Yesterday's
Tennessean reports on a civil lawsuit filed in a Tennessee state court last month against the megachurch
Cornerstone Nashville and against a former church volunteer, Brian Mitchell, who allegedly sexually abused plaintiff in 2007 when plaintiff was ten years old. The paper reports:
The victim's mother had asked church staff to pair her son with a mentor, thinking he would benefit from an adult male role model since his father died by suicide when he was an infant, the lawsuit states. Church staff paired the boy with Mitchell despite his prior misdemeanor conviction of contributing to the delinquency of a minor....
The lawsuit also says church staff attempted to cover up their role by "making misleading statements in the news media, and blamed (the victim's) mother and family for (his) victimization."
The suit seeks $10 million in punitive damages, charging negligence and reckless or intentional infliction of emotional distress.
