MEMPHIS (TN)
Baptist Press
July 14, 2020
By Diana Chandler
Parents of a teenage girl who was sexually abused by a former part-time employee of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., are suing the church. The suit alleges negligence in allowing James Hook “complete discretion and freedom to have personal and private encounters with volunteers and minors.”
Hook, who was employed on Sunday mornings as the church’s preschool wing coordinator from January 2017-March 2019, pleaded guilty in January to sexual assault by an authority figure. He had been arrested in May 2019 after police found him and the girl, 16, underneath a blanket in the back of his car in a local park. He was sentenced to six months in jail and 4 ½ years probation.
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