A lawsuit has been filed against a church alleging the church allowed a known teen sexual offender to be around kids. The attorneys for the church do not believe the two teen victims who filed the lawsuit should be allowed to remain anonymous in court proceedings.
The guardian of the two victims filed suit on their behalf against the church claiming the church knew the assailant has a history of sexual abuse, yet still allowed him to volunteer at the church’s Vacation Bible School event. Officials of the church deny these allegations and claim they had no knowledge that the assailant had any history of sexual abuse.
The victims, who are currently under age 16, are listed as Jane Doe 31 and Jane Doe 32 in the civil lawsuit. Attorneys for the church told the court that allowing Plaintiffs’ motion to continue using pseudonyms would be unfair.
The attorneys for the church argue the “Plaintiffs should not be allowed to use their own anonymity as a shield at the very time they voluntarily chose to use publicity and draw media attention to this matter in order to damage the reputation of the church.… When an institution like Westside is accused of such allegations, the public has a right to know the accusers.”
The assalant plead guilty last year to attempted rape and attempted electronic solicitation involving the two victims. He is currently serving a 17-year sentence for those crimes.