Kentucky Injury Lawyer Blog

A lawsuit filed in Maryland against the Louisville-based Sovereign Grace Ministries alleges that church workers repeatedly sexually and physically abused young children, conspired with their superiors to cover up the abuse and encouraged other juveniles to participate in the abuse. Eleven plaintiffs are suing. This is the second amended version of the lawsuit originally filed last year, seeking class-action status and accusing the denomination of permitting and covering up “the abuse of children … in church buildings, [a] school building and during church retreats and other events.”

The lawsuit claims that church leaders, including longtime former President, C.J. Mahaney, had knowledge of the abuse and conspired to cover it up. It also contends that church officials obstructed criminal investigations and refused to notify church members of the abusers with access to their children. Several of the abusers have already been convicted or face pending criminal charges.

A former Washington County library worker has filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was a victim of religious and sexual harassment while employed with the county.

Britton Lund is asking for at least $300,000 from the county, according to a lawsuit filed this week in 5th District Court.

According to court documents, Lund began working as the Washington County Library System director in December 2009. Lund alleges in the lawsuit that she was harassed by Washington County Administrator Dean Cox, and that her firing on May 5, 2012, was a result of her complaints of sexual and religious harassment.

According to court documents, Cox, who Lund believes is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made "unwelcome religious statements" to Lund, who is described in court documents as a "non-Mormon." Statements allegedly made by Cox included inquiring about a "CTR [Choose The Right] ring," asking Lund if she was going to "fire all the Mormons" after Lund transferred a subordinate and comments made to co-workers about Lund being a "democratic, gay-loving liberal that would never succeed in this county."

Lund said Cox also sexually harassed her by making "unwanted gender-based comments," including alleged "double-entendre" comments that were sexual in nature, and telling Lund that she would be a good representative for the city because she was "attractive." Cox allegedly made comments to co-workers about Lund’s appearance, according to the lawsuit.

Target settled a civil suit filed for a teenage girl who was the victim of a voyeur in one of its stores. The settlement amount was confidential, and lawyers for both sides declined to comment after a brief hearing in U.S. District Court here.

The girl's lawsuit claimed she and her mother were at the Target when an “adult male sexual voyeur” watched her trying on various outfits, including swimsuits, and took pictures. The girl was 14 at the time.

The suit claims that Target should have known this man or others had been taking advantage of dressing room walls that were not built all the way to the ceiling at the Arnold Target and others in recent years.

In court, the teen's mother said that the girl sought counseling after the incident and had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.

Gabriel Nicholas Wood, 30, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of invasion of privacy in connection with the incident and was sentenced to 180 days in jail. Police found pictures of other women in Wood's possession and he had been convicted of similar offenses in the past.

In an unique case, a transgender former inmate who says she was raped in jail is suing Orange County, 14 jail employees and another inmate, claiming a violation of civil rights. Identified in court papers only as D.B., the former inmate claims she was removed from protective custody over her protests and placed in general population, where her cellmate, Josh Bailey, raped her in 2008, according to the suit.

D.B. alleges the jail has no policy regarding transgender inmates, whom she says are at greater risk of being assaulted in jail. A corrections spokesman referred questions to a county attorney, who could not be reached late Thursday. It is worth noting that D.B. sued Bailey, 23, who was convicted of sexual battery and is serving 25 years in prison.

The lawsuit accuses the county of negligence and a corrections officer, John "J.D." Davis, of reckless and/or deliberate indifference and violating her civil rights. Thirteen other unnamed employees also are being sued.

A Kentucky mother has alleged that her son and daughter were sexually molested while attending summer camps at the U.S. Army Cadet Corps campus at Millersburg. The suit describes two separate cases of alleged abuse, starting in 2010. It alleges sexual advances by a camp instructor against the son, and misconduct against the girl by a fellow cadet. The mother says that her son was so upset by the experience he twice attempted suicide to avoid returning to summer camp. Her daughter also made suicidal statements and was hospitalized for observation, the lawsuit says.

The suit, filed March 5 in Bourbon County Circuit Court, alleges negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, training and supervision by the corps. Kentucky State Police have opened an investigation, but a spokesman declined to provide details.

The cadet corps said in a statement that no "current staff member" is under investigation, and no criminal charges have been filed against "the corps or any person with current or past affiliation with the corps. The US Army Cadet Corps is a 104-year-old private, non-profit organization that operates a national, military style educational program for boys and girls ages 12 to 18. The organization, which is not part of the U.S. Army, holds annual summer camps designed to provide cadets with military-style training and discipline.

The corps moved to Millersburg after buying the campus of the town's defunct military institute in 2008. It launched a new school, the Forest Hill Military Academy, there last August. The plaintiff says that a camp instructor at Millersburg invited her son to his private room three times in spring 2011, fondled him and offered "special privileges in exchange for reciprocating sexual favors." The instructor also punished the boy when he didn't accept sexual advances, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit says the daughter endured sexual misconduct, including groping and grabbing by a fellow cadet, during the 2010 summer camp.
When this was reported to the corps staff, "no punishment or preventative steps occurred," the lawsuit says. It also says that when the daughter reported another incident in October 2011, she was "called a liar," and the staff "pressured" her not to file a police report.

Joseph Land, the acting commander, said in the statement that corps policies preclude "any adult from being unaccompanied with a child at any time." Corps volunteers and employees receive background checks, and "no individual with a history of any sexually-oriented offense is permitted to serve in the corps under any circumstances."

