"The first red flag you noticed ...
was not the first red flag you should have noticed."
Context matters. Please read this first:
I started this list of conservative pastors, who seemed to practice quite differently to what the "family values" they preached, in the late 1990s - early 2000s, after pillars of Christian patriarchy, such as Jimmy Swaggart, Bill Gothard, Jim Bakker and Doug Phillips toppled off their lofty moral pedestals.
I knew then that the gender hierarchy, "male headship" doctrine was a serious error of doctrine that would lead to terrible fruit. Because it was un-biblical, inaccurate, prejudicial and unjust.
I could not have known then that part of the rotten fruit from this bad root would involve endless tens of thousands of cases of sexual abuse perpetrated by the very church leaders who preached morality and purity from their pulpits.
Or that this foundational error would also groom the church to accept other forms of delusion, such as Qanon, Christian Nationalism, MAGA Trump-ism and algorithmic Covid disinformation - which contributed to a Covid death toll of over 1 million Americans.
Every day, every week, there's names to add to this ever-growing list of abusers.
Not church MEMBERS.
Church LEADERS.
There's just too many.
 | |||||
| "Just take them and leave me alone" by Raoof Haghighi |
by Joshua Pease - a graduate of the evangelical/fundamentalism home-schooling movement. May 31, 2018
Note: some offenders have been convicted (C).
Others arrested & charged/indicted (I).
Some are merely facing allegations or accusations (A). These men are considered innocent until proven guilty.
A
Ralph Lee Aaron, pastor, Grace Christian Fellowship Church, Andalusia, AL
- charged with 152 counts of sodomy, sexual abuse, sexual torture and possession of obscene matter involving children
C
Wayne Aarum, director of Christian youth camp, Circle C Ranch, Buffalo NY
- alleged “pattern of inappropriate behaviors"
Henry Abott, long time member at Faith Baptist Church in Wildomar, CA
- arrested for attempting to solicit sex from a minor
- arrested for attempting to solicit sex from a minor
Kegan Abram, Christian school teacher & coach, Accelerate Christian School/Accelerate Church, Amarillo, TX
- arrested for the rape of a student & "improper sexual contact between educator and student"
Daniel M. Acker Jr., youth minister, Westwood Baptist Church,Alabaster
- pleaded guilty in 2012 to eight counts of child sexual abuse and was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
William Jayson Adams, youth group leader, Greenwood, IN
- alleged to have sexually harassed and fondled four young children.
Charles Adcock, Youth/Music minister, Woodward Avenue Baptist Church, Birmingham.
- charged with 29 counts of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Alabama
Mark Aderholt, SBC/ IMB
Agape Bible Church, Thornton, Colorado
Demetrius Allen, youth pastor, First Baptist Church of Venice, CA
- charged with 10 counts of child molestation, one count of contacting a minor for sexual offense and one count of possession of child pornography.
Johnny Allen, Sunday School teacher, Youth Minister
- raped and impregnated a teenage girl; the case was settled with a public apology & admission of guilt
Russell Anders, ordained minister, Washington
- arrested for CSAM possession; facing pending cases of child molestation & rape.
Jerry Lee Anderson, headline minister at “The Prophetic Crusade”, Knoxville, TN
- arrested for failing to register as a sex offender
Roy Andrews, youth pastor, evangelical church, PA
- arrested for molesting a child in a restaurant.
Gary Arivett, pastor at Shiloh Apostolic Church in Henning
- charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child in his own family
B
Bertheophilus Bailey, 45, pastor, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Claremore, Oklahoma
- charged with multiple rape charges including sexually abusing his daughter since she was 11 years old.
Todd Baldwin, director at Valley Christian Schools
- arrested for CSAM
Benjamin Baldiviez, Sunday School teacher
Peter James Bass, 36, youth pastor, Assembly of God church, Brooks, Salem, OR
- sentenced to 33 years in prison for repeatedly raping a girl under the age of 16.
"He was a great pastor," (church staff member) Ross said. "I trust him. I always have. To this day I still trust him and respect him greatly."
Tom & Cindy Bauer, directors, Surfing the Nations, YWAM
- alleged to have brushed over allegations of sexual abuse brought by a 13 yo at the YWAM base in Hawaii.
- the Bauers allegedly projected blame onto the victim, Rebecca Lujan Loveless.
Christian Baumgarth, 27, youth leader at Northway Church, Macon; teacher & coach at First Presbyterian Day School
- charged with CSAM
Michael Baxter, youth pastor, Michigan
- sentenced to 25 years in prison for raping multiple children aged 11-15
Jeffrey Bedwell, pastor, Chets Creek Church in Jacksonville, Florida.
- jailed for 30 years after sexually abusing a girl from age 12 to age 17
George Bell, 72, pastor, Anchor Baptist Church, Columbus, Ohio
- arrested for the rape of a child under the age of 10.
Mark Allen Benson, pastor, 69, Community of Christ Church, Iowa
- pled guilty to child sex abuse & repeated rape of 10 year old. Victim statement called him a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Luke Bese, youth pastor, CA
- sentenced to a year in prison for grooming a child in his church.
Jeffrey Bedwell, pastor, Chets Creek Church, FL
- arrested for allegedly grooming
and sexually molesting a young girl from the age of 12 until she turned
17.
Robert William Becker, 76, Heritage Academy teacher, Hagerstown
- charged with child sexual abuse in connection to offenses committed from 1976-77
Charles Bellinger, 62, professor, Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University
- federally charged with possessing CSAM of toddlers
Todd Bentley, founder, Fresh Fire USA
- declared unfit for ministry due to credible allegations of adultery, sexting, and substance abuse spanning the past 15 years.
- charged with 'indecency with child'
Larry Michael Berkley, Pastor, Tennessee
Courtney Biggs, youth pastor, Medford, Oregon
- indicted for child pornography
Garrett Biggerstaff, 28, pastor of Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church and school athletic director, Fairfield, Illinois
Mike Bickle, founder, International House of Prayer, Kansas City
- allegations of sexual abuse spanning decades, attempted to manipulate and intimidate victims who came forward. Declared "unfit for ministry".
Reed Bogard, pastor, Hillsong church, NYC and lead pastor, Hillsong Dallas, TX
- accused of raping a younger staff member, and forcing her to get a matching tattoo to 'brand' her as his chattel, within what an internal investigation report called "a culture of submission" at the Hillsong church.
Maxwell Bohn, 77, youth pastor, South Carolina
- arrested for sexting to a child in his youth group.
Tony Ernest Bunton, pastor, Iredell County, North Carolina
- sexual exploitation of a minor.
Dustin Boles, Mosaic Church, Acts 29
- blamed victims, advised victims not to report sexual assault to police in order to protect the reputation of the institution (as per 2014 independent report).
John Blanchard, pastor, Rock Church Virginia Beach, VA
- arrested for soliciting 'sex' from minors
Reed Bogard, Pastor, Hillsong, Dallas, TX
- resigned after being accused of raping a young staffer he had an affair with.
John Earl Bonine, pastor
- accused of sexually abusing two girls under the age of 14
- charged with enticing a child for sexual act,
sodomy, traveling to meet a child for sexual act and sexual abuse
involving six different victims between the ages of 13 and 16.
Rhett Aaron Bowen, 54, volunteer at Morris Memorial United Methodist Church, West Virginia
- sentenced to 10-50 years prison for sexual abuse at a vacation Bible school.
Walter John Bowen, music minister, First Baptist Church, Spanish Fort, AL
- sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2010
after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a child under 12.
Gregory "Lee" Bowman, director of health and wellness, Eden Westside Baptist Church, Pell City, AL
- indicted in 2010 for one count of sodomy and one count of sexual abuse of minors.
William Branham - Latter Rain founder of "The Message" cult; claimed to be a prophet with the anointing of Elijah.
- Many men in William Branham's inner circle were homosexual, many more participated in homosexual acts, and many people accused William Branham of being homosexual. The problem was so widespread that William Branham was forced to address the issue in public.
Steve Bratton, Grace Family Baptist Church
- arrested on charges of child sex abuse
Steven J. Brenneman, Amish Community, Ulysses, Potter County
" ... one daughter, “said she didn't want to but she did because he told her that she must obey her father. Due to her strict Christian upbringing (the daughter) related that she believed that if she didn't obey her father she would be sinning.”
Ralph Britt, employee, Baptist Church, GA
- arrested for possession of images of children being sexually abused (CSAM)
Dr. Michael Brown, 69, founder, FIRE School of Ministry, Pensacola, FL
- faces allegations of sexual misconduct by young people he mentored.
- provided "accountability" for sexual abusers Todd Bently & Mike Bickle.
Timothy Brown, youth pastor, Frederick Boulevard Baptist Church, St Joseph, Missouri
- found guilty of raping a 12 year old girs who attended his church.
William Frank Brown, Pastor, Texas
- indicted on four counts of sexual assault of a child and four counts of indecency with a child
Kevin Buelow, 50, Catholic school teacher, Wisconsin
- found guilty of molesting two 4th grade girls
Tony Bunton, 66, pastor, Fairview Baptist Church, Statesville, NC.
- sentenced to 4 years prison for CSAM
Jonathan Burkee, 25, Christian school employee & the principal's son, St Paul's Lutheran School, Wisconsin.
- arrested for taking nude photos of an 11 year old student and posting them on-line.
Martin Burns, pastor of Winamac Nazarene Church, Indiana.
- charged with two criminal counts of battery of a 4 year old.
Brett Bymaster, youth pastor,
- sexually abused a child under his supervision from when they were aged 8 until they were 14 yo
Herman C. Rushing Jr., 68, Pastor, of Butler PA
- charged with sexual assault of two minors
C
Paul Cain - prominent preacher of The Message Cult, proponent of Manifest Sons of God Theology, helped form Kansas City Prophets, the Vineyard Church, & IHOPKC
- confessed to homosexuality & public drunkenness. Key figures in Branham's campaign team were either known to be homosexual or accused of participating in homosexual acts, including William Branham himself.
