Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee releases once-secret list of accused abusers

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - The Southern Baptist convention released a once-secret list of credibly accused sexual abusers. It’s over 200 pages long with more than 700 names.

Buried in those pages are 33 leaders from Alabama and at least three from the Tennessee Valley.

The most recent case was in 2018 when the former children’s minister of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Hazel Green, James McNeal, was convicted of two felony sex offenses in 2018. Out of the Shoals, Charles Adcock was the youth minister and worship pastor for Woodward Avenue Baptist Church. In 2016, he was charged with 29 counts of rape against a teenage girl.

Lastly, John Anderson Jr., the former preacher from Hartselle Baptist pled guilty to sexually abusing a child under 12 in 2002.

Representatives with the organization Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) have their concerns about this list.

“They need to do more because if they truly wanted to make this list useful,” said Mike McDonnell, the SNAP Communications Director. “They would need to turn over every document they have to secular authorities, to law enforcement, so it could be truly investigated or reinvestigated in some cases.”

The list is mainly people who have already been charged with crimes between 2000 and 2019. This does not include allegations that did not lead to an arrest.

According to NBC, the list comes after a damning report on how the denomination’s leadership handled alleged sexual abuse over the last 20 years. The probe found the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee mishandled abuse claims and stonewalled survivors.

“I think the list that was released was something they had to do and had to do immediately,” said McDonnell. “While it may appear to be a great step forward by the Southern Baptist Executive Committee I believe there is a lot more work to be done.”

If you were assaulted by a religious leader, you can contact SNAP at 877-762-7432 for help. Here are other SNAP resources.

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