Skip to content
  • The Alabama Baptist
  • The Baptist Paper
  • The Alabama Baptist
  • The Baptist Paper
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Renew
  • Donate
  • The Alabama Baptist
  • The Baptist Paper
  • The Alabama Baptist
  • The Baptist Paper
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Renew
  • Donate
The Alabama Baptist
Search
Close this search box.
The Alabama Baptist
Search
Close this search box.
  • Latest News
  • Trending
  • Editorials
  • Classifieds
  • Free Email Newsletter
  • Latest News
  • Trending
  • Editorials
  • Classifieds
  • Free Email Newsletter

Tuscaloosa church named in lawsuit involving teens’ arrest in Florida

  • August 5, 2022
  • Compiled from news reports
  • Alabama News, Latest News

Tuscaloosa church named in lawsuit involving teens’ arrest in Florida

A lawsuit filed in Tuscaloosa County on July 7 alleges leaders of a church trip to the beach abandoned two boys who were accused but later cleared of sexual battery charges.

The suit was filed by mothers Melody Stephens and Aimee McKnight, whose juvenile sons traveled to Panama City Beach in June 2021 with a youth group from Taylorville Baptist Church.

The suit claims Keith Fair, a deputy with the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office who was on the trip with his child, punched and pinched one of the boys during a confrontation. The suit further claims Fair, who was not acting in a law enforcement capacity on the trip, conducted his own investigation after an incident involving what the suit labels “horseplay.”

According to the complaint, the boys, who are in their late teens, were playing with other youth from the church on the beach, including “lifting up certain other minor children by their arms and buttocks area and throwing them into the air where they would fall back into the water.”

Fair sought help from local law enforcement, and Florida investigators arrested the two older boys and charged them with felony sexual battery. The suit claims the church failed to contact the boys’ parents and left Florida without them.

Charges dropped

“None of the parents for Plaintiffs were contacted or apprised of any of the events which had transpired,” according to the lawsuit. “Rather, the parents of [the boys] had to use GPS in order to locate their sons and determine that they had been retained and placed in the Bay County, Florida Jail facility.”

Investigators in Florida later cleared the boys of wrongdoing and dropped the charges against them.

The four-count lawsuit accuses the church and Fair of negligence, malicious prosecution, slander and assault and battery. The parents are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

In a statement to local media, an attorney for the church, Paul Patterson, said the church was “not aware of the allegations in the complaint against Keith Fair until all the kids had already returned from the beach.”

Patterson said “church representatives concluded that the behavior did not warrant law enforcement investigation, however Mr. Fair, who was chaperoning as a parent, alerted the Bay County Sheriff’s Office to the matter and an investigation ensued.”

In the statement, Patterson denied claims the church did not contact the boys’ parents.

“The parents were told to come to Florida immediately to assist in efforts to gain the release of the youth involved,” he said. “Bay County law enforcement officers would not allow the church officials to contact parents while the youth were being detained and interrogated. These children were not abandoned by church officials at any time.”

Share with others:

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on email
Email

Latest News

  • Dozier Baptist welcomes interim pastor
    Dozier Baptist welcomes interim pastor
    October 3, 2023/
    0 Comments
  • Sulphur Springs Missionary Baptist holds final meeting
    Sulphur Springs Missionary Baptist holds final meeting
    October 3, 2023/
    0 Comments
  • FEMA to test nationwide alert system on Wednesday, Oct. 4
    FEMA to test nationwide alert system on Wednesday, Oct. 4
    October 3, 2023/
    0 Comments

Sign up for the Highlights

Get all latest content delivered to your email a few times a month.
Email is required Email is not valid
Thanks for your subscription.
Failed to subscribe, please contact admin.

Related Posts

Want to receive news highlights throughout the week? Sign up here!

Email is required Email is not valid
Thanks for your subscription.
Failed to subscribe, please contact admin.

