(FaithWire) – Nearly 400 Southern Baptist leaders and volunteers have been implicated in a church-wide sexual abuse scandal and cover-up spanning two decades. A joint investigation by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News released Sunday included devastating accounts from victims who suffered at the hands of trusted religious figures, many of whom returned to their positions even after being registered as sex offenders.
From the report: “In all, since 1998, roughly 380 Southern Baptist church leaders and volunteers have faced allegations of sexual misconduct, the newspapers found. That includes those who were convicted, credibly accused and successfully sued and those who confessed or resigned. More of them worked in Texas than in any other state.” Many offenders took plea deals and returned to their former posts — congregants were given no warning. READ MORE
