → say → office
Just 16 years old at the time, Jodi says she froze as Kofi Danso, a self-described “Man of God,” prophet and the leader of Miracle Arena church, then located in North York, Ont., began to unbutton her pants.
asserted
Danso → say → pants
“He was like, ‘Just know that I’m here …
asserted
I → know → ?
I’m your dad
asserted
I → ’m → ?
He’s whispering these things to me while he’s kissing my neck and fingering me,” the woman, now in her 20s, said in an interview with the Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB).
asserted
woman → whisper → Bureau
“I just became numb.”
asserted
I → become → ?
Jodi, whose identity is being protected because she fears repercussions for speaking out, is one of more than a dozen people who have spoken to the Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB) alleging they experienced either sexual misconduct or financial manipulation at Miracle Arena For All Nations Church, now located in Vaughan, Ont. north of Toronto.
asserted
they → protect → Toronto
Danso, 44, declined interview requests from the IJB but provided a detailed written response to questions through his lawyer, in which he denies “all allegations of sexual abuse, including allegations of sexual relations with a minor.”
asserted
he → decline → minor
He also denies allegations of financial exploitation.
asserted
He → deny → exploitation
A regional police force confirmed it had investigated some sexual claims, but has closed that investigation and has not charged him with a criminal offence.
uncertain
it → confirm → offence
The statement from Danso’s lawyer says many of his parishioners call him “papa” as a sign of “respect and deference” common in his native Ghana.
asserted
many → say → Ghana
“These cultural terms should be viewed in the context of Ghanaian culture,” it reads, adding that many of his parishioners are Ghanaian.
asserted
many → view → parishioners
Miracle Arena is a “charismatic” church situated on a gated 12-acre compound north of Toronto.
asserted
Arena → situate → Toronto
It’s run by senior pastor Danso and his wife, JoAnne, who claim to “demonstrate the power of God through miracles, signs and wonders” to hundreds of congregants each week — many of whom are refugees or immigrants.
uncertain
many → run → whom
Some have been housed on-site in makeshift shelters or inside the church buildings while others say they have been asked to work for the Danso family to care for the couple’s children and have moved into their home.
asserted
family → house → home
Sexual misconduct allegations
Jodi is one of five women interviewed by the IJB who allege Danso engaged in a range of sexual misconduct, including grooming, arranging sexual encounters with them in his church office and arranging for them to have sex with visiting pastors.
asserted
them → interview → pastors
Some of the allegations shared with the IJB against Danso go back more than a decade.
asserted
Some → share → decade
While Jodi was a teen at the time of the alleged sexual misconduct, the rest say they were in their early 20s or 30s.
asserted
they → allege → 20s
Jodi says she began attending Miracle Arena with her parents in 2017 before being recruited to volunteer for the church’s media team, where she was tasked with shooting videos of Danso’s sermons.
asserted
she → say → sermons
She says Danso began to sexually abuse her in February 2018 after she was tasked with filming the popular 5 a.m. Monday gathering at the church.
asserted
she → say → church
Jodi alleges Danso had at least 15 sexual encounters with her over five months.
asserted
Danso → allege → months
The majority of the time Danso performed oral sex or digitally penetrated her, she said.
asserted
she → perform → her
On one occasion, while in his office, Jodi says, Danso pulled her wrists, drawing her close to him before laying her flat on his white three-seater couch.
asserted
Danso → say → couch
He then had non-consensual, unprotected sex with her, she says.
asserted
she → have → her
“I would make sounds of ‘it hurts.’
asserted
it → make → sounds
He didn’t care that I was hurting,” said Jodi, who did not make a report to police.
asserted
who → care → police
“I felt so disgusting.
asserted
I → feel → ?
It really affected me to the point where I wanted to die.”
asserted
I → affect → point
During an initial call with reporters, Danso expressed “shock” at what he called “very serious allegations.”
asserted
he → express → what
In a later written statement from his lawyer, Danso denied all allegations of sexual misconduct including allegations of grooming and “arranging encounters in various places or for other people.”
asserted
Danso → write → people
He alleges that the allegations are part of a personal vendetta and blackmail attempt by a former minister at Miracle Arena who is facing criminal charges and who believes Danso reported him to police.
asserted
Danso → allege → police
It’s not the first time Danso has been accused of inappropriate sexual conduct with a parishioner.
asserted
Danso → ’ → parishioner
In a case previously before Toronto courts, Danso contested the paternity of a child he was confirmed by DNA test to have fathered with a former congregant.
asserted
he → contest → congregant
“The applicant is a leader in his church and he presents himself as a moral and family man; however, this is contrary to his actions in his private life,” reads a court filing from the woman who says she had a three-year sexual relationship with Danso that resulted in a child in 2018.
asserted
that → present → 2018
“I believe that (there) are other (women) who have endured similar experiences … but they are afraid of coming forward.”
asserted
they → believe → experiences
The court, however, noted there was no proof before it ”that there are any other women involved in the issues in this proceeding.”
asserted
court → note → proceeding
In his written statement to reporters, Danso said he would “not comment on the child support case that was before the court.”
asserted
that → write → court
In June 2023, an Ontario judge granted the child’s mother interim financial assistance to help continue the litigation.
asserted
judge → grant → litigation
In May 2024, the court issued a final order requiring Danso to pay $2,019 a month in child support, based on an imputed income of $250,000.
uncertain
court → issue → 250,000
No further court appearances are scheduled.
asserted
appearances → schedule → ?
…and 170 more, not listed.
