Ricardo Javier Pena Named in Southern Baptist Abuse Database

Was Ricardo Javier Pena Listed in SBC Abuse Report?

Ricardo Javier Pena, a pastor at Houston’s Doverside Baptist Church, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child under the age of 14. Over a two-year period, he was accused of sexually abusing two of his granddaughters when they were about six or seven years old. He was found guilty of both charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison for each, with the sentences to run concurrently. On December 3, 2015, an opinion was issued in which they upheld the trial court’s decision.

List of Southern Baptist Abusers

According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was launched on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The file includes terrible new specifics regarding particular abuse instances and clarify how denominational authorities actively opposed abuse avoidance and reform for many years.

Southern Baptist Convention leaders have actually announced a substantial and independent third-party examination that discovered that abusers were often neglected, forgotten, or perhaps condemned by high-ranking church leaders from within this religious denomination of greater than 16 million members. Moreover, it showed these leaders typically lied to their own members to avoid them from knowing the rampant sexual wrongdoing.

Continue reading more about the bombshell List of Southern Baptist Abusers

A Story of Disregarded Abuse

Almost all of these disclosed events occurred outside of the statute of limitations, making it uncertain how many predators were really charged. According to the report, a secret list of abusers was kept.

The report stated that an essential Southern Baptist leader was credibly implicated of sexual abuse only 1 calendar month after completing 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 former head of the SBC’s administrative arm as renowned SBC leaders who aided in covering for and even encouraged presumed abusers.

One victim described being treated with hostility as she alleged she was sexually abused by a youth pastor. The accused pastor served in multiple Southern Baptist churches in numerous states. During a meeting with the SBC leaders in 2007, a member of the Exec Board “turned his back to her during her speech and another chortled.”

Responsibility in the SBC

Russell Moore, the previous head of the SBC’s policy branch, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, stated ‘this is not all Southern Baptists, look at all the good we do.’ The Report demonstrates a pattern of stonewalling, retaliation, coverup, and intimidation.” He anticipates this document will deliver much-needed change and hold those liable for their actions.

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