Dino Cardelli, 49, pastor, First Calvary Church of Arcata, McKinleyville, CA
- sentenced to 16 years in state prison in 2011 after pleading guilty to sexually abusing and molesting his two adopted daughters, one of whom was 13 years old at the time. His wife committed suicide after finding out.
Marvin Carey, pastor, Parma Christian Church, Ohio
- sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of rape and gross sexual imposition.
William Pinckney Carpenter, youth leader, Baptist church in South Carolina
- arrested for multiple sex crimes against children; arrested again for molesting a little girl on a church bus.
- found guilty of aggravated sexual assault and indecency with a 10 year old girl
Carlos Ramos Castrejon, pastor, Ministerious Generacion Josue, Morgan Hill, CA
- arrested on suspicion of child molestation
Bruxy Cavey, pastor, The Meeting House Church, Oakville, Ontario
- charged with sexual assault, multiple victimsMatt Chandler, pastor, Village Church, TX
- has returned to ministry after admitting to an "inappropriate affair" with a woman on-line.
- in 2012, Chandler covered up the sexual assault of a 12 yo girl at the church's summer camp.
- in 2015, Chandler and his colleagues punished a woman who annulled her marriage after finding out her husband was a pedophile.
- Matt Chandler is also executive chairman of Acts 29, a major evangelical “church planting” networkfounded by misogynist & spiritual abuser, Mark Driscoll
Jeremy Chesser, foster parent & alumni of Word of Life Bible Institute
- arrested for CSAM & admitted to sexual abuse of children as young as two years old.
Chi Alpha Campus Ministries / Daniel Savala,TX
Monte Lavell Chitty, 62, senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Marathon
- charged with sexual battery of a minor, i.e. raping a 15 year old girl at his church. Chitty shared anti-LBTQI rhetoric on his social media.
Timothy Chun-Chuck Mann, Minister, Alabama
- one of 22 Alabama pastors charged with sex crimes
Conner Coleman, 22, youth pastor, Mississippi
- arrested for child molestation.
Nicholas Garrett Corl, 26, youth pastor, Mountain Ave Baptist Church & Calvary Christian School teacher
- charged with molestation of a child under 14 on church property.
Christopher Codding, youth pastor, Baptist Church, GA
- pled guilty to raping two 10 yo boys at his church
Harold Norman Cole, 57, pastor, Trinity Baptist Church, Farwell, Michigan
- charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct using force or coercion against a child younger than 13.
Chris Conlee, Founding Pastor, Highpoint Church, Memphis TN
- defended sexual predator Andy Savage
Nathan Cooper, Baptist pastor, NY
- sentenced to 6 months jail for the rape of a family member
Neville Cooper, Gloriavale Christian Community, New Zealand
- convicted of child sexual abuse
Michael Coghill, pastor, Lakehoma Church of Christ, Mustang, Oklahoma
- charged with lewd acts to a child
Cameron Cotrill, 66, church media volunteer, Center Pointe Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
- pled guilty to possessing 9900 CSAM images.
Nicholas Garrett Corl, youth pastor, Calvary Christian School, Banning, CA
- charged with felony lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age
Bryan Crabtree, 35, youth pastor, Sulphur Springs Christian Church & coach at Shenandoah High School
- arrested & charged with multiple child sex abuse crimes.
Michael Alan Crippen, Pastor, Missouri
- sentenced to 3 years prison for possessing child pornography.
Ashley James Crouse, pastor, Baptist Church, NC
- arrested for CSAM
Luke Cunningham, 41, youth pastor, Turning Point Community Church, & Lakeside Baptist Church, Grandbury, TX
- charged with sexual assault of a child.
Mark Richard Cuprik, youth leader, Victory Christian Center, OH
- arrested on 8 counts of sexual abuse of minors
D
Curtiss Larry David, 47, worship pastor, Grace Fellowship Church, Paris; and college professor
- charged with two counts of child exploitation
Mack Allen Davis, youth pastor at at Lakeside Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL
- pleaded guilty in 2014 to six charges of sexually abusing minors
Russel W. Davis, 70, Methodist pastor, Massachusetts
- charged with multiple counts of child rape.
Steve Dahl, pastor, Calvary Gospel Church
- groomed an raped an 11 year old, who was then labelled a "hussy", then molested his wife's 15 year old younger sister.
David DeBerge, 67, pastor & army chaplain, Kenosha,WI
- convicted for incest & the rape of a family member beginning when they were in 3rd grade
- sentenced to 30 years in prison
Christopher DeCaire, youth pastor, East Tucson Baptist Church, Tucson
- arrested & charged with sexually abusing a 13 yo girl from the church.
Richard DeVall, missionary, North Love Baptist Church
- admitted to rape, still on the mission field
Daniel Byron DeVries, 48, Deacon & Sunday School teacher, Unity Reformed Church, Michigan
- charged with 6 felony counts of aggravated possesiion of CSAM
Walter Dildy, SBC/IMB (International Missions Board)
- molested children at missionary boarding school
Arnold DiBlasi, youth director, Holy Eucharist Parish, Cherry Hill NJ
- arrested for child pornography
Keith Dodd, pastor, Lewark Church of God, Coffeyville, Kansas
- arrested on charges of rape of a minor.
William Dodd, pastor, Kansas
- sentenced to 27 years in prison for raping a 13 year old girl who attended his church.Sylvester "LeRoy" Driscoll, 73, minister & former chaplain of Southport Polic Department, Indianapolis
- charged with child molestation
Josh Duggar, Institute of Basic Life Principles & Family Research Council - '19 Children and Counting' reality TV show
- molested sisters, Ashley Madison scandal (abused prostitutes) arrested for child pornography.
See Shiny Happy People Paul Dyal, 78, Pastor, Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ Church, Northside, FL
- Jailed on charges of physical and sexual abuse of minors over 30 years
- sentenced for production of child pornography and molestation of victims under the age of 12.
E
Gary Joe Eaches, pastor, Scranton
- molested a teenage girl who passed out after
he gave her alcohol, sentenced to
18 to 48 months in state prison.
- brothers convicted of child porn and sexually exploiting girls in the youth group of a Texas Baptist church
Jeffery Dale Eddie, children's minister, Highland Park Baptist Church in Muscle
Shoals, AL
- pleaded guilty in 2014 to child sex abuse and was
sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Stephen Lee Edmonds, deacon, First Baptist Church, FL
- pleaded guilty to molesting three boys, ages 14 and 15.
Alexander Edwards, youth pastor, Southern Baptist Church, TX
- accused of molesting 2 children in 2016; re-arrested for molesting an 11 year old boy in 2016.
Mark Eichorn, youth pastor & Christian pre-school teacher, TX
- pled guilty to producing images of children being sexually abused.
Jonathan Edward Elwing, 43, senior pastor, Palm View Baptist Church, FGL
- arrested for possession of CSAM
Benoni Jon Enciso, youth pastor, Stutmanville Chapel, Harbour Springs, MI
- charged with sex crimes after filming two young girls showering at his home.
Jonathan Ryan Ensey, 37, worship leader of Living Way Church, Conroe, TX
- sentenced to 8 years prison for molesting a child who attended his church.
"Throughout the trial, members of the Living Way congregation packed the courtroom in an apparent show of support for the Defendant."
Hunter Eubanks, 30, worship leader & youth pastor, Morningside Baptist Church, Tallahassee, Florida
- arrested for raping a child on church property & obscene use of a computer to lure a child.
- the church has since scrubbed mention of Eubanks from the leadership pages of the church's website.
Tony Evans, pastor, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship megachurch, Dallas, TX
- stepped away from pastoral duties due to "a sin" he says he committed "a number of years ago".
Joseph Eyer, Sunday School teacher and bus driver, First Baptist Church of Hammond, Merrillville
- charged with child molestationF
Faith Baptist Church, Danville, Illinois,
- alleged cover up of a case concerning a “church staff member” who molested plaintiff Sally George when she was 17.
Patrick Kenneth Farmer, 57, teacher, San Jacinto Christian Academy & childcare worker at Paramount Baptist Church, Texas.
- charged with two counts of indedency & sexual contact with a child.
Jordan Fautz, Catholic school teacher, Kentucky
- arrested for CSAM by editing students' faces from a yearbook onto child sexual abuse images.
Jacob Feldt, Police chaplain, Jamestown, NY
- charged with rape, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child
Robert Fenton 52, youth pastor, Bradford County
- arrested for the assault & grooming of a 14 year old. Fenton allegedly claimed that “God wanted the victim to be his spouse” because of a vision he had.
Barry Fike, pastor & Christian school teacher, California (& supporter of Sound of Freedom)
- arrested for CSAM & solicitation of a minor.
- pled guilty to sending sexually explicit messages to a person he thought was a 15 year old girl and arranging to meet her for sexual exploitation purposes.
Phillip Fisher Jr., pastor, Republican ward leader, Philadelphia's Moms for Liberty chapter.
- a registered sex offender, due to a 2012 felony conviction for aggravated sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy when Fisher was 25.
Daniel Fleming, Christian school teacher and youth leader, Virginia
- arrested for child sex crimes
Chad Foster, youth pastor, Second Baptist Church, Houston
- pleaded guilty to raping one teenager and soliciting another for sex
- posted lewd photos; sued for ignoring Covid public health requirements; created a toxic & fear-based workplace involving discussing graphic details of his sex life. Fostered an environment conducive to rape culture.
Jeff Forrest, child daycare worker at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church, Abilene, TX
- charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child
- charged with three felony counts of child molestation involving a girl under the age of 18.
Maurice Frazier, 51, youth pastor, Indianapolis
- used a church office to lure & abuse 14 year old girl, plus CSAM.
