Family Suing Warner Christian Academy and Edgewater Alliance Church Over Former Teacher’s Abuse

A Volusia County family is in a legal battle with Edgewater Alliance Church and Warner Christian Academy over a sex abuse scandal that rocked the campus about three years earlier. The family, whom WFTV’s 9 Investigates is not identifying in order to protect their young son, told investigative reporter Daralene Jones that their son was one of the victims abused by Matthew Graziotti.

Graziotti is a former teacher who was convicted on federal child pornography charges. According to the federal complaint, federal agents found that he created and shared child pornography through a file sharing service, and some of the victims were children he knew at Warner Christian Academy. Graziotti is now serving a prison sentence of more than 200 years.

The family’s civil lawsuit was filed on behalf of their son by a man identified in court papers only as “James Doe.” The suit names Edgewater Alliance Church and White Chapel Church of God, doing business as Warner Christian Academy. Several other families have also sued the private school. James Doe told the station he is speaking out “to try and shine a light on the disturbing act of sex abuse against children.”

More than a year after the family filed suit, the case has not been settled. James Doe said he is angry that “nobody in the school or the church did certain things to assure the safety of my child.”

An attorney for the South Daytona Beach school filed a response denying a majority of the claims. The church’s response, in part, places blame on the child and his parents, stating that the plaintiff was comparatively negligent and assumed a known or should-have-been-known danger under Florida law. Attempts to clarify that defense with the church’s attorney were unsuccessful.

The family’s lawyer, Frank Kruppenbacher, argues that the school failed to check Graziotti’s background. “They didn’t call prior employers. They didn’t check his prior history. If they had, red flags would’ve popped up from Michigan to their own backyard,” he said. “It conflicts with any Christian value that any of us have. You’ve never once picked up the phone, and called our client before we ever were involved as lawyers and said we’re sorry, is there anything we can do to help your child.” Careful screening of people entrusted with children is one way of protecting the vulnerable (Mark 9:42).

Warner Christian Academy states in its legal response that it conducted an adequate pre-employment investigation. It is unclear whether that included contacting previous employers, and one of them had asked Graziotti to leave his position as Youth Minister because his conduct with children went beyond normal parameters. Edgewater police opened an investigation into possible inappropriate conduct with children, but Graziotti was never arrested.

“Someone has to be held accountable and they can’t point the finger at the parent,” James Doe told Jones. The church’s marketing and development office has not yet responded to 9 Investigates’ questions about the case. Court records show that at least two other civil cases against the church and school have been settled, and others are still moving through the court system.

Source: Read the original report