Bellevue Baptist reaches partial settlement in lawsuit over sex abuse of teen

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the John Doe and Jane Doe portions of the lawsuit were dismissed, but that the dismissals were not final. They will be filing a motion to reconsider their portions of the lawsuit. The story has also been updated with a statement from the church about the allegations in the lawsuit.

Bellevue Baptist Church has reached a settlement with a teenaged sexual abuse victim who sued the church, saying the flagship church in the Southern Baptist Convention provided a space for her abuser to groom and abuse her, and that officials failed to remove him from working with children after being warned.

Portions of the lawsuit will continue, however, as the girl's parents, identified as John Doe and Jane Doe, have not themselves settled with the church.

Gary Smith, attorney for the family, said he couldn't discuss the monetary settlement made by Bellevue to the victim, identified as Janet Doe. The order approving the settlement was entered into the court record last week.

The two related parts of the parent's claim that will continue include "the emotional harm caused by the knowledge that their daughter was sexually abused, particularly in the church setting," Smith said.

Smith said depositions taken in the case have shown that James A. Hook, a paid volunteer coordinator at the church who the complaint alleges sexually abused Janet Doe, did not resign from his paid position at the church before the abuse happened.

"He did not resign, he was fired and he was fired specifically because they suspected his activities of grooming this child," Smith said. "There were multiple people at the church suspicious of what he was doing so they fired him, but they allowed him to continue the same course of conduct and they did not tell the parents what they knew or suspected and of course had they done that the parents would have been able to pull her away and prevented the abuse from ever occurring."

Representatives of Bellevue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Bellevue Baptist Church is one of the largest churches in the Memphis area, with an average Sunday attendance of about 8,000. It is a flagship church of the Southern Baptist Convention, and its pastor, Steve Gaines, once led the denomination as its 61st president.

This isn’t the first time Bellevue has faced accusations of mishandling sexual abuse.

In 2006, an assistant pastor at the church confessed to Gaines that he had sexually abused a minor — his son — in 1990 for 12-18 months. Gaines did not report the disclosure for six months. The assistant pastor was eventually investigated and fired.

The Southern Baptist Convention has grappled with the issue of sex abuse for years, with the focus heightening after a 2019 investigation by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News found about 380 Southern Baptist church leaders and volunteers who had faced allegations of sexual misconduct over the past 20 years, with more than 700 victims.

Just last month, a historic report by Guidepost Solutions detailed how Southern Baptist leaders perpetuated a cycle of abuse for two decades by ignoring reports of abuse and dismissing recommendations for reform.

In that report was a description of Gaines' delay in reporting the 2006 confession, and these words: "To survivors, the 2016 election of Steve Gaines as SBC President conveyed the message that a clergy sex abuse cover-up was considered 'no big deal' in the SBC."

Next week, Southern Baptist messengers from across the country and globe will gather in Anaheim for their annual meeting. There, they will decide whether and how to take action on Guidepost's report on sexual abuse and its recommendations.

Church denied awareness, liability

In the case of Janet Doe, Hook pleaded guilty to sexual battery by an authority figure in January 2020 after officers found Hook and the 15-year-old girl in a car together in May 2019.

Hook admitted to sexual contact with her, but denied having intercourse, according to the affidavit. Hook was charged with sexual battery by an authority figure and solicitation of a minor at the time.

According to the lawsuit filed in 2020, Hook used his position to encourage “Janet Doe” — the pseudonym used to identify his then-15-year-old victim — to volunteer in the children’s Sunday School program, where he had access to her alone.

There, the complaint says, he groomed her, giving her gifts, complimenting her and sending her sexually explicit photos of her mother taken during an extramarital affair seven years earlier.

Hook began kissing and having other physical contact with her, sometimes on Bellevue property or when driving her home.

Hook was the father of “Janet Doe’s” sibling, according to court documents, and had previously engaged in an extramarital affair with her mother.

In its response filed in court, Bellevue denied “any suggestion or insinuation that Bellevue permitted, condoned or was aware” that Hook was grooming his victim. The church also denied any liability for Hook's actions “which were outside the course and scope of his employment.”

Bellevue responds to news reports

In a statement issued to its church members, Bellevue said at no time during the employment of Hook “did we hear, learn, or have suspicion that he was engaging in any inappropriate conduct with a minor.” They learned of the sexual abuse two months after his employment ended, they wrote.

As mandated reporters, they would have reported any inappropriate conduct to the appropriate authorities, they wrote.

“We’ve remained committed to supporting the victim’s healing and, therefore, settled her lawsuit against us,” Bellevue wrote. “We believe that a settlement is the best route to allow her to continue to heal. This in no way relieves us of our responsibility or our future responsibility to protect our church family.”

The church also wrote that recent news articles are “incorrect” to say that “this case remains pending on behalf of the parents.”

“The parents’ claims were dismissed by the court in October 2020,” they wrote. “This case has been resolved in full.”

While the claims of John Doe and Jane Doe were dismissed, those dismissals were not final. Smith said they will be filing a motion to reconsider their claims in light of the new information available in depositions that were taken in the Janet Doe portion.

“We are committed to supporting victims of abuse and take any allegations of abuse very seriously,” Bellevue wrote. “If you ever have any information about any incidents or would like to speak to someone, please reach out to the church leadership.”

Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: SBC sexual abuse: Bellevue Baptist reaches partial settlement