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	Lawsuit Brought against Local Church Cornerstone Accused of Knowing about Alleged Relationship of Employee, Teen Boy By Jaime Baranyai News-Leader [Springfield MO] May 29, 2007 http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070529/NEWS01/705290371/1007 A civil suit against a Springfield church says not only that a female youth leader had sex with a 15-year-old boy but also that pastors and employees of the church knew of the relationship and did nothing to stop it. Church officials have denied any such knowledge, and a trial is pending. The suit, which seeks $10 million in damages runs parallel to a criminal case against former youth leader Angela Hurt, 32. She was charged in November with second-degree statutory rape and second-degree statutory sodomy for allegedly having a sexual relationship with the boy, a member of her church group, from January to March 2005. Court documents say most of the crimes took place at her former Springfield home in the 900 block of South Douglas Avenue. Police say they learned about the relationship after finding Hurt and the boy engaged in intimate activity in Maple Park Cemetery, according to a probable-cause statement filed in the criminal case. The boy and his family are suing Hurt, Cornerstone Church, its pastor Jess Gibson and other members of the church staff, including Hurt's husband, Robert. Documents in the civil case identify him as a youth pastor. Cornerstone officials say they have no knowledge of the alleged sexual relationship, but court documents in the civil case indicate the boy and his family believe otherwise. The documents say that Jeff Wells and Julie Christopher, assistant pastors at the church, told the boy's mother they thought something inappropriate was going on between her son and Angela Hurt. The boy said Hurt's husband told the boy he forgave him for having an affair with his wife, civil case records say. Additionally, Pastor Gibson "has admitted to others he was aware of the sexual relationship between Angela Hurt and the plaintiff," the boy's suit says. Another part of the suit says one of Gibson's young female relatives, who was involved in the church youth group, was aware of an inappropriate relationship between Angela Hurt and the boy and made comments to church employees that "things were just too crazy around here" for her to stay in Springfield. Other members of the youth group also knew about the relationship, the suit says. The boy's attorneys say the defendants had a duty under common law and Missouri statute to report sexual conduct or a romantic relationship between an adult youth minister and a minor. But in a motion to dismiss the civil suit, attorneys for defendants Gibson, Wells and Christopher say there is no Missouri law allowing the victims of child abuse to sue mandatory reporters who knew about or suspected abuse but failed to report it. "Cornerstone Church had no knowledge of any illegal activities of a former youth leader, nor does it condone any of the allegations against the former employee. Any claim that Cornerstone Church was negligent in any way is without merit. Our church is confident a jury will agree," said a statement from the church's attorney, Dee Wampler. The boy's attorneys say the 15-year-old has suffered permanent emotional distress, humiliation, mental anguish, post-traumatic stress disorder, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, and pain and suffering, as a result of Hurt's actions and the negligence of pastors and employees who failed to stop the sexual contact. That contact, according to the criminal charges, happened on several different occasions. The boy told police he and Angela Hurt had sexual intercourse about 20 times and that she had performed oral sex on him about 10 times, according to the probable-cause statement filed in the criminal case. The boy also admitted he would sneak out of his bedroom window to meet Angela Hurt for the encounters, the statement says. The boy's mother allegedly told police she had found Angela Hurt hiding outside his bedroom window in the past. Jeff Gorman, associate pastor at Cornerstone Church, said Angela Hurt left the church on March 11, 2005, but declined to give further details regarding her leave. The civil suit says Angela Hurt continued to "harass, assault and attempt to touch" the boy after a restraining order was entered against her. Repeated attempts to contact the defendants and attorneys in both cases were unsuccessful, apart from the statement by Wampler. Hurt's criminal trial is scheduled for July in Greene County Circuit Court, but could be delayed if she is successful in a motion for a change of judge.
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