Defendant Brad Lakin requested a 30-day extension on Aug. 19 to file responsive pleadings in a 2006 case alleging his father Lowell Thomas Lakin sexually assaulted a young boy.
A hearing on the case is scheduled Aug. 29.
Lakin Law Firm, Bradley M. Lakin and Kristopher Lakin are named defendants in the child sexual abuse lawsuit in addition to Tom Lakin.
The lawsuit accuses Bradley Lakin of conspiring with his father and brother to destroy evidence and to skirt mandatory sexual abuse reporting laws by having at least one minor plaintiff seek treatment in Canada.
The accusations in the civil suit – originally filed in Madison County – launched a federal investigation which resulted in Tom Lakin’s conviction in 2008, on drug charges. He is scheduled for release on Nov. 30 from Fort Worth Federal Correctional Institute in Texas.
Plaintiff’s attorney Ed Unsell of East Alton, who was allowed to proceed with the civil suit after the state finished its case against Tom Lakin in October 2011, filed a motion for summary judgment Feb. 27.
St. Clair County Associate Judge Heinz Rudolf stated in his June 26 order that the parties shall advise the court on the status of the pending declaratory judgment action or argue the motions at the hearing.
The summary judgment motion is based on facts Tom Lakin submitted in the case in which he admitted he committed sexual abuse on a 15-year-old boy.
According to the first amended complaint, Tom Lakin, now 72, was an adult friend of the families of the minors he is accused of abusing.
Plaintiff Mary Doe, mother of John and Joseph Doe, was employed by Tom Lakin and the former Lakin Law Firm, according to the complaint.
The suit accuses Tom Lakin, then 64 or 65 years old, of sexually abusing Mary Doe’s sons and harassing her daughter. He also is accused of filing harassing lawsuits against Mary Doe.
The plaintiffs seek more than $75,000 in damages.
Samantha Unsell of Keefe & Keefe also represents the plaintiff.
Robert J. Sprague of Sprague and Urban in Belleville represents Brad Lakin.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 6-L-363
- Sprague