About

  • Free Email Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Our Story
  • Our Staff
  • Awards and Recognitions
  • Affiliations
  • Partner Links
  • Advertise
  • Internships
  • Find Churches
  • Classifieds
  • Archived: Special Resources
  • Special Events
  • Photo Galleries
  • Free Email Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Our Story
  • Our Staff
  • Awards and Recognitions
  • Affiliations
  • Partner Links
  • Advertise
  • Internships
  • Find Churches
  • Classifieds
  • Archived: Special Resources
  • Special Events
  • Photo Galleries

Explore

  • Latest News
  • Archive
  • Sunday School Lessons
  • Editorials
  • Alabama News
  • Podcasts
  • Obituaries
  • Theology 101
  • Someone You Should Know
  • Rashional Thoughts
  • Persecuted Church
  • Heroes of the Faith
  • Reader Response
  • About Alabama
  • Videos
  • Latest News
  • Archive
  • Sunday School Lessons
  • Editorials
  • Alabama News
  • Podcasts
  • Obituaries
  • Theology 101
  • Someone You Should Know
  • Rashional Thoughts
  • Persecuted Church
  • Heroes of the Faith
  • Reader Response
  • About Alabama
  • Videos

Submissions

  • Story Ideas
  • Staff Change or News Item
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Reader Submissions
  • What Are You Reading?
  • Obituary
  • Correction / Clarification
  • Submission Policy
  • Story Ideas
  • Staff Change or News Item
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Reader Submissions
  • What Are You Reading?
  • Obituary
  • Correction / Clarification
  • Submission Policy

Subscribe

  • Start a new subscription
  • Renew your subscription
  • Start a new gift subscription
  • Start a new group subscription
  • Start a new subscription at the group rate
  • Subscribe to the TAB News app
  • Update your subscriber list
  • Subscribe to Highlights
  • Register for online access
  • Hosted Church
  • Manage Account | Customer Service
  • Start a new subscription
  • Renew your subscription
  • Start a new gift subscription
  • Start a new group subscription
  • Start a new subscription at the group rate
  • Subscribe to the TAB News app
  • Update your subscriber list
  • Subscribe to Highlights
  • Register for online access
  • Hosted Church
  • Manage Account | Customer Service
The Alabama Baptist
Address:
3310 Independence Dr.
Birmingham, AL 35209
Copyright © 2023 The Alabama Baptist, Inc.
  • Privacy Policy/Terms of Use
  • Help
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy/Terms of Use
  • Help
  • FAQ
Email:
news@thealabamabaptist.org

About

  • Free Email Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Our Story
  • Our Staff
  • Awards and Recognitions
  • Affiliations
  • Partner Links
  • Advertise
  • Internships
  • Find Churches
  • Classifieds
  • Archived: Special Resources
  • Special Events
  • Photo Galleries
  • Free Email Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Our Story
  • Our Staff
  • Awards and Recognitions
  • Affiliations
  • Partner Links
  • Advertise
  • Internships
  • Find Churches
  • Classifieds
  • Archived: Special Resources
  • Special Events
  • Photo Galleries

Explore

  • Latest News
  • Archive
  • Sunday School Lessons
  • Editorials
  • Alabama News
  • Podcasts
  • Obituaries
  • Theology 101
  • Someone You Should Know
  • Rashional Thoughts
  • Persecuted Church
  • Heroes of the Faith
  • Reader Response
  • About Alabama
  • Videos
  • Latest News
  • Archive
  • Sunday School Lessons
  • Editorials
  • Alabama News
  • Podcasts
  • Obituaries
  • Theology 101
  • Someone You Should Know
  • Rashional Thoughts
  • Persecuted Church
  • Heroes of the Faith
  • Reader Response
  • About Alabama
  • Videos

Submissions

  • Story Ideas
  • Staff Change or News Item
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Reader Submissions
  • What Are You Reading?
  • Obituary
  • Correction / Clarification
  • Submission Policy
  • Story Ideas
  • Staff Change or News Item
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Reader Submissions
  • What Are You Reading?
  • Obituary
  • Correction / Clarification
  • Submission Policy

Subscribe

  • Start a new subscription
  • Renew your subscription
  • Start a new gift subscription
  • Start a new group subscription
  • Start a new subscription at the group rate
  • Subscribe to the TAB News app
  • Update your subscriber list
  • Subscribe to Highlights
  • Register for online access
  • Hosted Church
  • Manage Account | Customer Service
  • Start a new subscription
  • Renew your subscription
  • Start a new gift subscription
  • Start a new group subscription
  • Start a new subscription at the group rate
  • Subscribe to the TAB News app
  • Update your subscriber list
  • Subscribe to Highlights
  • Register for online access
  • Hosted Church
  • Manage Account | Customer Service

Log In

Lost your password?

Log Out?

Lost your password?

Log in

Become a part of our community!
Forgot your password? Get help

Reset password

Recover your password
A password reset link will be e-mailed to you.
Back to
Login
×
Close Panel