Church settles lawsuit with nonreligious family over ‘forced’ baptism

An Ohio church has settled a lawsuit
brought against it by a nonreligious family
that alleged their son suffered trauma after
he was baptized in a full water baptism
when he was 11 years old.
On Thursday, the civil rights advocacy
group American Atheists announced that
parents April and Gregg DeFibaugh settled
their lawsuit against a local church, pastor,
a youth mentoring organization, and former
volunteer mentor for performing a baptism,
which they said was forced on their son
who is disabled.
The DeFibaughs, who are said to be
nonreligious but don’t identify as atheist,
filed a lawsuit in county court against
Morning Star Friends Church in Chardon,
Pastor Matthew Chesnes, and Big Brothers/
Big Sisters of Northeast Ohio.
The lawsuit claimed that despite
instructions from the DeFibaughs to refrain
from religious activities with their son, his
Big Brother mentor often discussed religion
with him.
The lawsuit said that on Aug. 28, 2016, the
mentor, church member David Guarnera,
took the child to a group baptism at
Morning Star Friends Church. Along with
Chesnes, the mentor was accused of
forcibly baptizing the child by pushing him
underwater.
“Defendant Chesnes, with the assistance of
defendant Guarnera, conducted the
baptism by forcing V under water and
holding his head under water to the point
where V felt like he was choking and could
not breathe,” the lawsuit says in part.
The parents claim that since the incident,
their son suffers from anxiety and
emotional distress. According to American
Atheists, the child suffers from nightmares
of drowning that have prevented him from
sleeping.
The legal group could not disclose the
details of the settlement.
“Although no settlement or verdict could
undo the anguish their son suffered, the
DeFibaughs are pleased with the outcome,”
American Atheists’ Litigation Counsel
Geoffrey Blackwell said in a statement.
“They are glad that he will not have to go
through the ordeal of a trial.”
The lawsuit was originally filed in March
2016 in federal court but was dismissed
when a federal court concluded that
guardian ad litem, Margaret Vaughan, a
member of the church who worked for
CASA for Kids of Geauga County, did not
act as an agent of the government by
proselytizing to the family and arranging
Guarnera as a mentor.
The family refiled the case in a county
court in 2018 for alleged violations of state
law.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer ,
court records indicate that a Geauga
County Probate Court judge approved the
settlement last week.
The Christian Post reached out to Chesnes
and Morning Star Friends Church for
comment on the lawsuit and legal
settlement. A response is pending.
Morning Star Friends Church describes its
mission as making “disciples who love
Jesus, connect people, share hope, and
celebrate life.”
Chesnes received a doctorate of ministry
from Fuller Theological Seminary and has
taught online classes at Barclay College.
He also serves as an adjunct professor at
Malone University.

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