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Ruven Meulenberg Named in Southern Baptist Abuse Database
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Was Ruven Meulenberg Listed in SBC Guidepost Abuse Report?

Ruven Meulenberg, a volunteer/youth mentor at Lake Forest’s Saddleback Church, was convicted of four felony counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s office, his sentencing is scheduled for January 2019. Victims were children he met as a church volunteer youth mentor.

Southern Baptist Convention Sexual Abuse Helpline

Southern Baptist Convention News

According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was launched on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The file includes scary brand-new details relating to particular abuse circumstances and sheds light on how denominational authorities actively fought abuse prevention and change for many years.

Southern Baptist Convention leaders have revealed an extensive and independent 3rd party examination that revealed that abusers were often overlooked, forgotten, or perhaps admonished by upper-level congregation representatives from within this religious denomination of more than 16 million individuals. Moreover, it uncovered these leaders often deceived their own members to keep them from understanding the rampant sexual abuses.

Continue reading about the groundbreaking Southern Baptist Convention News

A Past of Dismissed Mishandling

Nearly all of these reported events fell outside of the statute of limitations, making it uncertain how many predators were in fact charged. According to the report, a secret list was kept.

The report alleges that a crucial Southern Baptist leader was credibly implicated of sexual abuse merely one calendar month after finishing his two-year term as the convention’s president. The report likewise names three previous presidents of the convention, a former vice president, and the previous head of the SBC’s administrative arm as noted SBC leaders who aided in covering and even encouraged believed abusers.

One victim detailed being treated with hostility as she alleged she was sexually abused by a youth pastor. The accused pastor served in numerous Southern Baptist churches in numerous states. At a meeting with the SBC leaders in 2007, a member of the Exec 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 arm, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, mentioned ‘this is not all Southern Baptists, take a look at all the good we do.’ The bombshell report shows a pattern of stonewalling, intimidation, coverup, and retaliation.” He desires this report will deliver much-needed change and hold those accountable for their actions.

To learn more about resources available for survivors in California, visit this page: https://abuseguardian.com/sexual-assault-lawyer/california/sex-trauma-therapist-ca/

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