Children's Family Sues New Lenox Church After Youth Program Volunteer Accused Of Secret Bathroom Recordings

NEW LENOX, IL — A Will County family whose two children were allegedly secretly recorded in a New Lenox church bathroom is suing the church, alleging negligence led to the incident.

Filed in Cook County Circuit Court on June 25, the civil complaint alleges that a volunteer secretly placed a cell phone inside the restroom during Summer Jam, the church's three-night program for children entering grades 1 through 5. According to the allegations, the recordings occurred on June 16 and 17. Officials say a woman discovered the device on June 17 and contacted the New Lenox Police Department.

On June 17, New Lenox police responded to Parkview Christian Church regarding a report of an unauthorized video recording. A woman reported discovering a cell phone concealed in a restroom that was actively recording her while she was using the facility, police previously said.

The woman confronted a volunteer—later identified as Nicholas W. Calombaris, 28, of the 21600 block of Kent Court, Frankfort—who grabbed the phone from her after it was discovered, police said. Police at the scene worked to obtain statements, secure evidence and recover the cell phone used in the incident.

Calombaris was taken to the New Lenox Police Department, where he was interviewed by investigators. During the interview, police say he made incriminating statements regarding the incident.

Investigators examined the cell phone and found the video associated with the incident, according to police. During the examination, investigators also discovered additional recordings, including one depicting a juvenile.

Calombaris was charged with two counts of unauthorized video recording and one count of unauthorized video recording, class 3 and 4 felonies, respectively.

The family claims in the lawsuit that their two children—a boy aged 5 and girl aged 9—were both directed to use the single bathroom without stalls, as was one of the parents.

"A person using a restroom has every right to expect privacy,” said Attorney Thomas M. Connelly, a partner at McHargue & Jones who is handling the civil case. "Our focus is on protecting our client, respecting the privacy of anyone affected, and using the civil process to determine the full scope of what happened."

The lawsuit refers to the young victims as Janie and Johnny Doe.

The suit alleges negligence by the church in its operation of the event and supervision of the Calombaris.

"Various Parkview employees and adult volunteers were responsible for supervising the Summer Jam camp, including monitoring student campers, creating a safe and welcoming environment, and ensuring a secure and welcoming environment for all campers," the suit states. "... At all relevant times, Parkview knew or should have known that its volunteers created a foreseeable risk of this type of conduct relating to its minor campers and other minors present at the church, like Janie Doe and Johnny Doe, based on its own safety policies acknowledging that adult volunteers must undergo background checks and are not to be left alone with children.

"Parkview knew or reasonably should have known that its agent and volunteer, Calombaris, was a threat to its minor campers and other attendees given the ongoing, multi-day secret video recordings taking place at its New Lenox church facility during Summer Jam 2026."

The suit alleges that after the phone was discovered in the bathroom, instead of removing Calombaris from the facility and from engaging with campers, Parkview allowed him to return to the camp, where he then interacted with one of the 9-year-old girl and autographed her Summer Jam t-shirt. He was later arrested.

The family is not from New Lenox. Their attorney declined to name their hometown and confirmed only that they are from Will County.

The firm is asking anyone with information about the bathroom recording incident to contact the firm confidentially. This includes people who used a restroom at Parkview Christian Church in New Lenox on or around June 17; parents or guardians of children who may have been present; people who were contacted by law enforcement; and anyone who saw a phone, device, or unusual activity in or near a restroom.

Because the alleged incident reported by police occurred on June 17, the firm seeks anyone who attended, volunteered, worked, dropped off or picked up a child, or used a restroom during Summer Jam.

"Potential victims do not need to know for certain that they were recorded before reaching out," the firm said in a release. "In hidden-camera and secret-recording cases, people often do not immediately know whether their image was captured, stored, viewed, copied, or shared. Information that may seem minor can help identify other victims, preserve evidence, and clarify the timeline of events."

Based in Orland Park, Parkview has three separate locations in Orland Park, Homer Glen and New Lenox.