Tuesday, April 09, 2019

Appellate court: Ozark Christian College can't be held liable after recommending hiring of minister who molested child

Ozark Christian College cannot be held responsible when a former student it recommended to a church for employment uses his position to sexually abuse a minor, according to an opinion rendered April 5 by the Missouri Southern District Court of Appeals.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs listed as "John Doe" and "Mother Doe" allege Ozark Christian College recommended Steven Butler, a former student for employment at a church, even after Butler had been removed from another position due to alleged sexual misconduct.

The appellate court affirmed the decision issued by Jasper County Circuit Court Judge Dean Dankelson, who said that even if the allegations were accurate, Ozark Christian College could not be held responsible for the minister's action.







From Dankelson's original opinion, which was issued May 25, 2018.

The undisputed facts are that Steven Butler was a student at Ozark Christian College (“OCC”) from 1982 through 1989. Ozark Christian College is an independent college and a separate entity from Independence Christian Community Church (“Church”). 

The Church did send money to OCC on a monthly basis. OCC would provide names of recommended pastors and would on occasion provide temporary pastors on the weekends. The Church is an autonomous self-governing church that chooses its own leadership without oversight by OCC. That is the entirety of the relationship between OCC and the Church. 

Butler was the pastor of a church in Barnsdall, Oklahoma. In September, 2000, he resigned from that position as a result of an allegation of sexual misconduct against a minor. 

OCC was copied on the resignation letter which acknowledged but denied the allegation No criminal charges were filed as a result of the allegation. 

In 2004, the Church was in the process of hiring a new pastor. It contacted OCC and received recommendations for a new pastor which included Steven Butler. The Church contacted OCC and received a positive recommendation. 

OCC did not mention the allegations in Oklahoma. 

The court is unaware of any other background check the Church performed on Butler but finds it irrelevant for purposes of this motion. The Church at least in part relied on OCC’s recommendation and hired Butler.  

Minor plaintiff was a child who attended the Church. Between 2006 through 2010, Butler performed acts of sodomy upon him, acts for which he was subsequently charged and convicted. 

During this time frame, Butler did not attend nor work for OCC. Plaintiff brought this suit against OCC claiming that it should not have made a positive recommendation to the church, that it had a duty not to, and that the damage suffered by plaintiff is a foreseeable consequence of that failure. 

The first question is what duty was owed by OCC to the Church? Is there a duty to not make a negligent recommendation to a prospective employer, whether it come from another employer or an educational institution? 









Plaintiff admits that it cannot find a Missouri case that holds such a duty exists. There are other states that have reached that conclusion, California, New Mexico and Texas, but the Missouri legislature has not defined such a cause of action and the Missouri Courts have not recognized one. This court declines to create such a cause of action now. 

Even if a duty is assumed, the plaintiff cannot show that the defendant’s action is the cause of the injury. The acts of Butler were intentional. There is no allegation otherwise. His intentional acts are an intervening and superseding cause of plaintiff’s injuries and negate any cause of action against defendant. 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

" Former Kansas man sentenced to life in prison for sex crime

Eagle staff

August 22, 2014 01:45 PM, Updated August 22, 2014 02:08 PM

INDEPENDENCE

A 50-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison Friday under Jessica’s Law for aggravated criminal sodomy of a child under 14 years old, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a news release.

Steven P. Butler, a former resident of Independence who now lives in Joplin, Mo., will not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years, the release said. He was found guilty of the charge in June and was sentenced by Judge F. William Cullins in Montgomery County District Court.

Under Kansas law, the standard sentence for people convicted of a Jessica’s Law crime is life in prison without parole eligibility for 25 years. The law covers certain sex offenses involving adult perpetrators and victims younger than 14, including rape, aggravated indecent liberties, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated human trafficking."

https://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article1276724.html

Anonymous said...

Any religious leader from the bishop to the choir director, if found guilty of perversion against a child (or any sexual misconduct) should be removed from their leadership position.
No exceptions.

Anonymous said...

Thoughts and prayers!

Douglas Lay said...

I am a graduate of Ozark and an advocate for abuse victims, This action by the college is not an exception, but more of the norm. I know of another Bible college with a similar situation, including churches who do the same... ignore previous allegations while recommending for another church. My former church, First Christian Church of Florissant, recommended a minister with knowledge of sexual abuse allegations. This minister also was convicted of sexual abuse. isitemough.org

Carolyn said...

Ozark had been informed three other times about his alleged severe mental illness, personality disorder, sexual addictions, and why I divorced him. I called the college and recommended they have Butler sign a medical release form for potential churches to contact his psychiatrist so they could make an informed decision about the risk of hiring him. Ozark did not participate in due diligence.

Although I attended Ozark 1987-1989, this must be exposed.

There is one more child involved so there may be another court case in the future. Two children, from different families, won civil suits against Butler, and against the church who employed him.

Ozark isn't the only contributor to professional, moral, and spiritual abuse in the case of Butler's crime. Ronnie and Darlene Epps, along with Reggie Epps of mega church Johnson County Christian/Legacy Christian Church were in court as supporters and character witnesses for Butler. (Independence Daily Reporter) They were his home/ordaining church. Investigators told me that Tim Liston (mega church Pearland, TX) who knew of our marital problems, why I left, and diagnosis' from Butler's psychiatrist including pedophilia, remained a reference on Butler's resume up until prison. David Rutherford of CrossCity Christian Church, Fresno, CA was also a reference. Reggie Thomas of White Field's Evangelism, last I knew which was after Butler's conviction, still believed in his innocence. Thomas allowed Butler to travel internationally to third world countries as an evangelist, working in orphanages, with White Fields. Thomas allowed this even though Butler had lost his parental rights to his child and had no contact for seven years. I am naming names because leaders need to realize there are consequences to not taking the time to verify facts. I had police reports for 2 different children Butler had victimized in Oklahoma. I had doctors reports on their professional letterhead stating diagnosis'. I had a report from a child psychologist of indecent behavior/grooming with a child; they were'nt illegal in that state at that time but they are now. I had information for the church in Barnsdall, OK who ran Butler out of town. I had prescription receipts for Butler's anti-psychotic, anti-anxiety, anti-depressants, and psycho-tropic medications. These mixed with dark sexual addictions were not a good mix. NO ONE ever contacted me to ask why I left him or why he lost his parental rights. Churches and seminaries need training on how to identify and handle abusers, how to take all allegations seriously and allow law enforcement to investigate, how to become a safe haven for the innocent, and how to minister to survivors. Here is an article on Abuse of Faith where I write about some of Butler's references and why abusers are able to keep preying. You can also type "Steve Butler" in the search bar to find more articles about the trial. https://spiritualbattles.org/2019/02/14/abuse-of-faith-part-3-10-reasons-abusers-keep-preying/?fbclid=IwAR1uJ-tLkLZpgpfHyF8h60ELMFY_GSiw61QWXRrMyxDPV6q5SwlhM1svn1w

Anonymous said...

All of this causes Great sadness…. I was engaged to Steve Butler 1984 -1985…. I’m sooooooooo so Sorry for you and your sweet son….. Many Prayers…. I look back… now with this information…. And so much makes sense…. I was young and clueless…. Reeling from the Murder of my Brother and the death of my Dad….. years later as a wife and Morher …. Through counseling… discovered that I had been sexually abused….. I wouldn’t have seen it…. Many prayers 💜💜💜