Eight Missouri ministers accused of intercourse abuse in Southern Baptist Convention report • Missouri Unbiased

The Southern Baptist Conference on Thursday released a once-secret and lengthy record of accused sex abusers — a number of of whom are within the Midwest — throughout the denomination.

The 205-page listing is a compilation of ministers and other church workers who've been credibly accused of sexual abuse. The listing is described as a “fluid, working document” that was also incomplete but largely pulls information about abusers from published news stories.

The publication of the checklist comes after the discharge Sunday of a 300-page report by an unbiased investigator that described how leaders of the Southern Baptist denomination for many years have acquired stories of sexual abuse dedicated by church workers, pastors and others. But those reports had been largely kept secret and, fairly than acting upon and investigating reports of sexual abuse, denomination leaders sought to intimidate and vilify victims and their advocates.

“The entire thing must be seen for what it is,” wrote former Southern Baptist Conference executive committee member and basic counsel D. August Boto in an inside electronic mail that was printed in the report. “It’s a satanic scheme to completely distract us from evangelism.”

The crisis rocking the Southern Baptist denomination this week is analogous in many ways to what the Catholic church continues to face. Leaders in both faiths systematically hid information about sexual misconduct, appeared to point out more concern about their own authorized liability than the victims and at instances failed to expel accused abusers from positions of authority.

In 2007, Father Thomas Doyle, a Catholic priest credited as one of many first to warn of his personal denomination’s clergy sex abuse disaster, wrote a letter to SBC management conveying his concern that Southern Baptist leaders were repeating the failures of the Catholic church in coping with sex abuse.

Doyle was advised, “Southern Baptist leaders actually have no authority over local church buildings,” a response that Doyle regarded as dismissive, in accordance with the investigative report. 

That same year, on the SBC conference in San Antonio, Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson made a movement to create a database of Southern Baptist clergy who had been convicted or credibly accused of, or had confessed to sexual abuse. The proposal was meant to “assist in stopping any future sexual abuse or harassment.”

The database proposal appeared to go nowhere, according to the report, and witnesses at the conference recalled little about it except to precise their opinion that it would “violate native church autonomy.”

Finally, a staffer for the SBC government committee since 2007 had maintained a listing of accused ministers and church employees, nevertheless it was kept hidden from the public and even SBC government committee trustees, in line with the report.

Southern Baptist leaders stated publicizing the checklist of credibly accused abusers represented “an initial, but vital, step towards addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing reform within the Conference.”

“Every entry on this checklist reminds us of the devastation and destruction caused by sexual abuse,” stated a joint statement from Willie McLaurin and Rolland Slade, both SBC govt committee members. “Our prayer is that the survivors of these heinous acts find hope and healing, and that churches will make the most of this checklist proactively to guard and look after probably the most vulnerable amongst us.”

Attorneys for the SBC executive committee researched the listing of accused abusers, taking steps to confirm data it contained. It left unredacted entries about alleged abusers that could be confirmed, while redacting entries the place somebody was acquitted or didn't have a remaining disposition, in addition to data that might determine victims.

Missouri males function prominently on the record. They include:

This story comes from the Midwest Newsroom, an investigative journalism collaboration including IPR, KCUR 89.3, Nebraska Public Media News, St. Louis Public Radio and NPR. For extra in-depth information from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, we invite you to comply with us on Twitter.