Erick Odir Vidal Fuentes, 39, pastor of Iglesia Pentecostal El Fin Viene Church, Montgomery, AL
- convicted of sexually assaulting a member of his church.
- arrested on charges of repeatedly raping a teenage girl
G
Andrew Gaines, youth pastor, Fox River Lutheran Church, IL
- arrested for child sexual abuse
Steve Gaines, pastor of megachurch Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, Tennessee; & former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
- accused of being a part of sex abuse cover up in the SBS
Fred Gammon, pastor, Oklahoma
- facing trial for sexual abuse of a child in his church & asking to sniff her underwear.
Benjamin Garlick, evangelist & guest pastor, Tennessee
- arrested for the rape of a child under the age of 13.
Shaantal Garlick, wife of Benjamin
- arrested for facilitating child rape & child endangerment.
Jackson M. Gatlin, 35, youth pastor, Vineyard Church, Duluth,
- son of former pastors Michael and Brenda Gatlin
- sentenced to 13 years prison for sexually abusing five young girls in his youth group.
- he. the church, and his parents are facing lawsuits from at least 9 other victims.
Cory Gaylor, 52, church deacon & school teacher, Idaho
- sentenced to 60 years prison for grooming & sexually abusing a child in his classroom.
Timothy George, pastor, Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Church
- a serial predator who groomed & assaulted multiple women.
His son, Ryan George, has written about it here in his book entitled, "Hurt & Healed by the Church"
Gabe Geringer, youth pastor, Colorado
- sentenced to 60 days in jail for raping a 14 year old girl in his church.
Shawn Gooden, LDS church bishop & Scout leader, Pennsylvania
- pled guilty to raping two girls under 14.
Daniel James Green, 63, Sunday school teacher, TX
- sentenced to life in prison for urging a 13 year old to shower with him & give him a "peep show". Posted homophobic diatribes.
Ruben Garcia, Pastor, SBC, Alabama
- prosecuted for sexual assault of a teenage girl
Joaquin Garcia, Apostle, La Luz Del Mundo, California
- charged with rape and child pornography
- charged with sexual abuse of a minor
Tommy Gilmore, pastor, First Baptist Church of Farmers Branch FL
Darrell Gilyard, pastor, Victory Baptist Church
- multiple allegations of rape, molestation and sexual misconduct
Rodger Githens, 44, seminary professor, CA
- arrested for trying to arrange to rape a 7 year old child
Brian “Doug” Goodrich - intern, Providence Baptist Church
- sentenced to 13 years in prison for statutory sex offenses,
indecent liberties and first-degree sex exploitation
- charged with rape and sexual harassment young girls
Dr. Bob Gray, pastor, Trinity Christian Academy
- arrested on charges of sexually abusing children
- charged with child molestation and rape of his daughter
Greater Grace World Outreach, megachurch, Baltimore
- 32 people have they had been sexually abused as children by men of Greater Grace, primarily prominent church members or leaders.
- Jesse Anderson was a youth volunteer who taught Bible classes to kids and teens and worked as a camp counselor with GGWO, was convicted of molesting a boy in the church.
- there are allegations against Jesse's older brother, Jonathan Anderson, a Sunday School teacher and his father, Pastor Eric Anderson, and Pastor Carl Stevens, the church’s founder.
The Millstones uncovered allegations against all three men.
The Millstones uncovered allegations against all three men.
Jason Greathouse, youth pastor, Enterprise, Alabama
- charged with raping a 14-year old student.
Steve Greisen, 68, Christian Singer and Filmmaker, Colorado Springs, husband of Christian music group, Second Chapter of Acts:
- pled guilty to solicitation of 14 year old girl who had been trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Charles Griffen, pastor, Fountain Valley Baptist Church in Fountain, Colorado,
- allegedly molested plaintiff Candence Finch when she was 13 to 18 years old.
David Griffith, church vacation Bible school volunteer & teacher, First Presbyterian Church of Strasburg, Pennsylvania
- charged with 14 offenses related to sexually abusing children.
John Griffin, 73, elder, Riverbend Community Church (SBC), Ormond Beach, Florida.
- sentenced to 20 years in prison for CSAM crimes.
Cameron Giovanelli, Pastor, Maryland.
- charged with sexual abuse of a minor.
Hipolito Gomez-Perdomo, youth pastor, Vida Abundante church, North Fort Collins
- arrested on charges of sexually abusing a child.
Jaime Gonzalez, youth group leader, Our Lady Guadalupe Shrine in Riverside, CA
- arrested for allegedly sexually abusing young girls.
Rocky Goodwin, baptist pastor, Arkansas
- arrested for viewing, possessing and distributing images of children being sexually abused.
Paul Guay, pastor, Grace Brethren Church, Mabton, Washington
- alleged to have molested his daughter & other family members, while on staff at Grace Community Church in the late 1970.
- shielded by senior pastor John MacArthur.
Ed Gungor, pastor, Believers Church, Marshfield, Wisconsin & Tulsa, Oklahoma. Father of musician Michael Gungor.
- accused by Megan Anderson, wife of worship artist Jared Anderson, of sexually abusing her and passing it off as an "affair".
H
Ted Haggard, pastor, New Life Church, Colorado & head of National Association of Evangelicals
- lobbied against same-sex marriage, paid for sex with male escorts. Defended by James Dobson and Mark Driscoll.Andrew Haines, 39, youth pastor, Fox River Lutheran Church, Sheridan, IL
- indicted on multiple, felony child sex abuse charges.
Robert Allan Hale, Pilgrim’s Wilderness
- indicted on 30 felony counts, including 10 counts of sexual assault, one count of kidnapping, eight counts of incest, eight counts of coercion, and three counts of assault against the members of his family.
- indicted on 30 felony counts, including 10 counts of sexual assault, one count of kidnapping, eight counts of incest, eight counts of coercion, and three counts of assault against the members of his family.
Matthew Harmon, 46, teacher & coach at The Providence School & Trinity Christian Academy; and Kanakuk Christian Camp
- charged with the sexual assault of a child.
Daniel Paul Harris, 44, evangelical pastor, Olive Branch Christian Church, Mississippi
- sentenced to 18 years in prison for raping multiple children at his church and non-profit, "the Kaimen Center".
Bob Hartley, "prophet" with ties to Mike Bickle, who took no action when allegations surfaced.
- banned from International House of Prayer Kansas City due to allegations of sexual misconduct
Mark Hatcher, pastor, Pentecostal Church, Philadelphia, Montgomery, Penn.
- found guilty of 10 counts of rape and sexual assault of 3 minors.
Bobby Hawk, lead pastor, Epic Church (AOG), Blue Springs, Missouri
- resigned as president of the Blue Springs Board of Education, after allegations that he groomed and sexually assaulted a 12 yo girl; currently under investigation
Cory Herthel, pastor, Wisconsin
- pled guilty to CSAM from a child he met on a missions trip.
Jerry Heflin, 60, deacon, Unity Baptist Church, Sylvester
- faces 65 charges of rape, child molestation, sodomy & sexual battery of children. On his Facebook page, he displayed a banner: "I Stand With Trump".
Jordan Henderson, 34, worship pastor & deacon, Wellspring Fellowship & Evergreen School, WA
- charged with 8 counts of child molestation.
- re-arrested fo violating his bond conditions.
Joshua Henley, youth pastor, Washington Avenue Church of Christ, Indiana
- indicted for using three minors, ages 12 to 16, to create sexual abuse
material and for transporting a minor interstate to engage in criminal
sexual activity.
James Vincent Henry, 43, senior pastor at Crossroads Assembly of God in Delight
- charged with 100 counts of possession, viewing and distribution of CSAM
Nicholas Henshaw, 35, Youth Pastor, Calvalry Chapel, Fort Collins, CO
- charged with molesting an 8 year old, later committed suicide.
Cory Herthel, 40, pastor, Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Green Bay, WI
- sentenced to 15 years prison for CSAM involving a child he met on a mission trip to Ecuador.
Puredi Hillary, pastor, Shiloh Tabernacle Church, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
- arrested following a report of sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl.
John Wayne Hinton, 62, Somerset Church of Christ
- sentenced to 60 years for molesting at least three little girls. Hinton abused more than 20 girls over a period of two decades.
His son, Jimmy Hinton, speaks here
Mike Hintz, 35, pastor of First Assembly of God, Iowa
- charged with & pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a child
- allegations of child sex abuse and physical abuse involving at least six members
Michael Hoekwater, Christian school teacher, Grandville Calvin Christian School, Michigan
- arrested for child sex crimes
Trent Brandon Holbert, pastor,The Ridge Church in Black Mountain, N.C
- charged with contributing to the
delinquency of a minor, indecent liberties with a child and two counts
of felony statutory sex offense with a child under 15
Bruce Hollen, pastor, Calvary Church, The Woodlands, TX
- arrested for CSAM
David Hollowell, 52, pastor, Indiana
- arrested for the rape of a 13 year old girl & attempted murder of her step-father who rushed in to try to save her.
Keith Holt, pastor, House of Prayer Church in Blackwell, Oklahoma
- arrested for kidnapping and child abuse
James Hoover, youth director, Airline Baptist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana,
- along with minister of music Roger Merritt, allegedly molested plaintiff Kellie Mims when she was 14 to 18 years old.
Lawrence Hopkins, 55, pastor, Rollingbrook Fellowship, Baytown, TX
- arrested as part of a multi-agency operation to capture individuals who have been "actively seeking to sexually exploit children".
Terry Hornbuckle, pastor, Agape Christian Fellowship
- convicted of raping members of his congregation.
Mark Hourigan, pastor & worship leader, City of Refuge Worship Center, Louisville, Kentucky
- a registered sex offender who was convicted of child sexual abuse, served 5 years in prison; has now been appointed to a position of authority at a small church in Kentucky.
