Church Narrowly Avoids Liability in Advertising Services of Babysitter Who Later Molested Children

Key point 10-04. A church may be liable on the basis of negligent selection for a worker's molestation of a minor if the church was negligent in the selection of the worker. Negligence means a failure to exercise reasonable care, and so negligent selection refers to a failure to exercise reasonable care in the selection of the worker. Liability based on negligent selection may be imposed upon a church for the acts of employees and volunteers.

A Texas court ruled that a church was not liable for the sexual molestation of two children by a teenager who had been selected as a babysitter by the victims' parents due to false information in a flyer that had been made available to parents of young children. In the summer of 2007, a married couple (the "plaintiffs") enrolled their two young sons in a church-operated childcare center. A 20-year-old college student (Lydia) worked at the center as a ...