Southern Baptist Convention Leader Augie Boto Center of Alleged Sexual Abuse Cover-Up Investigation

August “Augie” Boto, a central figure in the alleged cover-up of known sexual abuse within Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) churches, has remained largely absent from historical records until recently. His name has gained prominence due to his role in what some describe as a systemic failure to address abuse cases within SBC institutions. Prior to this, Boto was a largely unknown yet influential figure within the SBC, holding significant positions of power.

A lifelong Southern Baptist, Boto’s faith journey began at age 7 when he was baptized at Magnolia Baptist Church in Riverside, Calif., where his grandfather served as pastor. His family later moved to Dallas, where they became long-time members of First Baptist Church, under the pastorate of W.A. Criswell. Boto pursued higher education in Waco, earning a bachelor of business administration and a law degree from Baylor University.

As a young lawyer, Boto was present in 1980 at First Baptist, Dallas, for one of the early meetings of fundamentalists plotting to take control of the SBC. At that time, Paige Patterson and Paul Pressler were co-architects of the so-called “conservative resurgence.” Boto was enlisted to help get out the vote in North Texas for the conservative SBC movement, according to a report in the Baptist Standard.

While aiding the conservative cause through his church, Boto pursued a multifaceted career. He became a partner in a Dallas law firm, an independent trader on the Chicago Board of Trade, and served as Cooke County Attorney in Gainesville, Texas, for six years. In 1985, he moved to Austin, where he became administrative counsel for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. He also became active at Hyde Park Baptist Church, where Ralph Smith was pastor.

It was in Austin that Boto overlapped with Harold Riley, a wealthy businessman who later created a private foundation to benefit Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Baylor University. That connection would become pivotal to Boto’s life story three decades later.

Three years after moving to Austin, while still serving as a trustee, Boto was elected vice president of convention policy and staff counsel. He filled an opening created by the retirement of Ernest Mosley, longtime No. 2 at the Executive Committee. Boto’s rise within the SBC’s leadership structure marked the beginning of a career that would eventually place him at the center of allegations involving the concealment of sexual abuse.

Source: Read the original report