In a follow-up story to an ongoing story that has been written about on this blog before, Los Angeles Superior Court judge tossed a verdict awarding former “Price is Right” gameshow model Brandi Cochran more than $8 million in her lawsuit against the game show producers who allegedly discriminated against her by not reinstating her after maternity leave.

Judge Kevin Brazile pointed to a February California Supreme Court decision affirming the argument made by the show's defense: that the jury should have been told to determine if Cochran's pregnancy was a "substantial moving factor" in the producer's decision not the hire her back.

"I think there's evidence they could have come out the other way," Brazile said. "It clearly was an issue they were struggling with."

Defense lawyers stated "We're very pleased the judge recognized that if the jury had been properly instructed, they may well have ruled in favor of 'The Price is Right.” However, Cochran's represenatives are hoping for an even bigger payout in the retrial, scheduled for March 22.

A health club in Chicago failed to screen an employee accused last year of sexually abusing a young athlete and failed to react when alerted that the employee had a criminal conviction in the 1980s for attempted molestation, a lawsuit alleges.

The John Doe suit was filed Thursday against Robert Theodore and Life Time Fitness. Theodore worked as a trainer at the Life Time Fitness center in until he was arrested in September and charged with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
The criminal case alleges that Theodore, 60, of Woodridge, abused a young man he had been training. The inappropriate contact took place at the gym, the victim’s home and at Theodore’s house.

The civil suit says that when the fitness center hired Theodore in 2001, it failed to properly check his background, which included a sex offense conviction in Arizona in the mid-1980s. The suit says Life Time failed to act on a letter sent in 2003 that detailed the Arizona case. “Along the line, there were a bunch of opportunities to find out this information,” a family representative said.

A spokesman for Life Time said the company had not seen the suit and would not comment on pending litigation. Jason Thunstrom said the company was “quite startled” to learn of Theodore’s arrest last September and has continued to cooperate with the police investigation.

In 2006, Theodore, while still employed at Life Time, trained the young man whose allegations led to Theodore’s arrest last year, the suit said.

The largest franchisee of Burger King restaurants is paying $2.5 million to settle federal claims of sexual harassment.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) says the agreement with Carrols Corp. covers 89 female employees around the country. The settlement ends a 14-year lawsuit that was one of the most extensive in the commission's history.

The EEOC alleged that Carrols employees subjected women in dozens of restaurants to harassment that included obscene comments, unwanted touching, exposure of genitalia, strip searches and rape.

The company admitted no wrongdoing and said in a statement it settled the case to avoid litigation costs. The settlement requires the company to improve its ability to respond to harassment charges.

Syracuse, N.Y.-based Carrols owns and operates over 570 Burger King restaurants in 13 states.

In what must be a sad day for fans of Sesame Street everywhere, puppeteer Kevin Clash, the longtime voice of Elmo resigned Tuesday after a $5 million lawsuit labeled him a pedophile who trolled telephone chat rooms in a hunt for underage lovers.

The lawsuit was the second time this month Clash was hit with allegations of a sexual relationship with an underage teenage boy. The new suit, filed by Cecil Singleton, claims he was just 15 when the award-winning voice of the beloved kids character seduced him. He presented himself as the perfect gentleman, Singleton recalled of their first meeting in 2003. “He told me how beautiful I was ... After dinner, we walked and talked. He asked me if I might come to his apartment so he could give me a proper good-night kiss. He gave me the most passionate kiss I ever had experienced.”

Singleton is the second person to accuse Emmy award-winning puppeteer Kevin Clash of having sex with a minor, saying that the two had an encounter when Singleton was 15 years old.

A torrid two-week romance marked by mutual groping, masturbation and heavy make-out sessions followed despite Singleton’s admission that he was just a high school sophomore.

Clash, 52, was an unmarried adult male living a prominent public life centered around the entertainment of toddlers, while at the same time he was, in secret, meeting teenage boys to satisfy his sexual interests charged the Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit. Sesame Workshop, which had granted Clash a leave of absence after the first allegation of sex with a minor, issued a statement accepting his resignation after 28 years as Elmo.

An Atlanta area church, its pastor, a former employee, and a former employee facing a sexual battery charge against a child have all been named in a lawsuit filed by the boy's parents.

Leaders of First Baptist Church of Canton could have prevented alleged sexual abuse of a child if they had not allowed the suspect around children, according to the lawsuit filed Aug. 1.

Matthew Brent Sheffield, who turns 30 this month, was previously employed by the church and worked as a substitute teacher for Cherokee County schools, the lawsuit states. But Sheffield was released from his work with the school system after being accused of sending explicit text messages and making suggestive remarks to male students, according to the lawsuit. He was fired from the church for allegedly continuing to send the illicit text messages, but later returned as a volunteer.

In June 2010, Sheffield allegedly committed sexual battery on the boy during a church-sponsored beach trip. He was arrested and jailed on the charge, but his case has not come to trial.

"Defendant First Baptist, Defendant Dr. George Anderson, and Defendant Shawn Finch were each negligent in managing the risk posed to children by Sheffield," the suit contends. "Neither took any action to limit Sheffield's access to sexually exploit children, to report to law enforcement Sheffield's other known sexual abuse, or to ascertain if Sheffield had abused other children participating in programs provided by First Baptist," according to the lawsuit.

Anderson is the church's pastor and Finch, a former church employee, now lives with his family in Texas. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, including expenses for medical and psychological treatment due to the child's distress.