- abused as many as nine boys across Australia and New Zealand between 1965 and 1977.
Benjamin Dalton Houser, 24, youth pastor, Cedar Street Baptist Church, Metter, GA
- charged with obscene internet contact with a minor
Dylan Houser, New Life Christian Church & World Outreach
Steven Houser, 67, Christian school teacher, Beacon Christian Academy, Florida
- used AI & yearbook pictures of his 35rd grade students to created CSAM
- accepted a plea deal to serve only 7 years in prison.
Johnny Hunt, SBC president, sexually assaulted another pastor’s wife in 2010
Travis Huse, 44, pastor, Apostolic Worship Center, Wisconsin
- found guilty of child sexual assault & raping multiple children at hi church and Christian school.
Scott Huse, 66, pastor & father of Travis Huse, Apostolic Worship Center, Wisconsin
- sceduled for trial in October 2024, for multiple counts of sexual assault and child enticement.
Gerald "Jerry" Ray Hutcheson, pastor, Red Oak Baptist Church, Baker AL
- convicted in 2007 of sexual abuse in Covington
County. Registered sex offender
Joseph T. Hutchins,
state trooper, commissioned by Jim Bob Duggar to give a "stern talking
to" his son Josh Duggar, an incestuous child molester who was arrested
on child pornography charges
- currently serving 56 years in an Arkansas prison on child pornography charges
- charged with rape of a teenage girl
Jack Hyles, pastor, First Baptist of Hammond, Indiana
- committed adultery with secretary; covered up sexual assault in the IFB
- defended son David Hyles and son in law Jack Schapp
"More
than a dozen men with connections to the IFB First Baptist church -
including several preaching in churches across the country - were
implicated in a series of lawsuits and arrests involving rape, sexual
molestation and the abuse of children."
- Kristin Kobes Du Mez, 'Jesus & John Wayne'.
"Investigations revealed 'a deeply embedded culture of misogyny and sexual and physical abuse' at First Baptist."
I
Samuel Jason Ingle, 52, dean & coach at Asheville Christian Academy, NC
- charged with engaging in a sexual act with a student.
Aaron Ivey, head of worship, pastor & author, married to "influencer" Jami Ivey, SBC Austin Stone Community Church, TX
- fired after "explicit ongoing text messages with several adult males and minors" were discovered; accused of sexual exploitation.
Kelly Garrett Ivey, member of Rock Springs Church
- charged with cruelty & child sex trafficking
Ryan Ivy, 45, youth pastor, Bluff Dale Baptist Church, & school teacher, TX
- pled guilty to online harassment involving grooming & sending sexually explicit texts to a 13 yo middle schooler; sentenced to only 180 days in jail
Independent Fundamental Baptist movement (IFB)
- 412 allegations of sexual misconduct linked to 187 IFB churches and affiliated institutions.
- Kristin Kobes Du Mez, 'Jesus and John Wayne'
J
Dirk P Jackson, Pastor, First Baptist Church in Port Orchard, WA
- sentenced to 41 months in prison in 2011 after pleading guilty to two counts of indecent liberties with a child.
Nicholas Jackson, 39, elder & teacher, New Whiteland Church, Indiana
- arrested for CSAM & attempting to meet up with a 15 year old girl with sexual intent
Timothy Jeltema, youth pastor, Champion Forest Baptist Church, TX
- pled guilty to child sexual assault crimes
Evan Jensen - youth pastor & Christian school teacher, NC
- sentenced to probation after raping a 12 yo
Daniel Stephen Johnson, missionary, Coos Bay, Oregon
- sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing children at orphanage in Cambodia
Will Johnson, worship pastor, 2/42 Community Church, Brighton, Michigan.
- charged with surveillance of an unclothed person & using a computer to commit a crime. Placed a hidden camera in the church bathroom.
Daniel "Danny" Jones, worship leader, YWAM / Surfing the Nations, Hawaii
- registered sex offender who was jailed for sexual assault
John Douglas Jones, youth pastor, First Baptist Church, Long Beach, Mississippi
- charged with sexual battery, touching a child for lustful purposes & rape of a child he met through the church's youth program.
Allan Kyle Jones, 48, pastor, Lifeway Community Church, Loxley, Alabama
- charged with 4 counts of CSAM
William A. Jones, president, Kentucky’s Georgetown College
- fired following allegations of sexual assault
Amanda Buchanan Justice, youth pastor, New Life Family Worship
Center, King’s Mountain, NC - - arrested for the sexual assault of a minor.
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Dennis Kennamer, coach at a Christian schoool, Louisiana
- arrested for the rape of a student.Dakota Kennemer, 31, youth pastor, Idaho
- arrested for grooming & raping a 16 year old at his church & Christian school.
Jason Kyle Kerby, Christian musician & singer, Texas
- arrested for CSAM & sexual abuse of a minor over years.
Kendal Kippen, youth pastor, Washington
- sentenced to 14 months for the rape of a child
Ferrell Kissiar, pastor, Illinois
- sentenced to 30 years prison for child sex trafficking.
Donn Ketcham, missionary, Association of Baptists for World Evangelism
(ABWE)
- accused of sexual abuse of 18 children
Ronnie Allen Killingsworth, 78, pastor of Rephidim Church, Wichita Falls
- indicted for the rape of 3 children over the course of 11 years.
Zachary King, 47, megachurch pastor, LexCity Church, Lexington, Kentucky. July 2024
-charged with rape, sodomy & sexual abuse of a minor
Gene Kingsley, missionary, SBC/IMB
Paul Kingsbury, pastor, North Love Baptist Church
- resigned in the wake of a lawsuit claiming a church employee sexually abused a teenage girl
Jared Kobernat, Baptist school teacher, Nebraska
- sentenced to 4 years prison for stalking young girls on the internet. 27,000 photographs of girls were found on his cell phone.
Bruce Douglas Konold, 63, lead pastor of Eagan Hills Church, Minnesota
- sentenced to 90 days jail for sexually abusing a college student he was counselling
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Dennis Laferty, 37, pastor, Ohio
- sentenced to 2 years in prison after pleading guilty to raping multiple children in his church
Kenneth Lynn Lamons, 37, pastor of Mt Pleasant Independent Baptist Church, Greene County, TN
- charged with rape, battery and continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Andy Landrum, child and youth minister, The Village Church
Texas
- 'confessed' to inappropriate sexual contact with a child and tried to videotape children
James Lane, evangelical youth pastor, Wisconsin
- arrested for the repeated rape of a child in his youth group that he called "a relationship".
Robert Lazzell, 48, Christian school principal & church deacon at Illinois First Baptist Church
- sentenced to 12 years in prison for grooming & raping a 13 year old at the church school.
Joshua Leduc, Christian pre-school teacher, IN
- pled guilty to molesting two 4 year olds in his class.
Eric Douglass Lee, 25, youth leader, Morningstar Fellowship Church and police officer, Cornelius
- pled guilty to sexual assault of a child and CSAM, sentenced to 9 years prison.
Kevin Lentz, 49, youth pastor & Christian school teacher, Kentucky
- arrested on 17 charges of sex crimes against children
Bobby Leonard, pastor, NC
- said in a sermon that girls wearing shorts "like that" deserve to be raped and that if he were on the jury, (referring to the hypothetical rapist), "he's going to go free".
Adam Jeremy Lewis, youth pastor, Rock Mountain Lakes Baptist Church
- possession of CSAM.
Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA
- sued by 12 former students and employees for creating an unsafe environment and enabling
on-campus rapes.
Rodney Locklear, evangelical pastor, Ruckerville, Virginia
- arrested for abducting and raping a child.
John Longaker - plead guilty in 1998 to fondling
and oral sex with a ninth-grader while a teacher at Faith Baptist
Academy in Sellersville, Pennsylvania.
Jose Andres Lopez, 70, pastor, CA
- sentenced to life in prison for 18 felony sexual assault charges for sexually abusing two girls from 1991 until 2020.
Andrew Lovisone, Baptist pastor, Missouri
- arrested for downloading & sharing images of children being sexually abused.
John Lowe, Pastor, New Life Christian Church in Warsaw, IN
Admitted
to "adultery", omitting to mention that the victim was a 16 year old he
groomed, or that his son also sexually assaulted a girl in their
congregation.
Jeremiah Donald Lowe, son of John Lowe, alleged to have molested a young girl he was baby-sitting.
Lenny Luck, 65, Spokane.
- arrested for molesting 4 year old boy in church bathroom.
Rodney Luffman, pastor, Open Arms Outreach Ministries
- charged with 115 felony sex assaults on children as young as 4
Samuel Lee Lyte, youth minister, Mt. Bethel Church, Texas
- arrested on several child sex abuse charges
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Kevin Madden, youth pastor, Arkansas
- received no jail time after sending nude images of himself to multiple children in his church.
C.J. Mahaney, president of Sovereign Grace Ministries. Endorsed by John Piper and Al Mohler, "Together for the Gospel".
-
2012 class action suit filed against him for "cultivating and
environment conducive to and protective of physical and sexual abuse of
children."
"The
combination of patriarchal gender roles, purity culture and
authoritarian clergy that characterizes Sovereign Grace's teachings on
parenting, marriage and sexuality created an environment where women and
children - especially girls - were uniquely vulnerable to abuse.
Submission theology protects the privileges of the powerful"
- T. F. Charlton, former member of SGM.
Quoted in 'Jesus and John Wayne" by Kristin Kobes Du Mez.
"The allegations against Mahaney and his ministry never made it to trial due to the stature of limitations ..."
"Is complementarianism just camouflage for abusive males and permission for the abuse and mistreatment of women?"
