Law, Business, and Society 9th Edition by Tony McAdams

Exercise 29

M. sued Iglesia Cristiana La Casa Del Senor, Inc., an Assemblies of God Church in Florida, among others, because she allegedly was sexually assaulted at age 16 by the then church pastor, Ali Pacheco. The assault occurred at a hotel where Pacheco took the victim for lunch and for a conversation about the marital problems of the victim's parents. Pacheco testified that L.M. consented to the sexual act. The local church had not investigated Pacheco's background because that duty resided exclusively in the church's district offices. Pacheco had been involved in a consensual extramarital affair, but that relationship had not been discovered during the district's background check. Pacheco was president of the church corporation and his wife was vice president. Mrs. Pacheco learned that her husband had sent gifts to the victim, but the record is unclear as to whether she knew about the gifts prior to the sexual assault.
a. What causes of action against the local church and the district church could legitimately arise from these facts
b. Decide the case. Explain. See Iglesia Cristiana La Casa Del Senor, Inc. v. L.M., 783 So.2d 360 (Fl. Ct. App. 2001).