Was Jason Thomas Listed in SBC Abuse Investigation Report?
Jason Thomas worked as an associate worship minister at Valley Ranch Baptist Church (VRBC) in Coppell, Texas. He was arrested on February 10, 2020, and charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 that occurred prior to his employment at VRBC in 2005, despite the fact that his background check in 2005 was clean. He was fired from his church position.
List of Southern Baptist Abusers
According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was released on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The report contains scary new information relating to certain abuse instances and sheds light on how denominational authorities actively disapproved abuse avoidance and reform for years.
Southern Baptist Convention leaders have announced an extensive and independent 3rd party examination that discovered that abusers were often ignored, forgotten, or perhaps criticized by high-level church authorities from within this religious denomination of larger than 16 million individuals. Furthermore, it showed these leaders typically lied to their very own members to avoid them from knowing the widespread sexual misconduct.
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A Story of Disregarded Misconduct
For almost twenty years, survivors who were sexually assaulted tried to reach out to the administration of the Southern Baptist Convention with regards to the pastors and church employees. Nearly all of these disclosed events fell outside of the statutes of limitations, making it uncertain just how many sexual abusers were in fact charged. According to the document, an in-house list was kept. Nonetheless, abuse survivors’ cries for fair treatment went unheeded as leaders from churches and organizations attempted to protect themselves instead of those who have been victimized by sexual abuse.
The report alleges that a key Southern Baptist leader was credibly accused of sexual assault merely one calendar month after finishing his two-year term as the convention’s president. The report also names three prior presidents of the SBC, a previous vice president, and the previous head of the SBC’s administrative arm as well-known SBC leaders who aided in covering and even encouraged thought abusers.
One victim detailed being treated with hostility as she claimed she was sexually assaulted by a youth pastor. The accused pastor served in several Southern Baptist churches in numerous states. During a meeting with the SBC leaders in 2007, a member of the Executive Committee “turned his back to her during her speech and another chortled.”
Accountability in the Southern Baptist Church
Russell Moore, the former head of the SBC’s policy branch, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, mentioned ‘this is not all Southern Baptists, take a look at all the good we do.’ The report demonstrates a trend of stonewalling, intimidation, retaliation, and coverup.” He hopes this report will bring much-needed change and hold those responsible for their actions.
For more information about resources available to sexual abuse survivors in Texas, visit this link: https://abuseguardian.com/sexual-assault-lawyer/texas/sex-trauma-therapist-tx/
Abuse Guardian for Texas
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