TEXAS
Associated Baptist Press
By Bob Allen
A Southern Baptist megachurch in Texas is being sued by parents of a teenage girl claiming careless hiring and supervision of a former youth minister in prison for sexual assault of a child.
A lawsuit filed Oct. 1 in Harris County Court accuses Second Baptist Church in Houston of negligent hiring, supervision and retention of Chad Foster, a former youth pastor sentenced last year to five years in prison after pleading guilty to raping a 16-year-old girl in 2011 and soliciting another teen online.
The parents, identified by pseudonyms so their daughter remains anonymous, seek actual damages including the cost of counseling, as well as punitive and “exemplary” damages for “breach of fiduciary duty” after entrusting their daughter to the church’s care and breach of fiduciary and “vicarious liability,” claiming Foster was “acting within the scope of his employment” when he committed his crimes.
The lawsuit describes “a simple yet effective marketing scheme,” where Second Baptist Church entices preteens and teens in public schools with lunches provided by places such as McDonald’s or Pizza Hut. Youth counselors befriend the children they speak with and invite them to church activities.
“What we have here is the proverbial pedophile with candy in his pocket,” the victim’s attorney, Cris Feldman, told Houston TV station KPRC Local 2. “Except this pedophile in question was sent into public schools with candy in his pocket provided by Second Baptist.”
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