A lawyer for the Georgia statehouse lobbyist accused in a child sex abuse lawsuit said his client “has done absolutely nothing wrong.”
Matthew Stanley claims that Jim E. Collins abused him numerous times over the course of several years, as recently as 2002. Collins was a youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Vidalia. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Toombs County.
The suit is one of the first filed since the passage this year of House Bill 17, the Hidden Predator Act. The bill created a two-year window during which victims of past abuse can file civil claims against their alleged abuser, even if the statute of limitations has expired.
Collins’ attorney, Kendall Gross of Metter, said his client “denies any wrongdoing, period.”
“And we look forward to having our day in court,” Gross said.
While Collins has yet to be served with a copy of the lawsuit, Gross said: “We will certainly respond to the suit. And we will vigorously defend ourselves.”
Stanley, 31, said in the suit that he first met Collins while in the seventh grade. Stanley joined the church’s youth group. Collins was a volunteer and later became youth pastor. Collins invited Stanley and other boys from the group to his home, the suit says, and hosted sleepovers.
Collins showed the boys pornography and encouraged them to engage in sexual acts, according to the suit, and he abused Stanley and other boys on church-sponsored out-of-town trips. Stanley alleges that Collins abused him more than 100 times while Stanley was between the ages of 11 and 18.
Stanley said he never told anyone at the church or in his family that he was being abused.
Stanley’s lawyer, Jaime Carroll, said his client has been buoyed by the response to his lawsuit.
“Matt Stanley has been overwhelmed by the support he’s received from the Vidalia community since announcing his lawsuit,” Carroll said, “and other victims of Mr. Collins have reached out as well.”
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