Child Abuse Survivor Concerned NC ‘Look Back Window’ Will be Overturned

Victim brought a claim against a NC church and school

Some child sexual abuse survivors in North Carolina are depending on a decision by the state’s Supreme Court to determine if they can sue their abusers and any institution who enabled the abuse.

One victim, Stuart Griffin, is afraid the state’s Supreme Court will decide the case in a way that harms victims. “I fear we will lose those [victims] who are barely hanging on. And it’s all because a few judges want to protect insurance companies and pedophiles, not the Constitution,” Griffin wrote in a blog post about his case.

The constitutionality of the “look back period” included in North Carolina’s 2019 SAFE Child Act has been appealed by the Gaston County Board of Education. The look back period is a two-year window allowing survivors, who would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations, a chance to sue in civil court. The look back window ended on December 31, 2021.

One case that could be impacted by the N.C. Supreme Court’s decision was brought by Griffin against his abuser, David Lee Wood, and two institutions he claims enabled Wood’s abuse in the 1990s—Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church and Charlotte Christian School.

Wood was convicted of “indecent liberties with a child” and sentenced to 36 months of probation. He was also required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Griffin didn’t sue the church or school within the original statute of limitations—three years following his 18th birthday. However, Kevin DeYoung became the pastor of Christ Covenant in 2018. He held a congregational meeting in January 2019 to inform the church of Wood’s abuse.

Griffin said he believes DeYoung minimized “the institution’s role in what happened to me. Kevin also minimized the inaction of the church when my mother originally reported what happened.”

It was after that congregational meeting that Griffin sought legal counsel to see if he had any recourse to “hold the church responsible for what [he] believed was clearly their negligence.”

Along with two other victims, Griffin filed suit under the state’s SAFE Child Act look back window in June 2020.

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“Under this law, victims will still be required, like with any other civil trial, to prove their case. This legislation does not guarantee victory for the victims, it only provides them with their day in court to face those responsible for the abuse,” Griffin pointed out.

In his complaint filed against the church and school, Griffin claims the abuse began when he was in the eighth grade. Wood groomed Griffin, desensitizing him by using foul language, discussing sexual behavior, and showing Griffin pornography, the court filings state.

According to Griffin, Wood sexually assaulted him when he was 13 years of age.

At the time of the abuse, Harry Reeder was the pastor of Christ Covenant, Tom Henry was executive pastor, and Rod Huckaby was the senior youth leader, Griffin told MinistryWatch.

Later, Reeder became pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church, a large congregation in Birmingham, Alabama. He was killed in a car crash in May 2023.

According to the court filings, Wood “confided in Rod Huckaby…that he was addicted to pornography and had issues with sex addiction.” However, despite this knowledge, the church allegedly allowed Wood to continue spending time with young boys.

The lawsuit includes six claims for relief: assault and battery, negligent retention and supervision of Wood, constructive fraud, false imprisonment, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The church is included in the claims under a theory called respondeat superior, which holds an employer responsible for the actions of its employee.

While Wood was not an employee of Charlotte Christian School, the court filings assert that there was a relationship between Charlotte Christian School and Christ Covenant through which the youth activities at Christ Covenant were promoted to students at the school. Wood was often allowed to pick up students from the school to take them to lunch or other activities, the documents allege.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages for their pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, and medical care and treatment, along with punitive damages.

In 2020, Griffin said the church’s attorney offered him a settlement of $25,000, which he did not accept. “The attorney for the insurance company told me that she didn’t believe the Supreme Court in North Carolina would allow the lookback window in the SAFE Child Act to stay in the bill, so she didn’t think I would have the ability to take Christ Covenant to court,” Griffin wrote.

Griffin’s cases against the church and school are still pending.

Status of Child Safe Act

The Gaston County (N.C.) Board of Education has been arguing against the look back provision of the 2019 SAFE Child Act after former students from the mid-1990s and early 2000s brought a suit against the school district for failing to protect them from their high school wrestling coach who their complaint claims physically and sexually abused them.

In September 2023, the intermediate Appeals Court upheld the look back window in a 2-1 decision, reversing the decision of the trial court. Gaston County Board of Education appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

In its appeal, the Gaston County school district argued, “Reviving the instant claims will be only the beginning; today the claims are for child abuse, but future iterations of the General Assembly would be able to resurrect any claims that its members desire: products liability, construction defect, claims against law enforcement officers, legal malpractice, public officer liability, medical malpractice — the list is literally endless.”

The state’s Department of Justice intervened and filed a brief in the Supreme Court case supporting the look back window that the state legislature passed unanimously.

“By opening a two-year window to file otherwise time-barred claims, the General Assembly sought to give survivors a meaningful opportunity to seek justice, to ensure that abusers and their enablers paid for some of the moral and financial costs of their abuse, and to help identify abusers to prevent them from harming more children,” North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park wrote in the state’s brief.

The North Carolina Supreme Court has not set the case for oral arguments yet.

In response to a request for comment, Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church wrote, “While we are aware of cases involving the North Carolina Safe Child Act currently pending before the North Carolina Supreme Court, the [Griffin case] is not one of those. The church is not in a position to offer an opinion on those cases, but we do want to say clearly that we deplore any and every evil done against children. We pray for victims of abuse and also for our state’s Supreme Court Justices as they consider this issue.”

Charlotte Christian School did not reply to a request for comment before time of publication.

Main photo: Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church in Matthews, NC / Photo via social media