Merinews (India)
April 23, 2008
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=132965
A NEW civil sexual abuse lawsuit against a local fundamentalist Baptist church is announced in Chicago. The lawsuit names the Baptist church, Marquette Manor Baptist Church of Downers Grove, Illinois and its former youth pastor, Edward D Greene.
In DuPage county last month, Greene, the former youth pastor at the church, pleaded guilty of sexually abusing Rachel Griffith since 1994 to1999, when she was between 14 and 18 years old.
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| In Chicago a new child sexual abuse lawsuit is filed against the Baptist church Marquette Manor of Downers Grove and its former pastor, Edward D Greene. It is alleged that the church has a secret history of protecting offenders of sexual crimes. |
Before the abuse began, Griffith trusted Greene enough to reveal to him that her father, a former deacon of the church, had also sexually abused her. Instead of reporting that to police, Greene seized the opportunity to abuse Griffith himself. Greene molested Griffith at least 50 times between 1994 and 1999, all while promising Griffith that he was helping her. This was particularly confusing for Griffith, given that the church was a conservative Baptist church that taught her dancing, drinking, and sexual acts were all sinful.
He abused her all over the Chicago land area, as well as on church trips to Mexico, Canada, New York, and Wisconsin.
He was sentenced to four years in prison but is likely to be released after serving only two years. He is believed to be married and is currently jailed in Illinois.
Two other church officials, John Puga, the former basketball coach at the school and Howard Blattel, a former deacon at the church, have been charged with sexual assaults in the last five years as well. The former was charged with abusing a child between 2001 and 2002 while the latter was accused of sexually assaulting an 89 years old woman in 2004.
Griffith, now a resident of South Carolina, is a 27 year old, housewife and has two young children.
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