1983: Families File $3 Million in Civil Suits Against Jerry Sidell
Original publication: August 16, 1983. Original headline: “Parents of 3 boys sue ex-minister for $3 million in molestation case.” Byline: John Brady.
Content note: This archival report discusses child sexual abuse. Some passages describe alleged abuse and its effects on victims.
Editorial transcription note: Newspaper wording is preserved as closely as legible; line-break hyphenation and paragraph layout are normalized. Square brackets identify unreadable print, not original article words.
From the archive
Original newspaper headline: Parents of 3 boys sue ex-minister for $3 million in molestation case
The parents of three young boys have filed suit against the former youth minister of a Jonesboro church charging that he molested the boys under the guise of his church duties.
The suits seek $3 million in damages from Jerry A. Sidell, former youth minister of the First Christian Church of Jonesboro. Each of the suits seeks $250,000 in actual damages and $750,000 in punitive and exemplary damages.
The Clayton County district attorney’s office is also investigating Sidell. Chief administrator Ronnie Clackum said Monday Sidell was arrested May 15 on a warrant of one count of child molestation and is free on $5,000 bond.
Charles J. Driebe Jr., attorney for the plaintiffs, said he filed the suits Aug. 4 because Sidell was moving out of state, and the plaintiffs wanted to serve him with the suit before he left.
“The three young men we have filed suit for have been treated by psychiatrists and will need more treatment,” Driebe said. “The parents are mostly concerned with acquiring and paying for psychiatric help.”
One of the suits charges that Sidell repeatedly had sex with a boy from February 1982 through May 1983. The boy, who was 12 years old when the first incident occurred, has tried to kill himself three times since the relationship came to light, Driebe said.
A second suit charges that Sidell fondled and attempted to sodomize an 11-year-old boy when he took a group of young boys to the Woodland Christian Camp in Temple, Ga., in May 1982.
The third suit is based on a May 1981 incident in which the parents charge that Sidell took their 13-year-old son to Stone Mountain Park, claiming he was taking a group of boys on a church outing. The suit charges that there were no other children on the outing and, once at the park, Sidell sexually molested the boy.
Driebe said that in addition to the Clayton investigation, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into allegations of incidents that occurred outside Clayton County.
Driebe said at least one of the suits will be amended to include the church as a defendant. He said the church dismissed Sidell but denied liability for his acts.
The church’s minister, the Rev. Mike Portwood, said Monday that Sidell was dismissed as soon as the church became aware of the accusations, but he refused further comment on the subject.
Driebe said the church’s involvement revolved around Sidell’s status as agent for the church, as well as the question of whether the church made an adequate background check on Sidell.
Driebe said the church’s insurance company has agreed to pay certain medical expenses for a limited period of time, “but we feel they should pay for as long as it takes.”
Source attribution: Historical Atlanta newspaper clipping, August 16, 1983; article by John Brady; supplied through the Atlanta Journal-Constitution archival research collection. Original newspaper edition not independently confirmed from these cropped scans. Transcription prepared from provided microfilm reproductions; newspaper text and images remain the property of their respective rights holders.
