Baltimore Church Sued Over Youth Pastor’s Sex Crimes

Filing follows former pastor’s sex crime guilty plea.

More than 15 years after Thomas Pinkerton Jr. left Central Christian Church, the Baltimore congregation is facing legal action for crimes he allegedly committed while serving as its youth pastor.

Central Christian Church in Baltimore, Maryland (Photo via church website) / Insert of Thomas Pinkerton via Baltimore County Police

On June 8, Pinkerton pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor. He had been charged last August with 24 felonies and misdemeanors for alleged sex crimes against six teenagers between 2006 and 2010, but many of those counts were removed as part of the plea deal.

Now, one of the alleged victims has filed a lawsuit against both Pinkerton and Central Christian Church, also known as Central Christian Assembly.

Identified only as “R.W.” in the filing, the plaintiff accuses the church of gross negligence that enabled Pinkerton to groom and sexually abuse him over several years, beginning when the boy was 15 and an active member of the youth group.

A press release from Andreozzi + Foote, the law firm representing R.W., argues “Central Christian presented Pinkerton as a trusted religious leader who could be trusted to mentor and supervise youth,” even though “the church had actual knowledge regarding Pinkerton’s dangerous behavior.”

According to the lawsuit, multiple parents, church staff members and even the plaintiff’s own grandfather reported concerns about Pinkerton’s behavior, but “meaningful action was never taken to protect children from further harm.”

While church leadership allegedly looked the other way, Pinkerton “targeted and isolated [the victim] within the youth group, engaging in a pattern of grooming behavior that included targeted favoritism, inappropriate whispers, and unsolicited physical contact, such as massages,” the lawsuit claims. “To lower [his] defenses and maintain control, Defendant Pinkerton deceptively framed this abusive and inappropriate behavior as ‘brotherly’ affection.”

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R.W.’s attorneys listed multiple alleged failures by the church, including:

• Failing to establish, maintain and enforce adequate child sexual abuse prevention policies, procedures, training and practices
• Failing to implement and enforce reasonable child-protection measures despite the known risk
• Giving Pinkerton extensive unsupervised access to minors

The lawsuit seeks at least $225,000 in damages from Central Christian Church for three counts: “general negligence,” “gross negligence and recklessness,” and “negligent, grossly negligent, and reckless hiring/retention/supervision of employees, agents, and/or contractors.” In addition, the suit seeks at least $150,000 from Pinkerton for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Central Christian Church did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit. However, the church released a statement responding to Pinkerton’s guilty plea.

“Our hearts are broken for these young men and the loss that each of them has suffered at the hands of this individual. The family and leadership of Central continues to pray for them and to support them and their families as they process through this trauma. Our priority remains the safety of our children and we continue to search out new and greater ways to ensure, to the best of our ability, that this never happens again. As Pastor Larry [Kirk] said previously, ‘There is absolutely no place for abuse, ever, in the church.’ No other statements will be released at this time.”

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Pinkerton faces a maximum of four years in prison, followed by five years of monitored probation. He must also register as a sex offender.

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