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	Woman Settles Molestation Suit By Andrew Gaug St. Joseph News-Press January 27, 2011 http://www.newspressnow.com/localnews/26603572/detail.html A Kansas City woman has settled a civil lawsuit with a St. Joseph church and a non-profit organization that she accused of aiding and failing to stop a church member in the 1990s from molesting her as a teenager. Michael J. Landy, 52, of St. Joseph, OATS Inc., a Columbia, Mo.-based transportation service, and New Life Bible Church were all defendants in the civil lawsuit filed by the victim. According to the victim’s attorney, Rebecca Randles, the defendants came to an out-of-court undisclosed settlement during the past week. “My client was satisfied with the settlement. Both her and husband were,” she said. During the time the molestations occurred, from 1995 to 1999, Mr. Landy was in his 40s and was a regional manager at OATS and a church elder and youth Sunday school teacher at New Life Bible Church. The victim was 13 and had met Mr. Landy while he was working with the youth program at the church. According to News-Press files, prosecutor Dwight Scroggins had said the abuse entailed everything except intercourse, but went unreported for a decade until the victim finally disclosed it in 2009. On October 2009, Mr. Landy pleaded guilty in Judge Daniel Kellogg’s court to second-degree statutory sodomy and was given five years probation. Shortly after his sentencing, the victim filed the lawsuit alleging the church provided facilities and materials to aid Mr. Landy’s abuse and accused members of the congregation of not intervening or reporting Mr. Landy when they had knowledge of inappropriate conduct involving the victim. The victim alleged the abuse took place at Mr. Landy’s St. Joseph house, her home, the church and OATS’ local facility on the Belt Highway. During Mr. Landy’s sentencing in 2009, Dallas Cornelius, an elder in the church, testified that the church had no knowledge of the abuse. “I was completely in the dark. ... Had we known there was an issue, we would have addressed it immediately,” he said. In September, the church’s attorney, Patrick McGrath, claimed part of the blame should be lobbied at the victim’s parents for allowing the child to continue to be watched by Mr. Landy. Calls for comments from him were not returned. With the settlement of the lawsuit, all families named in the case are dismissed from the case. Andrew Gaug can be reached at andrew.gaug@newspressnow.com
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