Editor’s note: Names of some survivors are omitted to respect their privacy. Since the exposure of sex abuser Pete Newman at Kanakuk Kamps in 2009, a growing community of child sex abuse survivors and justice advocates has formed. In interviews…
Arkansas pastor resigns after months of dissension over mishandling child sexual abuse cases
After a months-long saga of media coverage, internal infighting and an exodus of members and deacons, Pastor Steven Smith of Immanuel Baptist Church of Little Rock, Ark. tendered his resignation via a letter to his congregation last night. As previously…
Arkansas governor calls for Board of Corrections member to resign after being named in multiple civil complaints about child sexual abuse
Alonza Jiles has declined to resign from his position on the Arkansas’ Board of Corrections despite being called to do so by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Sanders urged Jiles to resign because he has been named by multiple survivors of…
Bill on statute of limitations reform passes out of Missouri House committee unanimously for the second time
For the second year in a row, a bill proposed by Missouri House Rep. Brian Seitz (R) aiming to reform the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse has been unanimously approved by a committee in the House…
Eight more former residents of the Lord’s Ranch come forward about alleged sexual abuse
Note: This article includes descriptions of child sexual abuse. Eight more former residents of the Lord’s Ranch residential treatment facility in Warm Springs, Ark., have come forward in a multi-plaintiff lawsuit filed by the Romanucci and Blandin and Gillispie Law…
Arizona judge rules church leaders are not responsible for reporting sexual abuse
Should religious leaders be held responsible for disclosing to law enforcement knowledge that church members are committing acts of sexual abuse? On Friday, Arizona Judge Timothy Dickerson answered no. Dickerson’s end-of-week ruling dismissed a high-profile child sexual abuse lawsuit against…
SBC leadership group reserves judgment about churches named in media reports about abuse
A Southern Baptist Convention leadership group announced on Saturday it has cleared seven of 10 churches called out by SBC President J.D. Greear for possible “wanton disregard” of sexual abuse.
Former staffer at SBC megachurch charged with child sex crime
A former children’s minister at a Southern Baptist megachurch in Texas has been indicted and is being prosecuted for indecency with a child stemming from allegations involving a minor at a church youth camp in 2012. Matthew David Tonne, 35,…
Church volunteer charged with child sex abuse has worked with kids before
Before volunteering to work with children at NewSpring Church in North Charleston, South Carolina, Jake Hazlett frequented other multi-site megachurches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention that don’t include the word “Baptist” in their name.