- Al Mohler
Jacob Malone, youth pastor, Pennsylvania
- imprisoned for impregnating a 16-year-old girl; then tried to hire a hitman to kill the leader of his mega-church as well as the judge who threw him behind bars
Ian Maphet, 39, worship leader, Calumet Street Christian Church, Illinois
- charged with 4 counts of CSAM
Virgil L. Marsh, 71, pastor, Miracle Chapel, Independence, MO
- charged with 2 counts of 1st degree child molestation & sodomy
Milton O. Martin, 56, pastor, Pentecostal Church of Chalmette, Louisiana
- indicted for rape of a young girl in his church.
Clint Massie, 48, church member, Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, Duluth, Minnesota
- arrested for raping 4 girls in his church, then re-arrested for further child rape charges.
- pled guilty
- Church leadership instructed the 4 young girls and their parents to "forgive and forget".
- charged with the sexual molestation of more than 30 boys in Haiti.
Leslie Mason, pastor, Olney Southern Baptist Church
- registered sex offender, received a seven-year prison sentence, then was returned to the pulpit at a series of Baptist
churches.
Daniel Kellan Mayfield, 35, First Baptist Gowensville Church, Landrum
- charged with secretly filmed at least 6 victims under the age of 14, in the church bathrooms, for the production of CSAM
William McElrath, missionary, SBC/IMB
- charged with child sexual abuse
James Vernon McNeal, children's minister, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Hazel Green,
AL
- charged in 2017 with sexual abuse of a child under 12.
- charged with electronic solicitation of a child & failing to register as a sex offender.
David McConkie, church leader & attorney, Colorado
- arrested for the rape of a child.
Tivo McCrary, Pastor, Cornerstone Church, Marion, Illinois
- fired from church, investigated for sexually inappropriate behaviour towards teens in the church.
Gary McCray, 61, pastor, Tulsa, OK. June 2024
- arrested for using electronic equipment to peep on other men & photograph them without their knowledge
Ryan McElrath, 39, pastor, Fellowship Church, Jackson TN
- charged with sexual battery & rape of a child.
Daniel McFeters, 30, Christian youth center volunteer "coach", Michigan
- arrested for the sexual assault of a minor.
Calvin McGee, LDS missionary, Idaho
- charged with CSAM & rape of a minor aged 11.
Timothy Burton McGee, 56, member of Impact Church, Arizona
- found guilty of 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, sentenced to 17 years prison for each count.
Mike McKay, member, YWAM, Toronto, Canada
- allegedly molested 6 yo Catherine Tippett at King's Kids children's summer program.
- YWAM leader Arnold Allen allegedly covered up & ignbored these allegations.
- Catherine alleges that her older sister and herself were both were abused by a YWAM member named Dale.
Mickey McConnel McMahan, 67, church leader & basketball coach at Victory Baptist Church, North Carolina
- charged with 24 counts of raping children.
James McDowell, Principal, Hillcrest School (Brethren missionary school) Jos, Nigeria.
- confessed to molesting two students.
- 50 cases of alleged sexual abuse at the school have been uncovered in an investigation by former students.
Tyler Dean Melton, 26, teacher, Southlake Christian Academy, North Carolina
- arrested for raping a student
Matthew Michael Messer, 27, Phoenix, AZ
- accused of secretly recording videos of a 16 yo girl at the church
Daniel Merrick, 64, pastor, TV evangelist & Trump supporter
- arrested on 800 counts of CSAM & 570 counts of indecent contact with a minor.
Roger Merritt, Minister of Music, Airline Baptist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana,
- along with Assistant Pastor & Youth Director James Hoover, allegedly molested plaintiff Kellie Mims when she was 14 to 18 years old.
Ruven Meulenberg, youth pastor, Saddleback Church, CA
- charged with molesting 4 minor teenage boys.
Isaiah Mikkelson, 22, youth pastor, Hope Lutheran Church in Quincy, Illinois
- pled guilty to 2 counts of sexually abusing children in his church.
Mary Fraidy Miller (formerly Cowan), former youth pastor & wife of evangelical pastor Jamie Cowan, sentenced to 50 years prison for raping his own children. Arkansas.
- Mary has been charged with enabling the abuse, failing to protect the children and educational neglect.
Gabriel Mills, evangelical mega church pastor
- arrested for using a church member's phone to send himself nude photos of the that member's wife. Arrested after another victim came forward.
Jarod Mills, 36, pastor, Ohio
- sentenced to 6 months in prison for child sex trafficking.
Kevin Mills, Christian music artist, Washington
- arrested for the rape of a child under the age of 12, and incest.
Aaron Mirtsching, youth pastor & kindergarten teacher, North Carolina
- arrested for CSAM, then re-arrested for more child sex crimes.
Miracle Meadows Christian boarding school
- investigation revealed cover-up of torture, rape & vicious beatings of students.
Brian Mitchell, youth pastor, Columbia Road Baptist Church, Cleveland OH
- alleged to have sexually abused a girl multiple times over the course of two months when she was 16 years old.
Thiago Modelli, 46, youth volunteer, The Woodlands Baptist Church, TX
- charged with posessing thousands of CSAM iunages, including of infants & toddlers being abused.
Jason Moore, missionary, Florida
- sentenced to 60 years prison for the rape of a child in Fiji.
Robert Morris, senior pastor of megachurch Gateway Church, Southlake, TX and "spiritual advisor" to Donald Trump.
- confessed to "moral failure" & "inappropriate behaviour" with a victim, Cindy Clemishire, who was 12 years old at the time Morris allegedly groomed her, digitially penetrated her, and continued molesting her over the next four years. At the time, Morris was in his 20s, married and the father of a young child.
Marvin Mosley, pastor, Pennsylvania
- charged with and admitted to raping 3 children
Alan Murphy, pastor, Texas
- raped a 14 year old child. Has evaded prison on a plea deal.
Malo Victor Monteiro, youth pastor, Faith Baptist Church in Wildomar CA
- sentenced to 5 years prison after pleading guilty to four counts of lewd acts on a child of 14-15 years; two counts of sexual
penetration with a foreign object and one count of attempted copulation
of a minor.
Roy Moore,
Republican, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama; friend of
James Dobson who endorsed him; contributed to Vision Forum.
- multiple allegations of molesting an underage girl & sexual harassment of teenage girls.
"Christian,
if you cannot say, definitively, no matter what, that adults creeping
on teenage girls is wrong, do not tell me how you stand against moral
relativism"
- Russell Moore (no relation to Roy Moore).
Daniel J. Moore, pastor, New Whiteland Baptist Church, Indiana
- sentenced to ten years for sexual abuse of a teenage member of his church
Steve Morgan, President of "The Network"
- concealed that he was charged with aggravated criminal sodomy against a 15 year old male minor in November 1986.
Jacob D. Mygatt, youth pastor, Christian Reformed Church
- charged with child enticement and sexual assault- arrested on charges of custodial child abuse and sex offenses
against multiple victims from 1995-2001. Convicted and serving a 15-year sentence.
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Timothy Nall, Baptist pastor, TX
- arrested for child sex crimes.
Bruce Neal, pastor & sheriff's deputy, Nebraska
- arrested for grooming & raping a young girl who attended his church.
Benjamin William Nelson, pastor, Peoria Baptist Church, TX
- sentenced to twenty years in prison for sexual abuse of a thirteen year old girl.
Pete Newman, Director, Kanakuk Kamps
-
molested dozens of boys over years; promoted himself as an expert of
sexual purity; endorsed by Joe White, president of Kanakuk Kamps
David Nims, youth director, Calvary Baptist Church, Pensacola FL
- arrested on video voyeurism charges, three times.
Frank Noe, pastor, Bennett’s Fork Baptist Church, Middlesboro, Ky
- arrested and charged with five counts of rape
Gregory Norton, youth pastor, Westside Baptist Church
- charged with 8 counts of sexual battery. & molesting multiple children in his church.
Remington Nystrom, Christian camp counselor, Wisconsin
- sentenced to 7 years in prison for raping a 10 year old girl at camp.
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Shaun O'Brien, 24, leader, YWAM, Hawaii
- alleged to have groomed & sexually abused Rebecca Lujan Loveless when she was 13, along with YWAM leader Scott Frerking who was 27, and allegedly abused Rebecca when she was 16.
- the base leaders Tom & Cindy Bauer allegedly knew about it & did nothing.
David Odom, youth pastor & high school coach, CA
- arrested for child sex crimes after being caught in a parked car with a child.
Jacob Oldham, director or Christian youth sports ministry, "Full Count Ministries", Henderson, TN
- charged with 2 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Michael Wayne O'Guin, minister, The Church at Wichita Creek in Flower Mound, TX
- indicted for sexual misconduct involving a 14-year-old girl
Austin O'Neal, Pastor, Church of the City, Euless, TX
Johnny Ortberg, son of senior megachurch pastor John Ortberg, children's colunteer, Menlo Church, CA
- outed as a Minor Attracted Person by his brother, Daniel Lavery
- the fact that John Ortberg's son was a MAP allowed to work with children was kept from the congregation for 16 months.
- sentenced to 40 years prison for the repeated rape of his two daughters, one of whom was under 11 years old when the abuse began. The women said their father molested them each more than 100 times.
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Ivan Peden, pastor, North Carolina
- arrested for peeping at a child in a bathroom stall & trying to bust in on her.
Zachary Luke Petree, 25, pastor of The Field church, Huntington, Indiana
- pled guilty to CSAM & sentenced to 2.5 years
Robert Price, pastor, North Carolina
- a convicted sex offender, now arrested for the rape of 3 more children.
- endorsed SBC pastor Darrell Gilyard despite multiple rape allegations.
- supported Paul Pressler in covering up Pressler's molestation of boys.
-
rape apologism; required all students to attend a lecture on "witch
hunts" waged against men and "seductresses" luring men into
"honeytraps".
Travis Payne, pastor, South Texarkana Baptist Church, Arkansas
- sentenced to five years for molestation of 3-year-old girl
Joshua R. Pearson, 23, assistant youth pastor, Open Gate Church of God Hilliard, Columbus, OH
- indicted for the rape of girls as young as 7 who attended his church.
