Lawsuit against West Dundee Church in Case of Minister Accused of Sex Assault, Child Porn

By Harry Hitzeman
Daily Herald
May 22, 2015

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150522/news/150529473/

Chad Coe

A former West Dundee church youth minister accused of a June 2013 sexual assault of a teen has been sued by the girl's parents for damages.

The parents of the victim, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, also have sued the pastor at First Congregational Church of Dundee and its parent organizations for negligent hiring and failing to take action against Chad Coe, 33, formerly of Elgin and now living in Lakewood.

"This case involves the rape of a child committed by a (then) 31-year-old youth minister that occurred in the church's youth ministry office, which destroyed the spiritual, physical and mental core of the child and her parents," according to the filing by attorney Kevin Lyons, who declined additional comment Friday.

"These offenses were compounded by the face that the offender, Chad Coe, the son of a church council member, was given free reign to groom and abuse the minor youths in his care while the church and senior pastor failed to implement their safe church policies and protect the minor child," Lyons said in the suit.

Coe was arrested in early July 2013 and charged with criminal sexual assault. He posted bond, but was charged in late 2013 with child pornography.

He is next due in court on June 19 and faces up to 22 years in prison if convicted in both cases.

He was fired from his post of director of youth ministries in November 2013.

Robert Skutt, the church moderator for First Congregational Church of Christ of Dundee, said church members have been served with he lawsuit, and their attorneys would be responding in court filings.

Skutt had no further comment.

The lawsuit seeks damages from Coe for battery and emotional distress, along with damages from the First Congregational Church of Dundee, 900 S. Eighth St., West Dundee, and its pastor, Rev. Aaron James, and the church's parent organizations, for negligence, along with negligent hiring and negligent supervision.

In the suit, the parents of the Sleepy Hollow girl argue that Coe began grooming her in the summer of 2012 when she was just 14 and James knew or should have known Coe was acting inappropriately.

The suit also argues that Coe: showed the youth group movies, videos and website containing "inappropriate sexual content"; used church computers to record and send pornography; and that Coe sexually assaulted the victim when she was 15 in a basement office at the church.

According to the suit, the victim showed one of her friends some texts between her and Coe in June 2014. The friend told her parents, who pulled their two kids out of a Costa Rica church mission and eventually told the victim's mom. The father of the victim's friend also had a shouting match with Coe at the church.

According to the suit, the victim's parents tried contacting James for a week via phone, email, and text, but James ignored them and allowed Coe to go on the Costa Rica trip with 34 minors.

After Coe was arrested in July 2014 and posted bail, he asked an unidentified church worker to allow Coe's brother into the office where the alleged assault took place and the brother removed "certain unidentified items," according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also argues the West Dundee church failed to conduct "even a basic, cursory investigation" into Coe's background before hiring him.

Officials at the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ, which also is named as a defendant, could not be reached for comment Friday.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a jury trial. The parties are next due in Kane County court on Aug. 6.