When you're trusted with that kind of information, you damn well better do something
In the quiet suburbs west of Chicago, a lawsuit has surfaced that asks an ancient and unresolved question: what do institutions owe to the vulnerable when they are entrusted with knowledge of harm? A man who was molested as a teenager says he brought his wound to a pastor in 2010, seeking protection for others — and that the church's silence allowed a second child to be hurt by the same man. The case against Chapelstreet Church in Geneva is not only about one congregation's alleged failure, but about the structural conditions that allow misconduct to persist wherever accountability is diffuse and trust is absolute.
- A man molested at fourteen finally spoke up decades later — not for himself, but to warn a pastor that the man who hurt him was now working with children at the same church.
- Despite a written admission of abuse from the perpetrator himself, the church allegedly allowed Don Vanthournout to remain in youth leadership roles for years after being informed.
- A second boy was molested between 2011 and 2018 — a child whose missionary family trusted the church community enough to stay in Vanthournout's home.
- The church has publicly suggested it was 'inappropriately included' in the lawsuit, while declining to clarify whether the abuse was ever reported to law enforcement as required.
- The case lands amid a widening reckoning across evangelical denominations, where decentralized structures have repeatedly shielded abusers from the institutional scrutiny that might have stopped them.
A lawsuit filed against Chapelstreet Church in Geneva, Illinois, alleges that a youth leader sexually abused at least two boys over several decades — and that the church's lead pastor enabled further harm by failing to act after being directly informed of the abuse.
The first victim says he was molested in the 1980s as a teenager during a Baptist youth group overnight trip by Don Vanthournout, then a man in his twenties. He buried the trauma for years. When he later found himself attending the same church as Vanthournout, he wrote to his abuser seeking an apology. Vanthournout responded in writing, acknowledging the harm he had caused. In 2010, alarmed that Vanthournout had taken on roles in the church's youth programs, the man went to then-lead pastor Brian Coffey and disclosed the abuse — hoping the church would protect other children.
It did not. According to the lawsuit, Vanthournout continued in youth leadership at Chapelstreet from 2011 through 2018. During that period, a second boy was allegedly abused — the child of Canadian Christian missionaries who stayed with Vanthournout and worshipped at the church while visiting the Chicago area. The lawsuit contends the church bore responsibility for what happened to that child, given what Coffey had been told years earlier.
Coffey has said only that Vanthournout was never a paid staff member. The church, part of the Baptist-affiliated Converge network, addressed its congregation after the lawsuit became public, offering prayers for truth and healing while implying the church had been wrongly named in the legal action. Neither the church nor Coffey has clarified whether the allegations were ever reported to police — a legal obligation for clergy in many circumstances.
The case arrives as evangelical and other decentralized Protestant denominations face growing scrutiny over their handling of abuse. Without the hierarchical oversight structures that have — however imperfectly — been used to track misconduct in the Catholic Church, many congregations operate with few checks on individual leaders. The Southern Baptist Convention acknowledged more than 700 alleged abusers across its organizations in a 2022 report; the Assemblies of God was recently found to have repeatedly reinstated accused ministers for decades.
For the first victim, the injury is layered. The abuse itself left him feeling broken and worthless. But it was the pastor's silence — and the harm that followed — that cut deepest. 'When you're trusted with that kind of information,' he said, 'you damn well better do something.'
In the far western suburbs of Chicago, a large evangelical congregation with thousands of members across four worship sites is now defending itself against allegations that it knowingly allowed a man to remain in positions of authority over children despite learning he had sexually abused a boy years earlier.
The lawsuit centers on Don Vanthournout, a former youth leader at Chapelstreet Church in Geneva, and the church's handling of abuse allegations spanning decades. A man identified in court documents as the plaintiff says Vanthournout molested him in the 1980s when both attended a Baptist church in St. Charles. The accuser was fourteen; Vanthournout was in his twenties. They spent time together during Bible studies and youth group functions, and as their contact increased, Vanthournout began what the lawsuit describes as a grooming process. During an overnight trip, he forced the boy into his bed and sexually abused him.
The accuser suppressed the trauma into adulthood. Years later, he began attending Chapelstreet, where Vanthournout had also become a member. In 2007, the man wrote Vanthournout expressing his pain and asking for an apology. Vanthournout responded in writing, acknowledging the abuse: "I feel horrible that you have suffered as you have because of me." Three years later, in 2010, the accuser grew alarmed that Vanthournout was involved in the church's youth programs. Wanting to protect other children, he met with Brian Coffey, then the lead pastor, and told him about the abuse from decades earlier.
