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Associated Press
April 10, 2009
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A $6 million lawsuit has been filed against the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Oregon claiming it allowed a teenager with a history of sexual misconduct to abuse a young boy and girl in the early 1990s.
The lawsuit filed Thursday by Portland attorney Kelly Clark alleges church officials knew or should have known the teen was dangerous because of similar incidents in Washington state.
The lawsuit says the teenager, identified only by the initials “S.H.,” was providing child care “under the direction and authority of the church.”
An attorney for the church, Richard Whittemore, declined comment.
In a statement, Clark said the teenager was later convicted of child abuse while working at the Oregon School for the Blind.
The law firm settled a similar case last year against the church involving him.
