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	Families Sue Dubuque Church over Chaperone's Sexual Abuse Associated Press, carried in Courier [Dubuque, IA] July 4, 2007 http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/07/04/news/breaking_news/doc468b9a2186183975170877.txt Dubuque — Two families are suing a Dubuque church for allegedly not properly supervising a church chaperone who sexually abused two boys. Kent Pittman, 55, is serving an 11-year prison term after being convicted in 2005 of three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim younger than 13. Pittman and the Bible Baptist Church have been named in a civil lawsuit in which two families from East Dubuque, Ill., are seeking compensation for injuries the boys sustained from the sexual abuse. Court documents do not specify a dollar amount. According to the lawsuit filed in Jo Daviess County, Ill., Pittman picked the two boys up from their homes on May 1, 2005, in a bus owned and operated by the church and fondled them. The complaint states that the church failed to protect the boys and placed Pittman in a position that enabled him to molest them. The church has denied it was negligent, claiming that Pittman had no criminal record and was not listed on any sexual offender registry before the 2005 allegations. The Rev. Larry Stark has said the church required those involved in the ministry to first be a member for at least six months. Pittman had been a bus captain for one of the church's buses that shuttle area children to and from its youth program for nearly three years. At that time each bus had a crew of about five adults, he said. Attorneys for all parties declined to comment. A progress call, which is similar to a status hearing, is scheduled for Aug. 9 in Jo Daviess County Court.
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