“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Ephesians 5:11 (ESV)
While this database was inspired by SBC abuse, we have opened it to include Baptists of all flavors, not just SBC. If a perpetrator has any ties to a Baptist church or organization of any kind, you may submit them here.
This site is designed for a very simple purpose:
1. To protect children from abuse.
The action and behavior of abusers directly affects children – that is, anyone under the age of 18. Grooming sets children up for exploitation from predators. Grooming also positions children to be vulnerable to future grooming and exploitation. Victims of abuse often spend a lifetime trying to sort through complex mental, emotional and physical trauma as a direct result of abusers. This has to stop!
2. To protect adults from abuse.
The action and behavior of abusers directly affects men, women, congregants, parents, the elderly, and… well it affects EVERYONE. Grooming affects the entire community by positioning people so as to serve the wicked wants & needs of the abuser. It also positions people so as to be more vulnerable to future grooming and exploitation. This abuse wrecks entire church communities. Abusers move on from church to church, checking the figurative door knob, looking for unlocked doors and gullible communities that they can exploit. This process of exploitation is simplified if a congregation has already been groomed by a past abuser. This has to stop!
3. To show that it’s just not that hard.
Again and again we’ve been told that the Southern Baptist Convention takes this issue seriously. But if you take something seriously, it causes you to ACT. Pioneers of abuse within religious organizations have been calling for action for many many years. It’s time for someone to stand up and say “ENOUGH” and to ACT. The Southern Baptist Convention has had more than enough time to ACT by creating a database which tracks abusers and enablers within its ranks. To their shame, the Southern Baptist Convention has still not done so. This site is a testimony that it really is not that hard to ACT. It only takes one single person to stand up for what is right. The lives of children and congregations are at stake here. Will you ACT?
Definitions
Much research has been provided by RAINN (https://www.rainn.org/) and GRACE (https://www.netgrace.org/) regarding abuse. We are grateful for their hard work and research, and have based many of our definitions and terms below on their publicly available research.
For the purpose of this website, we have defined these terms:
1. Abuser:
a) Convicted of sexual abuse or sexual misconduct.
b) Accused of sexual abuse or sexual misconduct.
c) Convicted of financial abuse or financial misconduct.
d) Accused of financial abuse or financial misconduct.
e) Convicted of physical abuse or physical misconduct.
f) Accused of physical abuse or physical misconduct.
g) Accused of any other type of abuse or misconduct that has harmed or potentially could have harmed others (for example, driving while intoxicated, spiritual abuse, emotional abuse, grooming, etc.).
2. Abuse-enablers:
Individuals in positions of leadership who were made aware of allegations of abuse within their ranks, and made the decision to:
a) protect the abuser by letting them remain.
b) protect the abuser by sending them somewhere else.
c) protect the institution at the expense of survivors.
d) protect the enablers at the expense of survivors.
e) not immediately report abusers to authorities when they were made aware of a potential crime.
f) not display full transparency in their actions or communications regarding allegations of misconduct.
3. Survivor:
“A survivor is any individual (regardless of age or gender) who is a victim of misconduct.” *
4. Misconduct:
“Misconduct is defined as any verbal, nonverbal and/or physical acts of an immoral, indecent, or sexual nature that are
1) unwelcome, or
2) performed without consent, or
3) committed by one in a position of authority upon a subordinate.”*
5. Consent:
“Consent is an agreement between participants to engage in sexual activity. Consent should be clearly and freely communicated.”**
“‘Without consent’ means that consent is not freely given or obtained, and is accomplished through force, intimidation, violence, manipulation, coercion, threat, deception, or misuse of authority or power.
Any person who is mentally or physically incapacitated is incapable of providing consent.”*
Integrity
We care about the integrity of this site! This site relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact us and we will gladly correct it. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Sources:
* is from GRACE Independent Investigation of Eric Dudley, as published on https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/11/26/read-full-report-investigation-eric-dudley-document/4306730002/
** is from RAINN website on consent, as published on https://www.rainn.org/articles/what-is-consent