Southern Baptist Convention Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is an 86-member executive committee, 47,000 independent member churches, and an estimated 15 million members that reside in the United States – not just in the South.

Over the course of the last 20 years, an estimated 400 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leaders and volunteers have been accused of rape, molestation, sexual abuse, sexual assault, child pornography, impregnation, and more by over 700 victims.

Our SBC Sex Abuse Lawyers at Whittel & Melton are currently accepting sexual abuse cases involving the SBC in all 50 states. If you or a family member or close friend has been the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a SBC leader, member, or volunteer, then we urge you to call us at 866-608-5529 or contact us online for a completely free and confidential case evaluation now. We are available to speak with you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

AUGUST, 2022 UPDATE: Justice Department Launches Sex Abuse Investigation Targeting Southern Baptist Convention

In August 2022, the Justice Department opened an investigation into how the SBC handles claims of sexual abuse.

The Justice Department investigation comes shortly after an outside consultant called Guidepost Solutions released an electric report on the mishandling of sex abuse allegations by the SBC.

Guidepost Solutions investigators concluded that SBC leaders often silenced sexual abuse victims through hostility and resistance, in addition to fighting against any reporting reforms.

In May of 2022, the SBC released a covert list of hundreds of ministers, pastors, and church-affiliated employees and volunteers who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse. One Arkansas pastor was named as an abuser on this list more than 120 times. Likewise, Guidepost Solutions reported that former SBC president Johnny Hunt was credibly accused of sexually assaulting the young wife of another SBC pastor. Hunt apparently admitted to engaging in “consensual” sexual relations with the woman, who is 24 years younger than him, but the woman vehemently denies giving her consent.

The former Vice President of SBC, Paul Pressler, was named in a 2017 lawsuit by a man who accused him of raping him 2-3 times a month. In 2004, Pressler apparently paid this same man a $450,000 settlement for physical assault. Two other men have also accused Pressler of soliciting them for sex or molesting them.

Sexual Offenders Allowed to Continue Working in SBC Churches Nationwide

Since 1998, at least 10 SBC churches welcomed ministers, pastors, employees, and volunteers who have previously faced charges of sexual misconduct or who are registered sexual offenders.

There are at least 220 convicted sex offenders, including about 100 who are still in prison, that are SBC workers, pastors, or affiliates. Many of these cases are still pending, and many of these ministers, pastors, deacons, Sunday school teachers, Christian school teachers, youth pastors, and church program volunteers are still working in SBC churches.

In Jacksonville, Florida, a convicted child molester was re-hired by the SBC and allowed to return to the pulpit to preach again. The man was convicted of molesting a 15-year-old girl at church in 2009. The man also admitted to fathering a child with a woman in 2004 who accused him of raping her during a counseling session.

In 2019, a Texas pastor was accused of molesting a woman since she was 14 and impregnating her when she was 18. The SBC never reported the man, fired him, or stopped him from leading congregations.

SBC Sexual Misconduct and the Victims

Since 1998, more than 700 victims have accused SBC leaders and employees of everything from exposure to pornography to molestation, being repeatedly raped, and being photographed nude. Some of these victims were as young as 3-years-old when they were raped in Sunday school classrooms or in their pastor’s office.

The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News published an editorial series in 2019 exposing the decades-worth of the SBC sex abuse claims and how leaders mishandled, concealed, or ignored the warning signs that abuse was happening.

SBC Admits to Knowing About Incidences of Sex Abuse

The SBC has openly admitted to being aware of specific incidences of sex abuse, as well as admitted to failing to act against reported crimes and work to prevent further crimes by workers and members. The SBC failed to warn members of the potential harm for over 20 years, despite owning and operating the national press for the organization.

Monetary Damages from an SBC Sex Abuse Lawsuit

Sexual abuse lawsuits against the SBC, much like the Boy Scouts of American and the Catholic dioceses, will allow survivors to recover a wide array of financial damages, depending on the specific facts of their unique case. Potential damages, include:

• Lost wages
• Medical expenses, including counseling and other mental health services
• Medical treatments and surgeries
• Pain and suffering
• Diminished quality of life
• Loss of earning capacity
• Possible punitive damages

Our SBC Sex Abuse Lawyers at Whittel & Melton will do everything in our power to get you the maximum financial compensation for your losses as a result of the sex abuse you were subjected to at the hands of pastors, ministers, youth pastors, teachers, and church program volunteers of the Southern Baptist Convention.

We welcome you to call us now at 866-608-5529 or contact us online for a free case evaluation. While we are a Florida-based firm, we are taking on Southern Baptist Convention Sex Abuse Lawsuits nationwide.