By Justin Kendall
The Pitch
December 3, 2010
http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2010/12/new_life_bible_church_sues_sexual_abuse_victims_parents.php
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| Michael J. Landy pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor. |
Michael J. Landy was a youth pastor with New Life Bible Church when he sexually abused a young girl left in his care by church missionaries.
Landy pleaded guilty, and the victim sued Landy and the church. Now, the Star reports that the church is suing the victim's parents, arguing the parents were negligent for leaving their children with Landy and "breached their duty to provide for the proper care, custody and control of their daughter." Yeah, the parents totally should have known that there was a chance that the youth pastor would sexually abuse their daughter.
According to the Star:
The victim reported the abuse to St. Joseph police last year, saying it began in 1995 when she was 13 and lasted four years. Often she and her younger brother were left with Landy.
"My parents were on short overnight mission trips and they trusted him because he was the youth pastor so they left us there," she said in her statement to police. "Sometimes we were there overnight and sometimes for a couple of nights or so."
She said the sexual abuse occurred at Landy's house, her house and at Landy's office at OATS Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Columbia, Mo., that provides transportation for the elderly and people with disabilities.
The victim told police that she didn't come forward "because I was scared and I thought that everyone would think something bad about me because he was the youth pastor and everyone loved him." Seems like a typical response.
The woman filed a civil lawsuit in February against the church and OATS Inc., claiming the church wasn't properly supervising Landy.
The church's response: Getting a judge to add the victim's parents and father-in-law as "third-party defendants."
So how does the church come to the conclusion that the parents were somehow at fault? If you believe the victim's attorney, it's all about the money.
Rebecca Randles, the victim's attorney, told the Star that the church was suing "so they'll end up paying less if there is a judgment. ... They want the parents to pay part of it."
So there's no question that the girl was sexually abused but the church is passing the blame to the parents. If you can't trust a pastor, well, if we've learned anything the last 35 years, it's that you can't.
The church is denying any responsibility since it 1) didn't know about the abuse and 2) the abuse didn't take place on church grounds.
The case is expected to go to trial next year.
As for Landy, the 58-year-old pleaded guilty last fall and received seven-year prison sentence, which was knocked down to 120 days of shock detention and five years of probation. Is any sentence long enough for breaching someone's trust?
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