Former Southwestern Seminary evangelism professor Matthew Queen changed his mind Oct. 16 and pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the United States Southern District of New York attorney’s office and the FBI in a June 2023 meeting.
The about-face came on the heels of the court denying Queen’s Sept. 16 motion to dismiss his felony case and less than a month before his trial by jury was set to commence.
Queen’s previous indictment and upcoming trial were part of the Department of Justice’s larger probe into sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention. A New York grand jury indicted Queen on a charge of obstruction of justice through falsification of records relating to an alleged act of sexual abuse by a former seminary student, Christian Flores.
At issue in Queen’s case was a set of fictitious notes Queen falsely stated were contemporaneous with a meeting he had in Southwestern’s MacGorman Chapel with former Chief of Staff Heath Woolman and current Dean of Women Terri Stovall. Stovall was said to have created a document outlining the failure of Southwestern’s former chief of police, Kevin Collins, in responding to a woman’s report of having been raped by Flores. Woolman allegedly directed Stovall to make the document “go away.”
Now, Queen has pled guilty to lying to investigators about when he created the notes of his recollection of that conversation, which falsely stated that Woolman gave Stovall no such directive.
In an interview, Queen’s attorney, Sam Schmidt, previously told BNG he did not believe Queen had committed a crime. “It’s our opinion that the government is just way over the top on their allegations,” Schmidt said at the time.
Federal sentencing guidelines for the offense to which Queen has now pled guilty recommend a prison sentence of up to five years.
Court transcripts previously obtained by BNG indicated Schmidt was seeking both a proffer agreement and a plea deal with the government on behalf of Queen. A proffer agreement is a legal term for a deal between the government, and a subject of investigation where information revealed (including testimony against other “bigger fish”) will not be used to charge someone as long as they tell the truth.
The government alleged Queen was not truthful and thus revoked previous proffers. A plea deal involves a defendant who receives a lighter — or no — sentence in return for admitting to a crime. Those talks fell apart because the government alleged Queen was not being cooperative and included disputes over discovery material.
It now appears Queen and his counsel had stark realization of the possibility of federal prison for Queen following Judge Lewis A. Kaplan moving up Queen’s trial from Dec. 9 to Nov. 13 and the denial of his motion to dismiss the case. It is highly unusual for a federal trial date to be moved forward.
Federal sentencing guidelines for the offense to which Queen has now pled guilty recommend a prison sentence of up to five years. However, given that Queen is a first-time criminal offender, multiple sources familiar with the matter suggest the judge presiding over his sentencing could grant Queen leniency at his discretion. The most probable outcome, these sources say, is that Queen will spend 12 to 24 months in jail.
Queen’s sentencing has been set for Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. He remains free on bond until that time.
The former seminary professor now is pastor at Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., where he was placed on administrative leave last spring pending completion of an investigation. What his relationship with the church is now is not clear. The church’s website does not list any staff members, and the last time Queen appears to have preached there was May 19.
Related articles:
Former seminary administrator pleads not guilty, is placed on leave by his NC church
Former Southwestern administrator indicted for falsifying sexual abuse records
