Image credit: First Baptist Church Dallas. (2024, November 11). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Baptist_Church_Dallas
First Baptist Dallas, a prominent Texas megachurch led by Senior Pastor Robert Jeffress, faces a $1 million lawsuit related to its handling of alleged sexual abuse during a 2022 youth mission trip to San Diego,
Stephanie Martin of Church Leaders reported today.
The lawsuit, filed on November 11 in Dallas County by the father of the alleged victim, names the church and two pastors—Ryland Whitehorn, executive pastor of ministries, and Alan Lynch, minister of pastoral care and counseling—as defendants.
Allegations Against First Baptist Dallas
The lawsuit claims that the church failed to protect the plaintiff’s son, identified as D.R., during the trip. On the final night, a 10th-grade participant allegedly assaulted D.R. in a hotel room. Two months later, the suit alleges, church employees intimidated the victim and pressured his family into silence.
The father is suing for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy. According to the attorney for the plaintiff, both D.R. and his family have been “traumatized by the abuse and the aftermath.” The attorney noted that the family had loved their life at First Baptist before the incidents and called the San Diego trip allegations “especially egregious” due to the victim’s prior experience of being threatened with a knife on a separate church trip to New Mexico just a month earlier.
Details of the Allegations
The lawsuit states that D.R.’s parents were initially reluctant to let him attend the San Diego trip, but church leaders assured them of the group’s safety measures. However, on the trip’s final night, the youth reportedly had no curfew, with only a rule prohibiting members of the opposite sex from being in the same room. D.R. was allegedly allowed to stay in a hotel room with 10th-grade boys, where the group watched an R-rated, sexually explicit movie before the assault occurred.
The next day, another participant reportedly told D.R. to remain silent about the incident. Fearing shame and punishment, D.R. did not report the assault. Two months later, church staff allegedly accused D.R. of watching pornography and masturbating with other boys. The lawsuit claims Alan Lynch attempted to intimidate and confuse the victim, telling him he needed forgiveness from First Baptist and threatening to contact the police.
When D.R.’s mother followed up, Lynch allegedly downplayed the incident as non-coercive and assured her that the victim and perpetrator would be kept apart. The family claims Lynch continued to pressure them into silence, and church staff failed to provide a policy on handling abuse, stating that no such procedure existed.
The Church’s Response
First Baptist Dallas denied any wrongdoing in a statement to ChurchLeaders, asserting that it had reported the incident to law enforcement, which determined the activity was consensual and closed the case. “Immediately upon learning of the subject allegation, it was reported to the necessary applicable law enforcement agencies. After extensive investigations, including interviews with eyewitnesses, each law enforcement agency indicated this was consensual sexual activity [between two male teenage parishioners] and closed any and all respective cases,” the church stated.
The attorney refuted the church’s claim, stating that it was inconsistent with what the victim reported to staff, and criticized church leaders for failing to supervise properly and for leaving the victim alone with the alleged perpetrator, who reportedly had a history of abusive behavior. “Despite repeatedly assuring our client’s parents that he would be well-supervised and safe, church leaders not only disregarded the mandated curfew but also made the deliberate decision to leave our client alone in a hotel room with the perpetrator,” the attorney said.
The lawsuit also alleges that the perpetrator had previously assaulted another minor on a different church trip and that church officials discouraged that family from filing a police report. First Baptist did not comment on the earlier case.
Ongoing Fallout
First Baptist Dallas, which has a congregation of 16,000, has been dealing with multiple challenges. The church declined to answer questions about its policies for handling abuse allegations and whether such policies exist. ChurchLeaders also reached out to co-defendants Whitehorn and Lynch for comment.
The case highlights ongoing issues regarding how institutions manage allegations of abuse and whether their actions provide adequate protection for minors in their care.