ALEXANDRIA (LA)
Baptist Press [Nashville TN]
April 15, 2025
By Will Hall/Baptist Message
ALEXANDRIA, La. — Shane Wiggins, pastor of Baldwin Baptist Mission Church, Baldwin, Louisiana, was arrested April 9 on charges of rape and molestation.
Wiggins has been with the Baldwin congregation, a mission of Little Pass Baptist Church in Charenton, La., since March 2015.
According to the police department of Morgan City, La., Wiggins was arrested in Paris, Texas, and faces extradition.
The Morgan City Police Department (MCPD) reported via Facebook April 9 that Wiggins has been under investigation since December of last year when a mother filed a complaint accusing Wiggins of inappropriate behavior with her child. Recently, unable to contact Wiggins at his residence or by phone, MCPD detectives suspected he had left the state. Police did not report why they believed Wiggins was in Paris, Texas, but that was where they focused their search in collaboration with the Lamar County Sheriff’s and Paris Police departments. Wiggins was arrested while driving in Paris and is now detained in the Lamar County Jail in Paris.
In an email to the Baptist Message, Chris Holloway, senior pastor of Little Pass Baptist Church, said that Wiggins had abandoned the Baldwin congregation at least as early as the first Sunday in February.
Holloway also serves as the associational mission strategist for the Gulf Coast Baptist Association that includes both congregations.
Wiggins is being held in the Lamar County Jail in Texas while awaiting extradition to Morgan City.
Hollaway said Wiggins had previously served as pastor of the Baldwin Baptist Mission Church prior to 2011 and had returned in 2015 to again lead the small congregation (which averages 10 in worship services according to the Louisiana Baptist database).
“Shane left town around the first of February,” Holloway wrote. “My last conversation with him was on Jan. 28, 2025.”
Holloway also noted that Wiggins had been replaced as pastor on Feb. 12 by Warren Guidry, the associate pastor of Little Pass Baptist Church, and the Baldwin congregation merged with First Baptist Church of Franklin, La., on April 13.
“We at Little Pass condemn the alleged crimes by Shane Wiggins and wholeheartedly pray for the victim in this matter as well as the family. We trust God to bring healing and restoration to them,” Holloway said. “We pray as well for Shane Wiggins and his family – praying for a genuine repentance to capture his heart.”
Compiled from Baptist Message reports.
If you are/have been a victim of sexual abuse or suspect sexual abuse by a pastor, staff member or member of a Southern Baptist church or entity, please reach out for help at 202-864-5578 or SBChotline@guidepostsolutions.com. All calls are confidential.
- Will Hall/Baptist MessageWill Hall is editor of the Baptist Message (www.baptistmessage.com), newsjournal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention.