Exhibit 489 ยท Independent investigation report
Report of the Independent Investigation: The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee's Response to Sexual Abuse Allegations and an Audit of the Procedures and Actions of the Credentials Committee
a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC's response to these reports of abuse. They closely guarded information about abuse allegations and lawsuits, which were not shared with EC Trustees, and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC to the exclusion of other considerations.
288-page investigation of January 2000 to June 2021, about 330 interviews and over five terabytes of data. Finds a few senior Executive Committee leaders and outside counsel controlled the response and focused on avoiding liability; counsel advised staff not to elicit further information so the Committee would not assume a legal duty; a staff member kept a list of accused ministers from 2007 (latest version 703 names, 409 believed SBC-affiliated) with no action taken; a 2007 database proposal was rejected in 2008. Of the list, investigators found nine in active ministry or connected to ministry, two apparently with SBC churches. Copy is a Baptist state paper's host; sbc.net copy to be located.
- Source
- Guidepost Solutions, for the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force
- Date
- 22 May 2022 (cover dated 15 May 2022)
- Quoted from
- Executive Summary, p. 3
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://thebaptistpaper.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/GuidepostSolutionsIndependentInvestigationReport.pdf
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit