BELLEVILLE – A former employee of Camp Wartburg is suing the camp, claiming she was sexually abused by a supervisor when she was a minor.
The plaintiff filed a lawsuit as Jane Doe in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Camp Wartburg (Lutheran Retreat Center) and Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois, citing carelessness and negligence.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was hired to work for the defendant as a seasonal staff member at Camp Wartburg. The suit states that she was a 17-year-old minor at the time of her employment. During her employment, the camp also had in its employ a 39-year-old full time-time employee named Matthew T. Hubbard, who was allegedly the plaintiff's supervisor.
The plaintiff claims that during her employment, Hubbard engaged in a pattern of grooming, sexual harassment, sexual abuse and sexual assault against her. She adds that camp managers Robert Polansky and John Hemmingway were aware of Hubbard's inappropriate behavior with a 17-year-old minor. The managers issued verbal and written warnings to Hubbard, but they never informed the plaintiff's parents of Hubbard's actions and essentially let the sexual abuse continue, the suit states.
According to the lawsuit, the camp failed to perform a proper background check on Hubbard, which Doe claims would have revealed that Hubbard has a sexual interest in teenagers and proclivity to abuse his position of power. The camp also allegedly failed to implement employee training, which she claims would have trained staff to recognize and report sexual abuse.
The plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $75,000 and any other relief the court deems proper. She is represented in this case by attorney Thomas Q. Keefe if Keefe, Keefe & Unsell in Belleville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 22LA0687