MORELIA (MEXICO)
Chron [Houston TX]
February 12, 2019
By Jay R. Jordan
The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News released the third and final part in the exclusive Abuse of Faith investigation Wednesday, detailing decades of sexual misconduct in Southern Baptist churches across the country.
In the series, the newspapers found that nearly 220 church leaders were convicted of sex crimes and 700 victims.
Part 1: Southern Baptist sexual abuse spreads as leaders resist reforms
Years of calls from victims and advocates for the Southern Baptist Convention to host a database of these church leaders went unanswered. Instead, the newspapers created their own database.
The investigation also revealed that several of those who were convicted of sex crimes – including some of the most egregious child sex crimes – were allowed to continue their work at other churches.
Part 2: Southern Baptist churches hired dozens of leaders previously accused of sex offenses
“You just got to be a big idiot to say, ‘Hey, you know what? I’m going to hire this person even though they’ve got this accusation against them,'” said William Rushing, pastor of Woodward Avenue Baptist Church in Alabama.
Of the 220 church leaders convicted nationally, about 100 of them were described as youth pastors or youth ministers, the investigation found.
How can Southern Baptist churches and parents help prevent sexual abuse?
Some of those youth pastors and ministers were convicted of sexually assaulting members their young congregation or having prolonged sexual relationships. Those assaults sometimes happened in pastors’ studies or Sunday school rooms.
One of those youth pastors was Chad Foster, who worked at Houston’s Second Baptist Church when he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an underage congregant.
“You can’t let your guard down,” said Amanda Griffith, a federal prosecutor in San Diego who has handled dozens of sex crime cases, including those involving predatory youth pastors. “There’s the belief that church is sacrosanct, but this can happen anywhere.”
In response to the investigation, August “Augie” Boto, interim president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, said it was a positive revelation about an ongoing problem.
“My initial reaction is anger that (the abuse) happened,” Boto said. “Just within the last few months I was in a car that was broken into and my briefcase was stolen. My initial reaction was not embarrassment that I didn’t watch the car close enough or that I left the briefcase on the seat. That was not my initial reaction. My initial reaction was anger that the predator did what he did. Taking advantage of the vulnerable is what criminals do. And when that happens, our job is to voice it. Not to hide it.”
“I’m all for shining the light of day upon crime,” he said.
Help us investigate Southern Baptist sexual abuse.
Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message