The Pastor Raped The Boy 14, The Church Blamed The Boy
Mt. CLEMENS, Mich. (CN) - After a pastor at Antioch Baptist Academy repeatedly raped a student, the church called the boy a liar and the "instigator of his own rape," the boy claims in court.John Doe claims he was younger than 14 when he was repeatedly raped and sodomized in 2009-10 by defendant Christopher Settlemoir, a "29-year-old serial pedophile who was posing as a man of God, a church pastor and a parochial school principal of the defendant Antioch Baptist Church dba Antioch Baptist Academy."
Doe also sued Settlemoir's wife, who is or was a teacher at the academy, other employees and the 10 members of the church's board of directors, who allegedly knew about Settlemoir's molestations but failed to stop them.
According to the complaint in Macomb County Court: "Defendant Antioch hired the pedophile Christopher Settlemoir as a teacher, pastor and principal even though defendant Settlemoir, while still in college, began showing signs of sexual perversion by racking up $100 in gay porn charges on the cable at the apartment where he was staying as part of the pastor internship program.
"Defendant Settlemoir was eventually kicked out of the internship program for not adhering to the rules, which included bringing teen-age boys to his apartment and being along with the boys for 'Movie Night.'"
In his own case, Doe says: "For a period of 14 months, the pedophile Christopher Settlemoir openly and freely vetted, targeted and then sexually abused, exploited and raped John Doe in his office during school hours as well as in defendant Christopher Settlemoir's house and/or within the domains of other property under the control of defendant Antioch Baptist Church and/or its agents.
"John Doe was a boy, a student and a parishioner of the defendant Antioch when he was routinely and inappropriately abducted from classrooms during class time by the pedophile Settlemoir, or by other staff members of the defendant Antioch who delivered the boy to the pedophile Settlemoir, who thereafter would rape the boy."
Doe claims Antioch knew or should have known of Settlemoir's "overt sexual aggression" and "sexual misconduct" with male students. He claims Settlemoir raped him "dozens of times" while the staff turned a blind eye to the crimes.
By February 2009 or earlier, Settlemoir "initiated contact with John Doe and other male students requesting that these children forward pictures of their erect penises to defendant Christopher Settlemoir via cell phone images, pretending that this conduct was just a 'game,'" the complaint states.
"Defendant Christopher Settlemoir also sent, via text, pictures of his own erect penis to minor children, including plaintiff John Doe."
After singling him out, Doe says, "Settlemoir would routinely take John Doe to his office, a room with only one door.
"Defendant Christopher Settlemoir would have to pass other teachers as well as his secretary, Ms. Boggs, when bringing John Doe, or other minor male children, to his office where he would lock himself and the child alone in the officer for long periods of time. ...
Doe claims Antioch knew or should have known of Settlemoir's "overt sexual aggression" and "sexual misconduct" with male students. He claims Settlemoir raped him "dozens of times" while the staff turned a blind eye to the crimes.
By February 2009 or earlier, Settlemoir "initiated contact with John Doe and other male students requesting that these children forward pictures of their erect penises to defendant Christopher Settlemoir via cell phone images, pretending that this conduct was just a 'game,'" the complaint states.
"Defendant Christopher Settlemoir also sent, via text, pictures of his own erect penis to minor children, including plaintiff John Doe."
After singling him out, Doe says, "Settlemoir would routinely take John Doe to his office, a room with only one door.
"Defendant Christopher Settlemoir would have to pass other teachers as well as his secretary, Ms. Boggs, when bringing John Doe, or other minor male children, to his office where he would lock himself and the child alone in the officer for long periods of time. ...
"Defendant Christopher Settlemoir's conduct became so flagrant that another minor child was solicited by the defendant Christopher Settlemoir for pornographic images in exchange of [sic] 'monster drinks' aka energy drinks, another 'grooming' technique commonly known to be used by pedophiles. ..."Although members of the staff at the defendant Antioch were aware that defendant Christopher Settlemoir was engaged in overt sexual misconduct and/or witnessed this pedophile systematically engaged in 'grooming' specific students as targets, the defendant Antioch's staff never reported the conduct to legal authorities."
When he finally did report the rapes, Doe says, the church "lashed out" at him: "After John Doe and his mother came forward and reported to police that Christopher Settlemoir was molesting and raping him, defendants, through their employees and agents, lashed out at John Doe, disparaging him, his mother and his father, through accusations against John Doe. After being raped by Christopher Settlemoir, John Doe was publicly accused by the defendants' staff of being a liar and the instigator of his own rape, by the very people who failed to protect him from the pedophile defendant Christopher Settlemoir," the complaint states.
Doe claims that Eunice Settlemoir, the pastor's wife, "attempted to conceal and later recruited other members of the defendant Antioch to destroy a laptop belonging to her husband to prevent police from obtaining evidence of the molestation and rape of John Doe." Settlemoir is serving a prison sentence of 7 to 15 years for the rape John Doe, according to the complaint.
He seeks punitive damages of $10 million for assault and battery and negligence.
He is represented by James Simasko, of Simasko, Simasko and Simasko, and John Perrin.
By KEVIN KOENINGER
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