PITTSBURGH – A church subjected members of a youth group to a mock kidnapping and interrogations without telling them it was staged, and the mother of a 14-year-old girl has filed a complaint with police.

The pastor of the Glad Tidings Assembly of God in Middletown said the church is “so saddened” that the girl was traumatized at the Wednesday youth meeting.

But the pastor, John Lanza, said Friday there have been emails of support from other students at the church because the intent was to prepare them for what they might encounter as missionaries. He said the mock kidnappers included an off-duty police officer and a retired Army captain.