Southern Baptist leaders release secret accused abuser list

(AP) — Top Southern Baptists have released a previously secret list of hundreds of pastors and other church-affiliated personnel accused of sexual abuse.

FILE – This Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 file photo shows the headquarters of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tenn. Leaders of the SBC, America’s largest Protestant denomination, stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades while seeking to protect their own reputations, according to a scathing 288-page investigative report issued Sunday, May 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

The 205-page database includes both visible and redacted entries.

Survivors and advocates have long called for a public database of abusers.

The publication of the list was a response by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee to an explosive investigation into the committee’s mishandling of sex abuse reports and mistreatment of survivors.

Independent firm Guidepost Solution’s bombshell report revealed the existence of the private list.

Executive Committee leaders called making the list public an important first step toward addressing sex abuse and implementing reforms in the SBC.

To view the list, click here.

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