Second alleged sexual abuse case at Broadmoor Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, under criminal investigation

A state law enforcement agency has opened a criminal investigation into a reported sexual abuse case at Broadmoor Baptist Church that is said to have occurred in the early 1990s. The alleged abuse involved a minor and a youth pastor. The church had first disclosed a separate case in a public letter to its congregation in 2022.

That letter described abuse reportedly committed against a former female member, who was a minor in the church’s youth group in the early 1980s, by a former youth pastor. According to the source, Broadmoor hired David Ingram as youth pastor in 1982, when he was 28, and he held the post until the spring of 1988. Reports show that Ingram remained involved at the church and with the youth group after leaving the position.

A 73-page investigation report from Guidepost Solutions, an outside firm the church hired to investigate, states that the unidentified woman was allegedly groomed by Ingram beginning at about age 12, during private spiritual counseling sessions. The report says Ingram allegedly gave her gifts and notes and drove her home alone. According to the findings, the relationship became increasingly sexual between her seventh and twelfth grade years, and Ingram reportedly later told her he loved her and spoke of leaving his wife. The victim ended the relationship in 1988. She says she suffered severe depression and shame during that period. Ingram left the ministry that year to pursue a career in real estate but stayed an active member at Broadmoor and helped with the youth group, including by hosting Bible studies in his home.

The woman reportedly came to understand that the relationship was inappropriate and abusive after she left for college. She then told other church pastors, trusted friends, her parents and her husband. According to the source, Ingram was hired as a pastor again at Tinsley Baptist Church in Yazoo County in 2010. Broadmoor hired Guidepost in 2022, when current leaders became aware of the allegations. The church’s full response is detailed in the report.

During Guidepost’s work, investigators uncovered a second reported case at Broadmoor, which is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI). According to the report, this alleged abuse occurred in the early 1990s and involved a different victim and a different staff member. The second woman says she was sexually assaulted at a local waterpark at age 12 by someone unrelated to Broadmoor. She later began attending the church’s youth group, where she disclosed the assault to the youth pastor. He reportedly accused her of lying, saying she would appear “more upset if a sexual assault had actually occurred.”

She continued attending church events and met a 20-year-old recreation assistant, who reportedly helped hide her in the gym to avoid youth group. A relationship between them is said to have developed. The victim reports that the recreation assistant sexually abused her at age 13. She was asked to leave Broadmoor by a youth group volunteer at age 14, after the relationship was discovered. The man reportedly left the church after being confronted with the allegations. Guidepost said its investigation into the second case was limited out of respect for the MBI investigation.

In response to an inquiry from SuperTalk Mississippi News, Bailey Martin of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety said the MBI “is conducting an investigation into a past incident that occurred at Broadmoor Baptist Church” and that, because the investigation is ongoing, no further comment would be made. The source notes that the alleged abuse occurred when Broadmoor was located in Jackson, and that the church has since relocated to Madison.

The church’s statement said Broadmoor “has made a limited disclosure of the allegations consistent with our policies concerning reports of sexual abuse,” and that it had been informed of an ongoing police investigation. The church said it “welcome[s] any assistance by the public to provide any information concerning these allegations,” an invitation to honest dealing (Proverbs 11:1).

Source: Read the original report