Parents: Our daughter was molested at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede

Court TV ^ | 10/19/5 | Samantha Murphy

[SmithL]

Tennessee family has filed a lawsuit against Dolly Parton's dinner theater Dixie Stampede and an ex-employee, claiming their 8-year-old daughter was sexually molested while performing in the annual Christmas show.

Armando Martinez Gonzalez, 31, is accused of fondling the unidentified child actress before a show in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

The complaint, filed on Oct. 10 in Sevier County Circuit Court, claims Dixie Stampede breached its contract to care for, supervise and protect the girl.

The family is also charging the company with negligent supervision, hiring, recklessness and emotional distress, claiming supervisors should have been aware of what was happening behind their curtains.

Gonzalez, who had been employed at Dixie Stampede for two and a half years, was later fired.

"The former employee was suspended immediately upon [the] allegations and, after internal and external investigations, he was later terminated," Dixie Stampede spokesman Pete Owens said.

The suit claims parents were asked to drop off their children 20 minutes before each show. The young actors, who were paid $25 per performance, were allegedly kept apart from their parents and usually were left unattended.

The girl claims she now experiences flashbacks, nausea, vomiting and sleeping difficulties stemming from the November 2004 attack. Her family is seeking $10 million for emotional and physical damages.

Parents of another 8-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy have also accused Gonzalez of inappropriately touching their children. Bridgit McMahan, the mother of one of the alleged victims, told Channel 8 News in Knoxville that Gonzalez continually tried to run his hands up her daughter's dress while he was dressed as an elf.

"He kept going up her dress and she kept pushing him away; she couldn't get him off," McMahan said. "He ripped my daughter's pantyhose to get to her genitals. Then the show started. That's the only reason it stopped."

Another mother said her child also was molested by Gonzalez, and the girl now fears he will creep into her bedroom window at night and laugh at her.

Gonzalez' whereabouts are not known; police have speculated that he fled to Mexico. Two of the mothers handed out pamphlets with his face on it last winter in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Although parents stand firm on the sexual battery charges filed against him, Owens believes Dixie Stampede is not accountable.

"After reviewing the complaint, we believe the claims are without merit," Owens said. "Once facts are known in the case, we believe the lawsuit will be dismissed."

[DeFault User]

You're correct about the responsibility of Dixie Stampede for hiring practices, especially in regards to those that might have charge of children. The lawsuit against them will win, not for the felony committed by the employee, but for the negligent hiring practices, lack of supervision, and total disregard for the safety of the children.

No insurance company pays for the actual offense of child molesting, but they do pay for the negligent hiring practices that allowed this to happen--that's how the parents can get some justice out of this sad situation.