ATLANTA (GA)
Ministry Watch [Matthews NC]
February 27, 2026
By Isaac Wood
Amendment would clarify terms and allow clergy to be charged for exploiting spiritual authority.
Senate Bill 542 was introduced on the Senate floor on Tuesday (Feb. 24) and moved to the Judiciary Committee for review. One day later, the committee voted unanimously to advance it to a vote on the Senate floor.
If passed, the bill would amend the state’s criminal code to define terms related to clergy sexual abuse and allow clergy members to be charged with certain sexual offenses when exploiting spiritual authority. First-degree violations would carry prison sentences ranging from one to 25 years. Cases involving minors or repeat sexual felony offenders could bring enhanced penalties.
Republican Sen. Randy Robertson introduced the bill to the Senate with 23 other co-sponsors.
“What we’ve experienced for many, many years here in the state of Georgia, is we have seen members of the clergy exploit their power and authority over individuals in their churches—females by the vast, vast majority,” Robertson said to the Judiciary Committee. “The ministers gain the trust of these ladies and manipulate that trust into a ‘distorted discipleship’ where by the time they turn around they’ve entered into a sexual relationship with this predator.”
SB 542 would update the Georgia statute governing “improper sexual contact by employee or agent” to specifically include clergy members within its scope. If passed, a clergy member could face criminal charges if they had engaged in sexually explicit conduct or sexual contact with someone who is the subject of a pastoral counseling or spiritual authority relationship.
Hayle Swinson — who, along with Ruth Malhotra and Kim Nunes, approached Robertson about reforming Georgia law regarding clergy sexual abuse — spoke in support of the bill and urged lawmakers to close what advocates call a gap in the Georgia law. Swinson has alleged sexual abuse against Bradley Reynolds, former vice president at Truett McConnell University. In December, MinistryWatch reported that Reynolds was indicted with three felony charges for attempting to mislead detectives.
“Adult clergy sexual abuse… does not begin with force — it begins with trust,” Swinson testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee. “When a clergy member uses spiritual authority to obtain sexual access, the power differential alone eliminates the possibility of free consent.”
In alignment with existing Georgia law about other authority-based relationships, SB 542 would maintain that consent is not a defense in these cases. Supporters say the amendment would address the power imbalance that exists between clergy and those under their spiritual direction or care.
Mike Griffin, a representative of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, testified in favor of the bill. Griffins — saying that he was speaking with the approval of Executive Director Thomas Hammond — said Georgia Baptists “fully support this legislation,” noting “how drastic and devastating the sex abuse is that’s going on across our nation, including even in our
Churches.”
He added,“We do believe that this legislation is needed in order to educate those in our churches and institutions regarding the responsibility of maintaining protection over both minors and adults related to sex abuse.”
The proposed amendment adds “clergy member” language to about 15 definitions of terms such as “person in a position of trust,” “sexual contact” and “sexually explicit conduct.” It also adds definitions of “clergy member” and “pastoral counseling or spiritual authority relationship.”
The bill defines a “clergy member” as “any person, whether licensed or unlicensed, who represents himself or herself as a minister, pastor, priest, rabbi, imam, or other spiritual leader of an organization claiming to be a faith based organization in this state or any other state, or any person who provides or purports to provide spiritual guidance, pastoral counseling, religious instruction, or spiritual direction to another person in a relationship of trust, confidence, or dependency.”
Committee members were invited to present questions. One member questioned the broad definition of “clergy member,” asking if it would include someone teaching a Sunday School class. Robertson indicated that the bill would apply to a Sunday School teacher who used their position as a spiritual educator to manipulate a person into a sexual relationship.
If the bill is given a favorable vote by the Senate Rules Committee it will move to a vote on the Senate floor. If passed in the Senate, the bill will still need to be passed by the House of Representatives and approved by the governor. The legislative session is set to end on April 2.
“We are called to hold those who serve in the pulpit to a higher standard, and this bill does exactly that,” said Robertson in a press release from Clergy Law Reform.