Was Larry Edward Elliott Named in Southern Baptist List of Abusers?
Larry Edward Elliott, a Baptist Pastor in the Boone area for 20 years, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 15-year-old student and was sentenced to two years in prison. He’s on the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry.
Southern Baptist Abuse Database
According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was launched on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The file includes horrible brand-new information relating to particular abuse occurrences and sheds light on how denominational officials actively fought abuse prevention and reform for years.
Southern Baptist Convention leaders have actually announced an extensive and independent 3rd party investigation that discovered that abusers were frequently ignored, forgotten, and even criticized by upper-level church leaders from within this religious denomination of greater than 16 million members. Additionally, it exposed these leaders typically lied to their very own members to keep them from knowing the unchecked sexual misconduct.
Continue reading more about the Southern Baptist Abuse Database
A Past of Ignored Mishandling
For almost 2 decades, survivors who were sexually assaulted attempted to reach out to the administration of the “SBC” with regards to the ministers and church staff members. Almost all of these disclosed occurrences fell beyond the statutes of limitations, making it unclear the number of sexual abusers were in fact charged. According to the document, a super secret record was kept. Victims’ cries for accountability went overlooked as officials from churches and companies attempted to safeguard themselves rather than those who have been taken advantage of by sexual abuse.
The report asserts that a key Convention leader was credibly implicated of sexual assault only one month after finishing his two-year stretch as the convention’s president. Additionally, Johnny Hunt, a popular Georgia Southern Baptist preacher and senior vice president of the SBC’s objectives arm, was credibly accused of abusing a fellow congregant during a 2010 vacation in Panama City Beach, FL. The North American Mission Board president claimed he was unaware of the allegations prior to Hunt resigning on May thirteenth. The report also identifies 3 prior presidents of the convention, a former vice president, and the former head of the SBC’s administrative arm as prominent SBC leaders who aided in covering and even encouraged suspected abusers.
One victim described being treated with animosity as she alleged she was sexually abused by a youth pastor. The accused pastor served in numerous Southern Baptist churches in several states. At a meeting with the SBC leaders in 2007, a member of the Executive Board “turned his back to her during her speech and another chortled.”
Responsibility in the Southern Baptist Convention
Russell Moore, the previous head of the SBC’s policy branch, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, specified ‘this is not all Southern Baptists, look at all the good we do.’ The bombshell report demonstrates a pattern of stonewalling, retaliation, intimidation, and coverup.” He anticipates this document will bring much-needed reform and hold those liable for their horrific actions.
The report states that a principal Southern Baptist leader was credibly implicated of sexual abuse no more than one month after finishing his two-year spell as the convention’s president. The report also names three previous presidents of the convention, a former vice president, and the previous head of the SBC’s administrative branch as notable SBC leaders who helped in covering up and also motivated thought abusers.
He desires this report will instigate much-needed reform and hold those accountable for their horrific acts of abuse.
To learn more about resources available for survivors in North Carolina, visit this page: https://abuseguardian.com/sexual-assault-lawyer/north-carolina/sex-trafficking-lawyer-nc/
Abuse Guardian for North Carolina
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