“This case is about repeated warnings, ignored obligations and years of preventable abuse,” Dustin Herman, partner at Spangenberg Shibley & Liber, said during press conference held in Dayton this week.
The complaint was filed by Newsome Law, P.A., out of Orlando, Fla. and Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP out of Cleveland.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
The women behind the lawsuit, referred to only as Jane Doe and Mary Doe in the complaint, were sexually abused by John R. Slate, now 56, of Dayton, the lawsuit states. Slate met the victims through church — first at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Beavercreek, which is under a different name now, and then at Parkview United Methodist Church in Miamisburg, which has “its principal place of worship in Franklin County” — where Slate was reportedly employed as a director of music ministries.
The first victim reported the offense to West Carrollton police in 2017 after she was an adult. She said a sexual relationship began when she was 15, according to previous reports. Slate faced additional charges in 2018 in regard to the second victim, who was 13 when the abuse began.
In January 2019, Slate was convicted of two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and one count of pandering obscenity involving a minor in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, which stemmed from the incidents against the women.
Slate was sentenced to 36 months in prison following the 2017 and 2018 charges, after which he had to register as a tier III sex offender. Slate still lives in Dayton, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office’s sex offender registry.
The lawsuit states Slate was a former member of an unnamed cult in Venezuela when he was hired, and it also alleges the United Methodist Church in Ohio failed to act after being warned that this employee was sexually abusing a minor, which allowed the alleged abuse to continue.
“The complaint alleges the accused was a church music director who used his position of trust to isolate and groom children during church activities and private lessons,” said Caroline Newsome, attorney at Newsome Law. “The complaint alleges one survivor estimates she was abused hundreds of times while she was underage.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
The complaint further alleges that after concerns were raised with church leadership, Slate was permitted to remain employed and was later transferred to another church, where additional abuse is alleged to have occurred with another minor.
“Coming forward is incredibly difficult, especially when the harm is tied to a place that was supposed to feel safe,” Newsome said. “Our client is speaking up because she believes it’s the only way to protect others and to make sure what she alleges happened to her doesn’t happen again.”
The attorneys said the filing of the complaint is also intended to raise awareness and encourage anyone with relevant information or similar experiences at a United Methodist Church in Ohio to come forward.
“This case is about accountability and child safety,” Herman said. “When institutions are alerted to credible allegations of abuse, they have a legal and moral obligation to act. This lawsuit seeks to ensure that those responsibilities are not ignored.”
The lawsuit also states that the abuse the victims went through caused “permanent and substantial physical deformity/damage to their brains from PTST and lasting psychological trauma.”
The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount of damages. On Tuesday, attorneys said they had requested a jury for this civil suit and would leave the amount of damages up to the jury.
The Dayton Daily News reached out to the West Ohio Annual Conference of the United Methodist, which was named in the lawsuit due to being the governing body of the churches where Slate was said to have been employed.
“The West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church was just informed this afternoon of a lawsuit that has been filed. We take seriously any complaints of this nature and are looking into the matter,” its statement reads. “Our prayers are with all involved in this matter.”
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