GEORGIA
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What may be the first lawsuit filed under Georgia’s new child predator law claims that a statehouse lobbyist abused a boy he worked with as a youth leader at a Toombs County church.
Matthew Stanley claims that Jim E. Collins abused him hundreds of time over the course of several years, as recently as 2002. Collins was a youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Vidalia.
“Jim used his position of authority in my local church to perpetrate his abuse for most of my adolescent years,” Stanley said at a news conference Monday at his lawyer’s Atlanta office.
The advocacy group Voice Today, which works to end child sexual abuse, said Stanley’s lawsuit is believed to be the first since the passage this year of House Bill 17, the Hidden Predator Act. The bill created a two-year window during which victims of past abuse can file civil claims against their alleged abuser, even if the statute of limitations has expired.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.