After that conversation, the accuser believed the church would take appropriate action. Instead, according to the lawsuit, Vanthournout not only remained a member of Chapelstreet between 2011 and 2018—he held leadership positions within the youth programs. During that same period, the suit alleges, Vanthournout molested a second boy whose parents were Christian missionaries based in Canada. The family stayed with Vanthournout and attended Chapelstreet while in the Chicago area. The lawsuit contends that Coffey and the church were aware of Vanthournout's history of abuse when they allowed him to continue in youth leadership roles and to house the second victim during missionary trips and church functions.
Coffey declined to comment beyond stating that Vanthournout "was never a staff member at Chapelstreet." Vanthournout could not be reached. The church, which identifies as Baptist and is part of a network called Converge, alerted its congregation to the lawsuit in recent days. During a service, a minister offered a prayer for "truth, for healing and for your protection over everyone involved" and indicated the leadership team was working with outside experts to evaluate the facts, while suggesting the church "has been inappropriately included in this legal action." Church officials have not clarified whether Coffey is being sidelined during the review or whether the church ever reported the allegations to police and prosecutors, as clergy are generally required by law to do.
The case underscores a broader vulnerability in evangelical and other decentralized Christian denominations. Unlike the Catholic Church, with its hierarchical structure and centralized bureaucracy, many Protestant groups lack the institutional oversight mechanisms that might catch and prevent abuse. This structural difference makes it easier for individual church leaders to obscure misconduct. The Southern Baptist Convention, in 2022, released a list documenting more than 700 alleged abusers over two decades across Baptist organizations in the United States, with more than thirty suspected offenders having served in Illinois or the Chicago region. Just days before this lawsuit became public, NBC News reported that the Assemblies of God had repeatedly reinstated ministers and volunteer leaders accused of sexual misconduct since the 1970s and resisted reforms aimed at protecting children.
The accuser told a reporter that the abuse left him feeling "broken ... dirty ... worthless." But what angered him most was learning that Coffey's inaction may have enabled further harm. "Morality and honesty is a big deal to me. Trust is big to me," he said. "When you're trusted with that kind of information, you damn well better do something." The church's written statement maintains that Vanthournout, while a congregation member, was not acting on behalf of or under the authority of Chapelstreet Church—a position that now faces scrutiny in court.
Notable Quotes
I feel horrible that you have suffered as you have because of me— Don Vanthournout, in a 2007 written response acknowledging the abuse
Morality and honesty is a big deal to me. Trust is big to me. When you're trusted with that kind of information, you damn well better do something— The accuser, on learning the pastor may have enabled further abuse
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that this happened at an evangelical church rather than, say, a Catholic parish?
Because people assume the problem is unique to Catholicism. It's not. The difference is structural—the Catholic Church has a hierarchy that can be held accountable. Evangelical churches are decentralized. Each congregation operates independently. That makes it harder to see the full scope of abuse, and easier for a pastor like Coffey to act alone without oversight.
So when the accuser told Coffey in 2010, there was no one above Coffey to report to?
Exactly. Coffey was the lead pastor. He had the information. He made the choice not to act. There was no institutional mechanism forcing him to escalate it or report it to authorities. That's the vulnerability.
The accuser waited until 2010 to tell anyone, even though the abuse happened in the 1980s. Why?
He suppressed the trauma. That's common with abuse survivors. He didn't process it until adulthood. And even then, he only spoke up because he became afraid Vanthournout would hurt other kids at Chapelstreet.
What does Coffey say happened?
He says Vanthournout was never a staff member. But the lawsuit says Vanthournout held leadership positions in the youth programs. Those aren't the same thing. Staff might mean paid. Leadership in youth programs is different—and more dangerous.
Did the church ever go to police?
It's unclear. Clergy are legally required to report suspicions of abuse to authorities. But the lawsuit doesn't say they did. And the church hasn't said they did. That silence is itself telling.
What happens now?
The court will decide whether Coffey and the church were negligent—whether they had a duty to protect children and failed. But the real question is whether other churches are watching and learning, or whether they're hoping this stays quiet.