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United Airlines Sued Over Alleged Sex Abuse By Mentoring Program Supervisor

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new lawsuit has been filed against United Airlines, accusing the company of allowing sex abuse to go on in a mentoring program sponsored by the airline.

The first lawsuit against United was filed more than a year ago. The latest is the 19th accusing United of not doing enough to stop sex abuse of boys who ranged in age from 5th grade through high school in the late 1990s.

The boys were all part of a mentoring program backed by United Airlines.

"A reasonably careful company would have known that something was wrong, if they had had in place the checks and balances that every other corporation that does this type of interactive program with children does," said attorney Lyndsay Markley, who represents the alleged victims who have sued United.

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Markley said United Airlines should have done something.

"Not only were they getting these red flags, but … they didn't have in place the protective measures that they needed to, in order be able to identify, detect, and then report those flags," she said.

WBBM has asked United Airlines for comment.

Marvin Lovett, the program coordinator accused of abusing the boys, was shot and killed in his apartment 15 years ago by one of the alleged victims. According to published reports, police found 140 videotapes of Lovett engaged in sex with minors, including some of the plaintiffs.

Sylvester Jamison was convicted of murder in Lovett's death, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He completed that sentence, but was later convicted of in two separate unrelated felony cases, and is serving an 11-year sentence for aggravated battery at the Illinois River Correctional Center.

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