MEMPHIS (TN)
Local ABC 24
July 11, 2020
By Caitlin McCarthy
The church is facing a lawsuit after a former employee was found sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl
The 16-year-old victim’s attorney, Gary K. Smith, said the church did nothing to stop its former employee, James Hook, from abusing the girl in 2019. He said the lawsuit is to hold Bellevue Baptist Church accountable for not protecting the teenage girl.
Smith said the organization was negligent in this case because it was warned of Hook and told not to let him near children and especially the victim, referred to as “Janet Doe.” Doe was also a volunteer at the church and frequently worked with Hook.
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