The former Southwestern Seminary professor who confessed to lying to the FBI about a sexual abuse case was sentenced March 5 to time served, to be followed by one year of supervised release that includes six months of home confinement with an ankle monitor.
Matthew Queen also must pay a $2,000 fine, according to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The sentencing matches what the U.S. Department of Justice had asked for in Queen’s case.
Matthew Queen
In 2023, when a female seminary staff member reported an alleged sexual abuse by a male student against a third party, Queen was present at a meeting where another seminary employee, a male, told the female to make the documentation go away. Queen then altered his contemporaneous documentation of that conversation and lied to the FBI about what had happened.
After being indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024, Queen maintained his innocence for four more months before relenting in October last year. That spared him a trial in federal court. He also initially refused to resign his pastorate at Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., even after confessing to his crime.
The sentence given Queen includes “the mandatory, standard” conditions of supervised release. Queen must participate in an outpatient mental health treatment program, must contribute to the cost of services, must provide the probation officer with access to any requested financial information, must not incur new credit charges or open additional lines of credit without approval and may not leave his home for six months except to obtain medical care for himself or his wife.
Southwestern Seminary issued a brief statement in response to Queen’s sentencing:
Since November 2022, Southwestern Seminary has fully cooperated with the Department of Justice’s investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention’s response to sexual abuse. With the criminal justice process now complete regarding the charges against Matt Queen, we are hopeful that the investigation will soon reach its conclusion, allowing all parties to move forward. Our prayers for Matt Queen and his family as well as all others involved in this process continue.
Southwestern Seminary remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of all members of our community, taking every possible measure to prevent sexual abuse and harassment.
Not everyone involved in the attempted coverup of a sexual abuse claim at Southwestern has been prosecuted, however.
Former seminary Chief of Staff Heath Woolman has been identified as the person who allegedly told Dean of Women Terri Stovall to make her report of the alleged abuse “go away.” Woolman now serves as pastor of Fruit Cove Baptist Church in St. Johns, Fla.
Former seminary Police Chief Kevin Collins also resigned from the seminary staff shortly after this incident. Collins reportedly is working as a private investigator in Fort Worth.
And the student who was accused of raping a woman off campus, although eventually arrested on campus, never has been indicted and there is no public record available of the disposition of his case.
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