A former member of Chapelstreet Church in Geneva has sued the church, its interim lead pastor and a youth leader, claiming the youth leader sexually abused him after the senior pastor had been informed of a prior allegation against the youth leader.

The plaintiff, identified in the civil lawsuit only as “John Doe,” names the church, previously known as the First Baptist Church of Geneva, as well as interim lead pastor Brian Coffey, a longtime church official and former senior pastor, and Don Vanthournout of St. Charles Township, who served in the church’s various youth and student ministries.

The plaintiff, now 21 and a resident of British Columbia, Canada, claims in the suit that between 2011 and 2018, Vanthournout “repeatedly subjected [John Doe] to sexual abuse.” The suit further claims this alleged abuse occurred despite Coffey, as senior pastor, having been made aware in 2010 of an earlier claim of sexual abuse against Vanthournout but allowing him to remain in church youth leadership roles.

It is not clear if Vanthournout is still at the church, but he is not currently listed on Chapelstreet’s website as a youth leader or staff member.

Vanthournout could not be reached for comment. Church leaders, including Coffey, have not responded to emails or voicemails seeking comment. Court records do not show an attorney for Vanthournout or the church.

At the time of the claimed abuse, the plaintiff was a child of missionaries who stayed at Vanthournout’s house in Kane County during furloughs, according to the suit, which was filed Oct. 21 in Kane County court.

The plaintiff’s mother, who was raised in St. Charles, recalled Vanthournout from her own youth group experience, and in 2011, she and her husband returned to the church with their two sons, then aged 6 and 8, and stayed at Vanthournout’s house throughout the summer, according to the filing.

The lawsuit further asserts that a man identified in the filing as “Victim #1” had informed Coffey in 2010 that Vanthournout had sexually abused him in 1983. The man said the alleged abuse occurred when he was 14 and Vanthournout was in his 20s and was a sponsor of a youth group at a different Baptist church in St. Charles the two both attended, the lawsuit states.

Victim #1’s father had given Vanthournout permission to take his son in 1983 to a cabin in Colorado for about a week, when so-called Victim #1 claims Vanthournout sexually abused him, the lawsuit states.

Later, with both Vanthournout and Victim #1 then attending Chapelstreet, the man reached out to Vanthournout in a letter in 2007, detailing the abuse he said occurred and seeking an apology, the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, Vanthournout responded by writing that he wanted “to apologize for the things I have done which have caused you so much pain” and that “I feel horrible that you have suffered as you have because of me” and asking what an “appropriate amount of compensation would be.”

The lawsuit states that in April 2010, Victim #1 “became more concerned about Vanthournout’s involvement as a leader in Chapelstreet’s youth programs,” prompting the man to reach out to Coffey.

The man sent an email to Coffey in that month, and met with him at the church’s east campus in Geneva to discuss Vanthournout, the suit states. The man recounted the claimed abuse against him and showed Coffey the letters the man said he’d exchanged with Vanthournout, the lawsuit states.

“Coffey assured Victim #1 that he will bring the issue to the attention of Chapelstreet’s ‘Senior Elders,’” the lawsuit states.

At that point, the man “assumed Chapelstreet would take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the congregation’s children,” the lawsuit states.

But, according to the lawsuit, the man had another email exchange about five months later in which the man cited a Chicago Tribune article from August 2010 in which Vonthournout, identified as the Chapelstreet’s discipleship group leader, was quoted about being someone kids can talk to “about temptations during dating, frustrations with parents, porn on the internet.”

The article prompted the man known in the suit as Victim #1 to send a Sept. 14, 2010 email to Coffey again raising his concerns about Vanthournout – to which Coffey responded that Vanthournout was asked to take a “sabbatical” from student ministry that June, the lawsuit states.

“I want to keep Don out of student ministries while also keeping this issue as confidential as possible,” Coffey’s email states, according to the lawsuit. “As the fall moves on I am probably going to confront Don with what I know and give him the chance to quietly turn his sabbatical into a ‘resignation’ from all student ministries.”

It’s unclear if the alleged letters and emails referenced in the lawsuit have been submitted in court. They were not attached to the version made available to Shaw Media.

Despite that claimed statement, Vanthournout was allowed to continue contact with children at Chapelstreet, eventually leading to the abuse alleged by John Doe, the lawsuit states.

“Coffey took no meaningful steps to warn members of the congregation about the dangerous sexual propensities of Vanthournout,” the lawsuit states. “Coffey and Chapelstreet were aware or should have been aware that the Plaintiff, as a minor child, was at risk of being sexually groomed and abused by Vanthournout. ... Chapelstreet and Coffey had a duty to ensure that Vanthourout did not have access to minors.”

The filing seeks more than $50,000 each from Vanthournout, for the alleged child sexual abuse; and in two counts against the church and Coffey for alleged negligence in retaining Vanthournout and not supervising him.

Vanthournout has not been charged with any criminal offense in Kane County, according to online court records.

Formerly known as the First Baptist Church of Geneva, the house of worship rebranded itself Chapelstreet in 2017. The church has two locations in Geneva, one in Blackberry Township and one in North Aurora.

The church’s website identifies Coffey as its interim lead pastor while it searches for a lead pastor.