Was Samuel A. Sutter Listed on SBC Abuse Investigation List?
Samuel A. Sutter, the youth pastor at Openwater Church in Odessa, Florida, pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious battery, unlawful sexual activity with a minor, and using a computer to solicit illegal acts. According to records, he was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2017 and is currently incarcerated in Florida, as well as being ordered to register as a sex offender.
SBC Guidepost Report Names
According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was launched on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The report contains terrible new details relating to specific abuse instances and sheds light on how denominational authorities actively fought abuse prevention and change for years.
Southern Baptist Convention leaders have revealed a comprehensive and independent third-party examination that revealed that abusers were typically ignored, forgotten, or perhaps condemned by high-ranking church administrators from within this religious denomination of larger than 16 million individuals. Additionally, it uncovered these leaders frequently lied to their own members to stop them from knowing the prevalent sexual assaults.
Read more about the SBC Guidepost Report Names
A Record of Overlooked Misconduct
Almost all of these reported events fell outside of the statutes of limitations, making it uncertain how many abusers were really charged. According to the report, an internal list of abusers was kept.
The report declares that a key 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 SBC, a former vice president, and the former head of the SBC’s administrative arm as noted SBC leaders who assisted in covering up for and even encouraged thought abusers.
One victim described being treated with hostility as she alleged she was sexually assaulted by a youth pastor. The implicated pastor served in numerous Southern Baptist churches in numerous states. During 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 previous head of the SBC’s policy arm, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, specified ‘this is not all Southern Baptists, take a look at all the good we do.’ The bombshell report shows a trend of stonewalling, intimidation, retaliation, and coverup.” He anticipates this document will bring much-needed reform and hold those responsible for their sexual abuse.
He desires this report will be the catalyst for much-needed change and hold those accountable for their misconduct.
For more information about resources available to survivors in Florida, visit our page: https://abuseguardian.com/sexual-assault-lawyer/florida/sex-trauma-therapist-fl/
Abuse Guardian for Florida
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