SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Two newspapers are reporting that about 380 Southern Baptist church leaders and workers have been accused of sexual misconduct since 1998, leaving more than 700 victims.
The San Antonio Express-News and the Houston Chronicle reported Sunday that their six-month joint investigation found that many of the victims were shunned by their churches.
They reported that at least 35 church pastors, employees and volunteers who exhibited predatory behavior were still able to find jobs at churches. Some registered sex offenders returned to the pulpit. Several past presidents and prominent Southern Baptist Convention were among those that victims criticized for concealing or mishandling abuse complaints within their churches or seminaries.
The Rev. J.D. Greear, who was elected the SBC’s president last June, says the abuses described in the newspapers’ story “are pure evil.”
