MISSOURI
Riverfront Times
By Sarah Fenske Fri., May 8 2015
Two people being sued by First Christian Church of Florissant and its pastor, Steve Wingfield, are firing back, with motions to dismiss the church’s lawsuit and a press release challenging the pastor’s claims.
As this week’s Riverfront Times cover story detailed, Dawn Varvil met with Wingfield in 2012 and shared her concerns about a youth minister at the church named Brandon Milburn.
Two years later, Milburn was arrested for molesting two boys he had met through the church — and a church member named Doug Lay prepared a report questioning what Wingfield knew about Milburn and whether he took appropriate action. The report focused in part on what happened at Varvil’s meeting with Wingfield.
Wingfield responded by suing both Lay and Varvil, as well as former members Titus and Kari Benton, who’d criticized him on Facebook.
Lay hired a lawyer almost immediately, and filed a response in late April. Thanks to a GoFundMe campaign, Varvil has also hired a lawyer.
That lawyer, Nicole Gorovsky, sharply criticized Wingfield and his legal action in a prepared release.
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