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Was William Murray Hendricks Jr. Named in SBC List of Abusers?

Clay Hill Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida was pastored by William Murray Hendricks Jr. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl. He is on the Florida Sex Offenders Registry.

Southern Baptist Convention Sexual Abuse Helpline

SBC Investigation Report

According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was launched on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The file consists of horrible new information relating to particular abuse occurrences and sheds light on how denominational authorities actively disapproved abuse avoidance and reform for many years.

Southern Baptist Convention leaders have actually announced a substantial and independent 3rd party investigation that uncovered that abusers were typically disregarded, forgotten, or perhaps admonished by upper-level church administrators from within this religious denomination of greater than 16 million members. In addition, it showed these leaders typically deceived their very own members to avoid them from understanding the widespread sexual misbehavior.

Continue reading about the SBC Investigation Report

A Story of Dismissed Misconduct

Practically all of these reported incidents occurred outside of the statute of limitations, making it unclear how many predators were actually charged. According to the report, an in-house list of abusers was kept.

One victim recounted being treated with hostility as she claimed she was sexually assaulted by a youth pastor. The implicated pastor served in multiple Southern Baptist churches in numerous states. During a conference with the SBC leaders in 2007, a member of the Executive Committee “turned his back to her during her speech and another chortled.”

Responsibility in the Baptist Church

Russell Moore, the previous 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 Report demonstrates a pattern of stonewalling, intimidation, retaliation, and coverup.” He hopes this report will bring much-needed change and hold those responsible for their misconduct.

The document claims that a principal Southern Baptist leader was credibly implicated of sexual assault no more than one month after finishing his two-year term as the convention’s president. The report also names 3 prior presidents of the convention, a former vice president, and the former head of the SBC’s administrative arm as renoun SBC leaders who aided in protecting and even motivated thought sexual predators.

He wishes this report will be the catalyst for much-needed change and hold those accountable for their misconduct.

For more information about sexual abuse cases in Jacksonville, Florida, visit this link: https://abuseguardian.com/sexual-assault-lawyer/florida/sexual-abuse-lawyer-jacksonville-fl/

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