Expenses related to sexual abuse investigations in the Southern Baptist Convention since 2021 have cost the denomination almost $13 million thus far, according to a recent report.
SBC Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg said at a meeting last month that, as of Christmas Eve 2024, about $13 million has been spent on abuse investigations and legal costs related to said investigations since 2021, reports Baptist Press, the official news organ of the SBC.
According to Iorg, the SBC EC is looking to secure a $3 million loan to help pay for the legal costs that occurred during the present fiscal year.
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At last month’s Executvie Committee meeting, members approved a 2025-26 budget, which includes a $3 million allocation centered on legal fees. The approved budget still needs to pass at the SBC Annual Meeting in June, reports BP.
The approximately $13 million in expenses included $3.1 million for the Guidepost Solutions investigation, which culminated in the release of a highly-publicized report in 2022 detailing how some SBC leaders allegedly mistreated victims of abuse and had mishandled allegations.
Another $3.45 million was spent on the indemnification of Guidepost, as well as $2.4 million for litigation, $861,000 for the creation of an abuse hotline, $545,000 for general counsel and $131,000 for legal support post-investigation.
Additionally, approximately $2 million was spent as part of the U.S. Department of Justice investigation of the SBC, which recently closed. Federal authorities did not file any abuse-related charges.
“Earlier today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York informed us that the investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention and Executive Committee has officially concluded,” said SBC attorneys Gene Besen and Scarlett Nokes in a statement last week.
“We are pleased that the matter has been resolved without any charges or further expense against the Executive Committee or other SBC entities. It has been an honor to represent and support the Convention and the EC throughout this process.”
While the DOJ filed no sexual abuse-related charges against the SBC, authorities did charge former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Professor Matthew Queen with lying to investigators.
Queen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months of home confinement, during which he cannot leave his domicile except to get medical care or with permission from his probation officer.
Last September, it was reported that the SBC is going to sell its headquarters in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, in part to help pay for the expenses tied to the abuse investigation.
The seven-story building was last appraised in 2021 at approximately $31.7 million. The SBC had spent around $8 million to construct the building during the 1980s.
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