Was Sergio Bezerra Listed in the Southern Baptist Abuse Investigation Report?
Sergio David Bezerra, a piano instructor at Waco Baptist Academy, was found guilty of sexually abusing two 9-year-old students in 2007. His sentence included the maximum penalty of 80 years in prison on four counts of indecency with a child via touch.
List of Southern Baptist Abusers
According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was released on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The document contains scary new information regarding specific abuse instances and sheds light on how denominational officials actively fought abuse avoidance and reform for many years.
Southern Baptist Convention leaders have actually announced an extensive and independent third-party investigation that discovered that abusers were frequently disregarded, forgotten, and even denounced by high-level church administrators from within this religious denomination of larger than 16 million individuals. In addition, it revealed these leaders frequently deceived their own members to prevent them from being aware of the rampant sexual wrongdoing.
Click to read more about the List of Southern Baptist Abusers.
A History of Disregarded Mishandling
Almost all of these disclosed incidents fell outside of the statutes of limitations, making it uncertain how many abusers were really charged. According to the report, a secret list of abusers was kept.
The report asserts that a key Convention official was credibly implicated of sexual assault only 1 month after finishing his two-year duration as the convention’s president. Furthermore, Johnny Hunt, a well-known Georgia Southern Baptist preacher and senior vice president of the SBC’s objectives arm, was credibly accused of abusing a female during a 2010 trip in Panama City Beach, FL. The North American Mission Board president claimed he was uninformed of the accusations prior to Hunt resigning on May thirteenth. The report also identifies 3 previous presidents of the convention, a previous vice president, and the previous head of the SBC’s administrative arm as prominent SBC leaders who assisted in covering up for and even motivated suspected abusers.
One victim outlined being treated with animosity as she claimed she was sexually abused by a youth pastor. The implicated pastor served in several Southern Baptist churches in a number of states. At a conference with the SBC leaders in 2007, a member of the Exec Committee “turned his back to her during her speech and another chortled.”
Holding the SBC Accountable
The report alleges that a key Southern Baptist official was credibly accused of sexual abuse only one month after completing his two-year stretch as the convention’s president. The report also names 3 prior presidents of the convention, a previous vice president, and the former head of the SBC’s administrative branch as renowned SBC leaders who aided in covering up and also motivated believed, sexual abusers.
He desires this report will be the catalyst for much-needed reform and hold those accountable for their actions.
To learn more about information and resources available to survivors of sexual abuse in Texas, read our page: https://abuseguardian.com/sexual-assault-lawyer/texas/sex-trauma-therapist-tx/
Abuse Guardian for Texas
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