Southern Baptist Convention Faces National Lawsuit Alleging Abuse Cover-Ups, Including a Fountain, Colorado, Church Case

A national lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Tennessee alleges that the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) covered up decades of abuse by its pastors and employees, including one case in Fountain, Colorado. The suit includes six alleged victims of abuse by pastors or employees at SBC churches across the country, from Illinois to Alabama. According to the victims’ attorney, Hunter Shkolnik, the allegations date back decades and are only now coming to light after years of cover-up by the SBC.

One of the alleged victims attended Fountain Valley Baptist Church in Fountain as a child in the 1980s. The lawsuit claims that the pastor at the time, Charles Griffen, sexually abused her, and that the abuse continued for five years, from ages 13 to 18. The suit also alleges that the SBC “maliciously and systematically engaged in covering up and concealing instances of sexual abuse by the church members and employees.” Shkolnik described the approach this way: “You don’t talk about it, you repress it. You keep the young people quiet. You don’t acknowledge it and you deny, deny, deny.”

The lawsuit cites a 2019 investigation by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News, and an independent investigation by Guidepost Solutions in 2022, both of which it says uncovered widespread sexual abuse and a system to suppress victims. The suit states there have been 200 criminal cases and 700 victims over 20 years involving people who worked or volunteered at SBC churches. It further claims that registered sex offenders were allowed to remain at churches, and that churches did not disclose complaints to law enforcement, “shunned victims,” and “urged victims to forgive abusers in an effort to conceal the abuse.”

The lawsuit also quotes an internal SBC investigation as finding that “survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its policy regarding church autonomy.” Shkolnik said the organization’s leaders wanted “to stay in power, stay in control,” and argued that officials who heard of the problems chose to keep the institution viable rather than address them.

According to the lawsuit, the Fountain victim has bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress reactions, and an inability to form close personal relationships with men, and has been unable to maintain gainful employment, all of which the suit attributes to the alleged abuse. The lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages. Shkolnik said the victims want the SBC to change so that no further abuses are “swept under the rug.”

Robert Tallman is the current pastor of Fountain Valley Baptist Church. He said he was not at the church during the alleged abuses more than 40 years ago, but wishes they could be prevented. “We can’t change the past,” Tallman said. “We wish we could go back 10, 20, 30, 40 years and change the past, but we can’t. But we can be responsible for our actions today.” He said the church now has policies including background checks for every adult who works with children and a reporting policy with law enforcement for anyone who says they have been abused or feels unsafe, a practice that reflects a commitment to protecting the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

Tallman said the congregation aims to be “a place where people can trust that we will always, to the best of our ability, provide care and support and do the right thing.”