Southern Baptist Convention sex abuse report: 44 women made allegations against Jacksonville pastor

The WJXT 4 Morning Team has your latest news and information to start your day, your local forecast and traffic reports.LIVEBrie Isom, ReporterDeepa Bharath, Associated Press Published: May 24, 2022, 9:01 PMUpdated: May 25, 2022, 5:28 AMBrie Isom, ReporterDeepa Bharath, Associated Press Top administrative leaders for the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America, said Tuesday that they will release a secret list of hundreds of pastors and other church-affiliated personnel accused of sexual abuse.An attorney for the SBC’s Executive Committee announced the decision during a virtual meeting called in response to a scathing investigative report detailing how the committee mishandled allegations of sex abuse and stonewalled numerous survivors. The existence of the list was not widely known within the committee and its staff.“Despite collecting these reports for more than 10 years, there is no indication that (Oldham and Boto) or anyone else, took any action to ensure that the accused ministers were no longer in positions of power at SBC churches,” the report said.Boto joined the Executive Committee in 1995 and became executive vice president and general counsel in 2007.On Tuesday, the committee released a statement singling out and denouncing Boto’s words written in a communication to survivors and their advocates on Sept. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Top Southern Baptists stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades, according to a scathing investigative report issued Sunday.Southern Baptist leaders say they will release a secret list of hundreds of pastors and church-affiliated staff members accused of sexual abuse.Brie Isom joined the News4JAX team in January 2021 after spending three years covering news in South Bend, Indiana.