Suit: Chicago Pastor Sexually Abused, Impregnated Woman

By Reema Amin
Voices
September 6, 2014

http://voices.suntimes.com/news/breaking-news/suit-chicago-pastor-sexually-abused-impregnated-woman/

A woman who claims she was sexually abused almost 60 times before being impregnated by a Chicago pastor is suing him, another clergy member and two churches.

The 26-year-old woman filed the suit Friday against a senior pastor for both Pentecostal Tabernacle Bible and Mission of Christ Evangelical Lutheran churches, which are both listed at 1345 N. Karlov in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

The woman, described as an active member of the churches, alleges the pastor had sexual contact with her 50 to 60 times when she was 17 until she turned 18–from November 2005 through March 2006, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court.

The pastor would take the woman to Cindy Lyn Motel in Cicero, “often driving [there] in the church van,” the suit claims. He would also take other women and minors to that location, the suit said.

The woman claims she had sex with the pastor shortly after her 18th birthday and became pregnant. She gave birth to a son on May 13, 2007, the suit said.

The abuse has caused the woman “psychiatric and psychological injury,” the suit said.

Both churches and the assistant pastor named in the suit were negligent because they let the senior pastor be alone with a minor and failed to evaluate his actions, the suit claims. It also alleges the assistant pastor knew the senior pastor’s marriage ended in 2007 after his wife found out about the abuse.

None of the defendants could be reached for comment Friday evening.

The five-count suit claims sexual assault against the senior pastor and negligence against all defendants. The woman is seeking at least $250,000 in damages.