Ivan High-McDonald Peden, 71, pastor of three various churches
- pled guilty to indecent exposure & sexual battery, sentence suspended. No jail time. He peeped at a child through the bathroom door and tried to get into the stall while the child kept the door shut.
Conner Jesse Penny, 32, youth pastor, Inspiration Church (formerly known as Mimosa Lane Baptist Church), Mesquite, TX
- arrested on three counts of sexual abuse related to a minor.
Austin Perkins, youth pastor, Grace Fellowship Baptist Church, Floyd County, Georgia
- one of seven men caught in CSAM sting. Facing 40 years prison.
David Pettigrew, pastor, Denison, TX
- along with Chad Michael Rider, exploited children for the production of CSAM
- charged with sexual battery, fraud and sexual exploitation
Rex Phillips, a close friend of Mike Bickle and funder of IHOPKC; leader at Full Gospel Business Men's Association. Also friends with Bob Jones. Owner of Misty Trucking LLC
- charged with soliciting a minor
- allegedly believes in polygamy
- charged with 54 counts of sexual indecency with a child
Mike Pilavachi, minister, Soul Survivor
- accused of sexually coerciuve & exploitative behaviour towards younger men in the youth ministry.
Nathaniel Pineda, 35, teacher at Dream City Christian School, Phoenix
- arrested for sexually abusing a 15 year old girl.
Alan Placa, priest, friend & fraternity brother of Rudy Giuliani
- accused of sexually abusing adolescent and teenaged boys
Philip Plyler
Kyle Timothy Poff, 36, youth pastor, TX
- charged with CSAM
Douglas Randall Pope, 32, youth pastor, Merrywood Baptist Church
- pled guilty to child molestation
- sentenced to 50 years for sex crimes against children.
Paul Pressler, former judge, Southern Baptist Convention
- charged with molesting boys; allegations dating back to the 1970s.
- played a leading role in wresting control of the Southern Baptist Convention from moderates in 1979.
Bobby Price, associate pastor, Kingsway Church, Concord
- pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse.
Edward Earl Prince, Pastor, Mississippi
Christopher M. Pruit, 35, pastor of a small house church, Beaverton Oregon.
- jailed for sexual abuse for molesting a girl under fourteen and another girl under eighteen.
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Matt Queen, pastor, Southern Baptist Seminary administrator, NC
- federally indicted for falsifying records in an attempt to cover up a sexual abuse report
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John W. Radcliff, 57, youth pastor, West Virginia
- arrested aloing withg his wife Kathy, on more than 100 charges of raping children & sexual abuse of children perpetrated by them between 1987 & 2003, across 4 counties.
- Kathy Radcliff has been been charged with display of obscene material to a minor and is alleged to have known what her husband was doing.
Zachary Joseph Radcliff, 29, worship & youth director & son of the senior pastor of Oakwood Church, Augusta Township, Michigan
- charged with 11 felony counts of child sexual abuse for incidents dating back to 2014
- led worship at the CPAC (Cobservatiuve Political Action Committee) and is a suppoter of Trump "MAGA" politics.
- to appear in court on 31 October, 2024
Stephen David Rambler, pastor of Church on the Rock, Wrightsville
- pled guilty to porn charges and rape of a 15 year old boy.
Tom Randall, Christ Community Chapel
James Randolph, 57, Living Word International Church, Midland, Michigan
- son-in-law of the ministry’s head, Mark Barclay.
- arrested and charged with several criminal sexual conduct felonies
John Raymond, 62, pastor, Republican leader, headmaster of Lakeside Christian School in Slidell & former 'Survivor' contestant, Louisiana
- convicted of four counts of child cruelty.
Timothy Lee Reddin, 67, pastor, Turner Street Baptist Church, Springdale, Arkansas
- sentenced to 10 years prison for online enticement of a minor & CSAM
Timothy Reddin, director of missions /pastor, BaptistMissionary Association of America
- convicted of possessing child pornography
Bradley Earl Reger, 67, deacon, Susanville Church of the Nazarene, CA
-
charged with sexually abused numerous boys during mission trips under
the guise of inspecting their genitals for “concerning” moles to help
protect them from skin cancer.
Matthew Reiber, senior pastor, New Life Christian Church, Chickasha, Oklahoma
- charged with three counts of lewd or indecent acts with a 7-year-old girl.
David Richards,
Pastor, My Fathers House Church of God, Lenoir City, Tennessee -
convicted of repeatedly raping his 14 year old adopted daughter over a
period of four years
Chad Michael Rider, 48, TX
- assisted pastor David Pettigrew in the production of child sexual assault material (CSAM).
- found guilty of three counts of the sexual exploitation of children.
Jeffrey Riesenberg, 50, youth pastor, at megachurch Hickory Grove Baptist Church, NC
- arrested for the rape of his daughter
- charged with forcible sexual offense
Matthew Lee Richards, 41, children's pastor, Crossroads Christian Church, Shawnee
- charged with murder & arson.
Warren Riley, 53, Christian school teacher, North Carolina
- sentenced to 13 months prison for molesting two 11 year old students.
- 19 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children spanning the last 35 years by 12 perpetrators, including pastors Charles Spencer Sr, Charles (Chuck) Spencer Jr, Dale Spencer, Jed Davis, James Davis, Jason Fox, Austin Whited and Jerry Whited.
David Robinson, 34, youth pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Plant City, Hillsborough County
- charged with 9 counts of CSAM.
Kyle Robinson, associate pastor, First Baptist Church of Indialantic, Florida
- charged with felony lewd molestation of a victim under 16.
William C. Robinson, 57, College pastor, Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, TX
- abused an under-age family member over a seven year period. He was mentored by sex offender Daniel Savala, the central figure in a widening sex abuse scandal.
James Robison, televangelist, friend of mega-church pastor Robert Morris
- alleged to have had an extra-marital 'fling' with a person who may have been a minor, who was working for Robison & staying in his home.
Nathan Rogers, youth pastor, New York
- pled guilty to CSAM.
Phillip Ross, youth pastor, Fairbanks, Alaska
- indicted on three counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and two counts of distributing indecent materials to minors.
David Alan Rowan, pastor, Faith Baptist Church, Milton, Florida
Terry Rudisill, Bapist pastor, North Carolina
- out on bond after raping an 11 year old and 15 year old, arrested again for more child sex crimes.
Timothy Charles Rupard, 44, lead pastor at Temple Baptist Church, Newland
- charged with sexual exploitation of a minor & trying to flee apprehension by law enforcement. Attempted to travel to Tennessee to rape a child.
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Richard A. Santa Maria, Homestead Heritage
- sentenced to 35 years for sexual abuse of an 8 year old girl
- Assemblies of God leaders criticized for allowing sex offender Daniel Savala access to students at Chi Alpha Campus Minstries, TX
Brandon Saylor, Living Word Church, Midland, Michigan
- arrested for sexual abuse of 3 children under 13 years.
Randy Saylor, pastor, Living Word Church, Midland, Michigan
- arrested for the rape of child under 13 yo.
- Saylor is the third leader from Living Word Church to be charged with child sex crimes.
Marvin Scales, 53, youth pastor, of Waxahachie, North Texas
- had a history of child sex assault offenses was sentenced to 50 years in prison for sexually abusing underage victims who attended his church.
- impregnated a 14 year old girl.
Jack Schaap , pastor, First Baptist, IFB
-
son-in-law of Jack Hyles; pleaded guilty in 2012 to crossing state
lines to have sex with a sixteen year old girl he was counselling.
Michael D. Schneider, worship director of John’s Lutheran Church, Bloomington
- charged with 131 counts of child pornography possession and six counts of
criminal sexual assault of a minor victim between 13 and 17 years old.
Richard Scott Shaw, 69, youth pastor & worship leader, Under Command Ministries, Wyoming
- arrested for sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 12 in Florida.
- repeatedly raped and impregnated their 13-year-old sister, sentenced to writing a letter of apology
Tyler Selby, worship leader, Mississippi Baptist church
- arrested for producing a video of CSAM of him in a bathtub wit a child, committing sex acts.
Mark Sellers, pastor, Alabama
- arrested for sending sexually explicit text messages to a child who attended his church.
Rick Sentell, senior pastor, Cornerstone Church of God, Cleveland, Tenn.
- found with more than 100 CSAM images, indicted by grand jury
Jonathan Shaheen, worship pastor, TimberCreek Church, Colorado Springs
- sentenced to 2 years prison for sexual exploitation of a child.
- charged with multiple counts of child sex trafficking
- sexually abused 14 girls at two different churches.
Aaron Duane Shipman, 44, lead pastor, Bible Baptist Church, Odessa, TX
- charged with assaulting a teenage girl for years, beginning when she was 16.
Roy Shoop, 59, lead pastor of Cowboy Gatherin' Church, Inola
- found guilty of three counts of lewd & indecent acts towards young girls who attended his church and took horse riding from him.
- sentenced to 25 years in prison for the rapes of multiple little girls.
Paxton Singer, youth pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel, Aurora, Chicago
- charged with grooming a minor
Stephen Sitler, Christ Church
Larry Gene Singleton, Pastor, Mississipi
Vincent (“Vince”) Wayne Sievert, deacon, Sovereign Grace Church of LaGrange and youth pastor at Courts of Praise church
- accused of sexually abusing two black girls who lived in a public housing project and were part of the youth ministry.
- In 2000 he was convicted for child molestation and sexual battery and sentenced only to probation.
Bobby Cornealius Smith, pastor, New Beginnings Ministries, Las Vegas
- sentenced to only one year of probation after being arrested for multiple sex crimes against 5 different girls & women.
Dean Alan Smith, 67, pastor, Morning Star Baptist Church, Montana
-
sentenced to 30 years prison for child sexual abuse of 4 girls under
the age of 12, on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Resevation.
