A Baptist church in South Carolina has been forced to issue an apology after it admitted liability in a child sexual abuse case which they had to pay $300,000 to the plaintiff.Bryan Barnes, spokesman for First Baptist Church of Columbia, S.C explained that Church issued an apology and explained the terms of the settlement.
The case involved a young boy who was allegedly abused by the church’s youth ministry when he was just 11 years old.
“Today, we want to offer an apology for the inappropriate and unacceptable conduct this young man endured and express regret for what we failed to do to prevent it,” church leaders said.“No student should have to experience what this young man endured,” the church's statement read.Dailycaller reports: Doe filed the lawsuit in October 2017 through his parents against First Baptist Church Senior Pastor Wendell Estep, and McCraw.
The lawsuit alleged that McCraw initiated a relationship with Doe as a young adult mentor in a church youth program, but the relationship progressed in intimacy to inappropriate touching and sleepovers at McCraw’s house with no other adults or youths present.The lawsuit also lists several sexually explicit text messages that McCraw sent to the boy, such as “Be there in 10.
Have the lube ready,” and “Hey, anything to get that *** in a swimsuit.” Doe and his parents alleged that McCraw sometimes sent dozens of such messages to him a day.Doe was 11 when McCraw began the abuse and was 16 by the time he alerted his parents to the inappropriate behavior.Church leadership initially issued a rebuttal against specific allegations within the lawsuit.
Church leadership contested the claims they knew about the relationship between Doe and McCraw before law enforcement started investigating McCraw.They also contested that they knew McCraw spent time alone with the youth away from church property, and that the case was part of a church conspiracy to cover up sexual abuse.
The case was one facet of a cover-up conspiracy, the lawsuit alleged, related to former First Baptist deacon John Hubner, who in 2002 was sentenced to 36 years in prison for sexually abusing an underage girl.Church leadership also argued that “any injuries or damages sustained by the Plaintiff (Joel Doe and his parents ) were due to his own negligent, careless, reckless and grossly negligent acts or omissions.
”First Baptist leadership confronted McCraw after learning of the allegations of sexual abuse against him and terminated his involvement with the church.Doe and his parents subsequently amended their lawsuit with added allegations that the church chose not to report McCraw to the police to avoid a public scandal and that they failed to notify the next church in which he served of his sexually predatory behavior.
Read more at: http://www.neonnettle.com/news/3733-south-carolina-church-forced-to-apologize-for-child-abuse-and-pay-300k
The case involved a young boy who was allegedly abused by the church’s youth ministry when he was just 11 years old.
“Today, we want to offer an apology for the inappropriate and unacceptable conduct this young man endured and express regret for what we failed to do to prevent it,” church leaders said.“No student should have to experience what this young man endured,” the church's statement read.Dailycaller reports: Doe filed the lawsuit in October 2017 through his parents against First Baptist Church Senior Pastor Wendell Estep, and McCraw.
The lawsuit alleged that McCraw initiated a relationship with Doe as a young adult mentor in a church youth program, but the relationship progressed in intimacy to inappropriate touching and sleepovers at McCraw’s house with no other adults or youths present.The lawsuit also lists several sexually explicit text messages that McCraw sent to the boy, such as “Be there in 10.
Have the lube ready,” and “Hey, anything to get that *** in a swimsuit.” Doe and his parents alleged that McCraw sometimes sent dozens of such messages to him a day.Doe was 11 when McCraw began the abuse and was 16 by the time he alerted his parents to the inappropriate behavior.Church leadership initially issued a rebuttal against specific allegations within the lawsuit.
Church leadership contested the claims they knew about the relationship between Doe and McCraw before law enforcement started investigating McCraw.They also contested that they knew McCraw spent time alone with the youth away from church property, and that the case was part of a church conspiracy to cover up sexual abuse.
The case was one facet of a cover-up conspiracy, the lawsuit alleged, related to former First Baptist deacon John Hubner, who in 2002 was sentenced to 36 years in prison for sexually abusing an underage girl.Church leadership also argued that “any injuries or damages sustained by the Plaintiff (Joel Doe and his parents ) were due to his own negligent, careless, reckless and grossly negligent acts or omissions.
”First Baptist leadership confronted McCraw after learning of the allegations of sexual abuse against him and terminated his involvement with the church.Doe and his parents subsequently amended their lawsuit with added allegations that the church chose not to report McCraw to the police to avoid a public scandal and that they failed to notify the next church in which he served of his sexually predatory behavior.
Read more at: http://www.neonnettle.com/news/3733-south-carolina-church-forced-to-apologize-for-child-abuse-and-pay-300k
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