negligent in the care of the woman in an October 12 advertisement in the Hammond Times. According to the lawyer, "a church program instructor led her to a room and served as a lookout while two to three males raped her." The women developed a "serious" infection and doctors "found, embedded in her, a plastic object." The "civil suit filed in Lake Superior Court in Gary claims the Chicago woman was "induced by agents" of the church in 1991 to ride a bus to attend Sunday." The women and church settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed sum. After Hyles' death in 2001, Jack Schaap, Hyles' son-in-law, succeeded as pastor. Schaap's sermons were controversial. On July 31, 2012, Schaap was fired "due to a sin that has caused him to forfeit his right to be our pastor". Schaap reportedly admitted to deacons of the church that he had an adulterous affair with the young woman, who was 16 years old at the time. Since 16 is the age of consent in Indiana, sex with the girl would not have constituted statutory rape. The case was turned over to the Lake County Sheriff's Department (Indiana) for investigation. In September 2012, Schaap was charged in a U.S. District Court for taking a minor across state lines to have sex with her (the Mann Act) and pleaded guilty. In October, nearly a quarter of the Hammond church staff were laid off. An article in the January 2013 issue of Chicago'' magazine about First Baptist Church stated, "A string of assaults and sexual crimes committed by pastors across the country have one thing in common: The perpetrators have ties to the megachurch in Hammond, Indiana." In January 2013, Schaap asked the court for the minimum 10-year sentence, claiming he was under great stress, exhausted and depressed at the time of the relationship. In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors revealed that Schaap "groomed" the girl, including kissing the victim during counseling and had sex with her in his office. In March 2013, Schaap was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for having sex with an underage girl. On May 4, 2022, Schaap was given an early release from incarceration. References External links Official website 1887 establishments in Indiana Baptist churches in Indiana Churches in Lake County, Indiana Evangelical megachurches in the United States Religious organizations established in 1887 Megachurches in Indiana Independent Baptist churches in the