Steven W. Smith, senior pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Little Rock, Arkansas
- resigned after alleged mishandling of sexual abuse by former church employees; and for "maliciously and systematically" covering up sexual abuse.
Gary Ladell Smitherman, children's and youth minister, Friendship Baptist Church, Clanton, AL
- found guilty in 2018 of sexually abusing a child under
12
Kyle Snyder, 26, teacher at Bethany Christian School, IN.
- charged with 5 counts of child seduction.
- Since 1998, around 380 perpetrators within the SBC left a trail of more than 700 victims.
-
'Removed from fellowship' churches that hired female pastors, but failed
to disciplines churches that hired known sex offenders.
Natalie Sorrells, youth volunteer at megachurch Lakepointe Church, Dallas, TX
- charged with 2 counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child & indecency.Michael Sperou, pastor, North Clackamas Bible Community, Portland, Oregon.
- sexually abused seven girls whose families attended his church, sentenced to 13 years in prison.Charles Spencer Jr., son of the founder of Riverdale Assembly of God, Fresno County, CA
- charged with groomed children - worked his way up to inappropriate messages, then sexual contact.
-
Over 30 of years, the church and school have exposed boys and girls as
young as 8 to sexual abuse, according to a series of lawsuits. "We
believe there was a pervasive and persistent pattern of grooming and
sexual abuse that took place in the church and the school," said
plaintiff's attorney.
Dale Spencer, Riverdale Assembly of God, Fresno County, CA
- charged with child sexual assault against young boys
Tye Stiger, church volunteer, Michigan
- fled to The Philippines to avoid prosecution on dozens of child sex abuse charges; sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Bob Stine, pastor & president of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention
- arrested for molesting a 10 year old at a church day camp
William Staggs, 49, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, Florence, Alabama
- arrested for sexually assaulting and exposing himself indecently to a woman
Robert Stahn, 64, LDS church member & director of Operation Shield
- pled guilty to felony sexual abuse of a vulnerable non-verbal adult
Hezekiah Stallworth, Pastor, Texas
Michael David Starnes Jr., 37, youth pastor, Lighthouse Church
- charged with 2 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor & CSAM. He "does have the support of his church".
January 2024
Craig Stone, youth director
- arrested for CSAM and indecency with a child.
Eddie Struble, SBC
Harriet Sugg, 57, teacher, First Academy/First Baptist Church of Orlando
- sentenced to 18 months for sexual activity with a teenager, i.e. grooming & raping the boy.
Charles Sulivant, 91, board member of Shawnee First Church of Nazarene, Oklahoma
- arrested for the sexual battery of 6 little girls who attended his church.
- several pastors knew at that time that Sulivant had been molesting little girls, but did not report this to authorities.
James Swanson, pastor, New York
- sentenced to 3 years prison for possessing videos of children being sexually abused.
Carlyle Sparrow, administrator, Gloryland Nazarene Church, Carroll, Ohio
- charged with sexual assault of a minor
R.C. Sproul Jr., Legonier Ministries
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Lamuel Dalton Tate, 27, youth leader, affiliated with multiple churches in and around Daphne, Alabama.
- In
2019, Tate was arrested on 11 criminal charges including enticing a
child, sexual abuse of a child and sodomy. The child was 14 years old
when the abuse began. It lasted for 2 years.
Samuel Taylor, 52, music teacher & minister at several churches in Rankin County, Mississippi
- convicted of one count of sexual battery & gratification of lust & the rape of an 11 year old autistic child.
Tullian Tchividjian, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church
- sentenced to 25 years in prison for manufacturing child pornography.
Jerome Teschendorf, 70, one of three pastors of Jackonsville Assembly of the Body of Christ Church in Northside, FL, arrested in Oklahoma for the physical abuse of minors in the church that spanned over a period of over thirty years, roughly from 1976-2001.
Anthony Lynn Thibodeaux, Pastor, Texas
Caleb Toney, 27, youth pastor, Iowa
- sentenced to 2 years probation for providing a minor with alcohol & sexually assaulting them.
Larry Tomczak, Pastor and author of "God, the Rod & Your Child's Bod", which advocates corporal punishment.
- accused of abusing a woman over 25 years, beginning in childhood & beating her bare backside well into adulthood.
- Tomczak is one of 7 pastors at Southern Grace Ministries accused by 8 different plaintiffs of covering up child molestation and other abuses.
Eric Tuininga, pastor & missionary, Milledgeville, Georgia
- sentenced to serve 120 months in prison for sexually abusing a girl in his care in Uganda.
Kenneth Turberville, minister, evangelical church, Alabama
- sentenced to 20 years prison for the rape of two children under the age of 12.
Nicholas J. Turner, member of Grace City Church’s “Strongerman Nation”
- arrested & charged with rape and incest
Russell Jon Tusing, 44, senior pastor, Sovereign Grace Church, LaGrange, Georgia
- arrested for the rape of his 13 yo daughter
- indicted for child molestation & sexual battery
Two By Twos or "Church With No Name" or "The Truth"
- investigated by the FBI in February 2024 after allegations of child sexual abuse & trafficking
- Steve Rose alleged to have molested several girls
- Vandenberg alleged to have molsted children
U
- pleased guilty to sexual battery, assault, and two counts of attempted rape
Glen Uselmann, Sunday School teacher, Calvary Gospel Church, Madison, WI
- charged with sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.
V
Conrad Estrada Valdez, 61, pastor, Houston, TX
- charged of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 14 and 17.
Silas Valentine, Ekstasis Culture
- accused of sexual abuse, manipulation and spiritual abuse by multiple victims.
Roger VanRaden, 49, youth pastor, Faith Baptist Church, Champaign, Illinois.
- sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault of a teenager.
W
Willian Wahl, youth pastor, The River Church, Kimball Township, Port Huron
- charged with six sex crimes against 4 minors.
David Walker, youth pastor, The Dwelling Place Family Worship Center, North Olmsted, Cleveland Ohio
- sexually abused a 14 year old girl
Thomas Wall, pastor of Pentecostal Fellowship & administrator at Fellowship Christian Academy, Lancaster, Kentucky
- sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to one count of 1sr degree sexual abuse. 12 other charges were dismissed.
Matthew Wallace, 37, member of Elwood Central Wesleyan Church, Indiana
- sentenced to 30 years for child molestation & raping the child in the church basement.Ryan Walters, youth volunteer, Baptist Church, CO
- convicted for the rape of three girls at his church.
David Lloyd Walther, pastor, Faith Baptist Church, Round Rock
- sentenced to 70 months in prison for CSAM
Jordan Webb, missionary, Harvest Baptist Church Fort Dodge, Iowa.
- jailed for 25 years for sexually abusing a 4-year-old who tested positive for gonorrhea.
Nicholas Webb, 21, son of Plain Landmark Missionary Baptist Church pastor Steven Webb
- charged with rape & sexual battery of a child under 14.
Kenneth Eugene Ward, Pastor, Dallas TX
Joe White, president of Kanakuk Kamps; speaker at Promise Keepers- enabled employee and camp director, Pete Newman, to molest dozens of boys at this Christian camp.
Jamin C. Wight, associate of Doug Wilson, Christ Church
Toby Willis, The Willis Clan
James R. Williams, 50, Ellsworth
- arrested & charged with molesting a 12 year old girl
Jeffrey Williams, 38, youth pastor, Fountain Salvation Army, Colorado
- found guilty of grooming and sexually exploiting a child in his youth group
Matt Williams, Christian camp counsellor, Virginia
- arrested for possessing images of children being sexually abused (CSAM)
Vernon Lavern Williamson, 87, pastor, Jacksonville Assembly of the Body of Christ, FL
- Williamson is one of three leaders from this same church arrested. He was convicted of 4 counts of capital sexual battery involving multiple victims, and sentenced to life in prison.
Charles Willoughby III, 39, youth group leader, New Life Worship Center, Norfolk, Virginia
- convicted of sexual abuse & grooming underage girls who attended a church’s youth group program.
Charles Richard Wilson, 58, senior pastor, Langley First Baptist Church & Oakwood Baptist Church; and teacher at North Augusta High School
- charged with 5 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor
- defended Doug Phillips and Mark Driscoll; victim blamer; married convicted pedophile Steven Sitler to a young woman in his congregation.
- defended in court Jamin Wight, a man enrolled in Wilson's ministerial training programme, who groomed and molested a 14 year old home-schooled girl in Wilson's congregation. Depicted by Wilson as a "homeschool love affair."
Michael Edward Wilson, 69, pastor, Grace City Church,
- sexually abused two young adult men in the Bible study group that he led.
Charles Richard Wilson, 58, lead pastor, First Baptist Church & Oakwood Baptist Church
- charged with sexual exploitation of a minor
Broderick Witt, seminary student, Ohio
- sentenced to only probation for possession of videos as young as 6 years old being sexually abused.
Jacob Woods, children's leader, Rutherford County Baptist Church, Smyrna, TN
- indicted on 5 counts of statutory rape by an authority figure.
Heath Woolman, pastor & former chief of staff at Souithwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, FL
- the second pastor named in a federal investigation into the SBC's covering up of sexual abuse
Steven P. Woyen, pastor, First Lutheran Church of Strasburg, New Philadelphia
- sentenced to four years in prison for three counts of sexual battery involving a teen
Matthew Wyatt, 30, guest preacher at Southside Baptist Church, North Carolina
- charged with sexual abuse of a child & rape.
Robert Wyatt, pastor, Agape Bible Church, affiliated with The Gospel Coalition
- repeatedly molested a 12 year old girl in his church.
Y
David Patrick Yount, 57, volunteer youth worker, Abundant Life Church, Springfield, Missouri
- found guilty of child molestation & sodomy of a little girl who attended the church; sentenced to 21 years in prison.
- the judge castigated Yount's pastor, Ben Davis, who knew about the allegations but did not alert authorities.
Z
Joshua Zajicek, youth pastor, Texas
- arrested for sexually assaulting a child at his church
David Zandstra, pastor, Pennsylvania
- arrested for the kidnapping & murder, in 1975, of an 8 year old girl on her way to Sunday School.
Luverne Zacharias, youth pastor and Christian school principal, Minnesota
- arrested for sexually assaulting multiple girls at his church and school.
Ravi Zacharias, RZIM
- sexually abused numerous women.
Ravi Zacharias, Influential Evangelist, Is Accused of Sexual Abuse in Scathing Report
Bill Huang, a, evangelical billionaire who funded legal action against the women who made allegations against Ravi Zacharias, has been sentenced to 18 years prison for fraud.
Raymond Zwiefelhofer, 61, elder in the secretive 2x2 Church
- convicted of 10 counts of CSAM and sentenced to 120 years in prison.
- an investigation uncovered allegations of widespread child sexual abuse and subsequent coverups by the church leadership. During the investigation, dozens of alleged victims of child sexual abuse across more than 30 states were found.
I believe that the unbalanced doctrines of male supremacy (or
"headship") and unilateral female submission or subordination ("chain of
command" or "biblical gender roles"), that are widely taught in the
conservative circles of American fundamentalism, promote unhealthy and
dysfunctional dynamics and increase the likelihood of domestic violence
and sexual abuse, exploitation and assault.
These
are not the guys to turn to, to save you from the 'evil pedophiles' and
your authoritarian governments. You haven't seen "authoritarian" until
you've seen their extrapolation of fundamentalist patriarchy in action.
Consider the above list of names. It's constantly growing.
What do these all have in common?
- They are individuals or organizations that believe in the headship of men and the subordination
of women. They believe that leadership in the family and church is reserved for
men.
- They have been charged with sexual offenses and/or have been
involved in enabling and covering up for perpetrators of sexual offenses.
Don't rely on my links. Google any of the listed names for yourself. Look especially for fact-based, non-partisan local news articles and actual court documents.
Don't rely on my links. Google any of the listed names for yourself. Look especially for fact-based, non-partisan local news articles and actual court documents.
Note: this is not a list of men who may have "stumbled" sexually or committed adultery with other consenting adults. While that behaviour is not considered ideally moral by most Christian churches, we all know that people are human and they stuff up. That
is not what this is about. These men are not merely flawed humans who committed some indiscretion and had the misfortune to be prominent when they did.
These men are predators, who exploited the power awarded to them by Christian male headship doctrine, to harm the defenceless, and the innocent, who did NOT CONSENT.
Sexual immorality is not the same as sexual ABUSE.
"The 2000s saw a spate of sex scandals topple evangelical leaders. In many cases, the abuse or misconduct stretched back years, even decades. Many of the men implicated in the abuse, or in covering up cases of abuse, were the same men who had been preaching militant masculinity, patriarchal authority, and female purity and submission."
- Kristin Kobes Du Mez, 'Jesus & John Wayne'.
Databases of perpetrators in the evangelical church:
STOP BAPTIST PREDATORS
PREACHER BOYS
Preacher Boys is a documentary shedding light on decades of physical,
mental, and sexual abuse within the Independent Fundamental Baptist
movement.
Preacher Boys Podcast Database of Abusers
Baptist Accountability database of abusers
The Roys Report - Reporting the Truth. Restoring the Church.
Floodlit - data base of Mormon sexual abuse cases
Not In Our Church - church abuse statistics
Bishop Accountability - documenting the abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Church
Databases of perpetrators in the Republican party:
Republican Sexual Predators
- exposing the corruption of the "family values" party.
This is Part 1 of 41:
Republican Sexual Predators, Abusers, and Enablers Pt. 1
- By Kristen Browde
This data analysis site illustrates some interesting points of note:
- 84.6% of offenders have Republican party affiliation.
- 5.1% of offenders have Democrat party affiliation
- 80% of the top ten highest number of offenders per capita are Republican states. South Dakota is the worst.- 100% of the top ten lowest number of offenders per capital are Democrat/Swing states. Massachusetts is the best.
List of Republican Predators
A Comprehensive List of Republicans Arrested for Pedophile Charges
Resources :
Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment
Boz Law - Sexual Abuse Attorney for Victims. (Grandson of Billy Graham).
The Misfit Amish LLC
"Amish children and adults will have resources and education to combat crimes in their communities. We bridge the gaps between English and Amish culture"
You can find information here on how to report child sexual abuse (applicable to everyone, not only Anabaptists).
Mary Byler is an absolute power house. She is an advocate for ALL victim survivors of sexual abuse. This is her book.
Reflections and Memories of An Amish Misfit: "My therapist says that’s not true, but I digress"
Articles & Commentary
Eyes to See and Ears to Hear Women
Sexual Assault as a Crisis of Evangelical Theology
In Eyes to See and Ears to Hear Women, Christian scholars examine evangelical Christianity’s engagement with women, gender, sexuality, and abuse. In the #MeToo era, no one can claim ignorance about the epidemic of abuse and violence against women. For too long, church leaders have failed to see the abuse in the church and failed to hear the women who cry out for justice. In Eyes to See and Ears to Hear Women, Christian scholars examine evangelical Christianity’s engagement with women, gender, sexuality, and abuse. They reveal startling connections between popular teachings on gender and the abuse crisis that has plagued society for centuries.
"In the end, (evangelical leaders like) Doug Wilson, John Piper, Mark Driscoll, James Dobson, Doug Phillips and John Eldredge all preached a mutually reinforcing vision of Christian masculinity - of patriarchy and submission, sex and power. It was a vision that promised protection for women but left women without defense, one that worshiped power and turned a blind eye to justice, and one that transformed the Jesus of the Gospels into an image of their own making." - Kristin Kobes Du Mez, 'Jesus and John Wayne'.
The sudden departure of Russell Moore is forcing an overdue conversation about the crises of American Christendom.
Russell Moore's resignation letter:
"I am trying to say this as clearly as I can to you, brothers and sisters: These are the tactics that have been used to create a culture where countless children have been torn to shreds, where women have been raped and then “broken down.”"
"When God called me to himself in Jesus, and when he called me to serve him in ministry, he called me to stand for the truth, to point the way to the kingdom, to die to self, and to carry the cross. He did not call me to provide cover for racial bigotry and child molestation. I will not do that."
The Woman Taking on Sex Abuse in the Church
"Rachael Denhollander is an attorney and the author of What Is a Girl Worth? who focuses her efforts on advocating for survivors of sexual abuse in churches and Christian organizations. She’s been enlisted to consult RZIM on the necessary steps to address its legacy of sexual abuse and that’s just one part of her vision.Ultimately, Denhollander hopes to be part of building a new world in which the Church is no longer at best apologizing to and at worst ignoring victims of assault, but is instead their fiercest champion."
Reporting on the SBC report on systemic sexual abuse in the church, released in May 2022:
The evangelical world is reeling from the recent (May 2022) release of the third-party investigation into the handling of abuse by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee.
The abuse investigation has uncovered more evil than even I imagined.
SBC Executive Committee staff saw advocates’ cries for help as a
distraction from evangelism and a legal liability, stonewalling their
reports and resisting calls for reform. By Kate Shellnutt.
"Armed with a secret
list of more than 700 abusive pastors, Southern Baptist leaders chose
to protect the denomination from lawsuits rather than protect the people
in their churches from further abuse."
by Diana Butler Bass
(click on this post to see the actual list of names).
Southern Baptist scandal: It's no coincidence that anti-abortion churches protect sexual abusers
As with the Catholic church scandal, what ties sexual abuse to anti-choice activism is a belief in male supremacyEvangelicals ‘worse’ than Catholics on sexual abuse
Sex Abuse among Evangelicals worse than for Catholics
Dear Church,
You don’t get to blame Satan for sexual abuse when you created ideal conditions for it.
Satan didn't design the religious structures that are favorable to perpetrators.Satan didn't propose "handling" religious abuse behind the closed doors of the church.Satan didn't hire lawyers to silence survivors with NDAs and tithe-funded settlements.Satan didn't forgive and quietly reassign perpetrators to new positions of power to exploit others.Satan didn't objectify victims by fixating on "purity" while systematically ignoring consent.Satan didn't weaponize forgiveness against survivors while shielding perpetrators from responsibility.Satan didn't grant religious leaders authority that can't be questioned.Satan didn't value the reputation of the church over the safety of survivors.You did.
That’s on you.
Satan didn't make you do it. These structures were crafted, reinforced, and defended by pastors, deacons, board members, elders, denominations, etc.Church, you don't get to blame Satan for your support of unsafe contexts that are glaringly obvious to anyone who understands how sexual abuse works.
I used to believe Satan was the prince of darkness, but that was before I discovered how hard it is to shine a light into the inky darkness of some churches.Please stop blaming Satan and take responsibility for the many ways you have dismissed, perpetuated, and excused abuse.
Here’s to being reflective and doing better.
-Brian, Room to Thrive
The SBC Sexual Abuse Scandal is a ‘Success’ Story of the Theological Vision and Social Structure of the ‘Conservative Resurgence’
When the sin of BEING a woman is worse than the sin of abusing a woman. They tell Beth Moore, a woman evangelist & Bible preacher, to "go home", but then "restore" to the pulpit men guilty of sexual assault.
Even other pastors are upset about it.
A Southern Baptist Pastor’s Plea: Please Listen
Why Johnny Hunt’s “restoration” convinces me we don’t have ears to hear.
Jailed Christian pastor's sexual abuse of son the 'antithesis' of what he preachedThe Royal Commission’s Report of Case Study No. 18 – the response of Australian Christian Churches and affiliated Pentecostal churches to allegations of child sexual abuse
