Southern Baptists urged to root out molesters

Treated as an outcast
Vasquez says she was raped when Amyx was a minister at the now-defunct Calvary Baptist Church in Lewisville, another town north of Dallas.

When she became pregnant with Amyx’s child at age 18, church leaders forced her to go before the congregation and ask forgiveness as an unwed mother. But the congregation was never told it was Amyx’s baby. The lawsuit claims Calvary Baptist helped Amyx get another job at a church in Arizona.

Amyx acknowledged in court documents that he had a sexual relationship with Vasquez and was the father of her child. Texas court records also show that Amyx was convicted in 1967 for giving beer to a minor.

When reached at home Wednesday, Amyx said he couldn’t comment on the case and referred all questions to his lawyer, James A. Harrison. The attorney did not return multiple phone calls.

Vasquez said she filed the suit because she fears Amyx could be abusing other girls and she wants to see him removed from his position.

“In any denomination where you have these men with this power that’s not questioned and you have these people who are vulnerable ... you’re going to have a problem,” Vasquez said.

Harder to find abuse?
Philip Jenkins, a professor of religious studies and history at Pennsylvania State University and author of the book “Pedophiles and Priests,” said it’s harder to track child sexual abuse in Protestant denominations.

“Southern Baptists are massively decentralized compared to the Catholic Church,” he said. “They’re independent. It’s very difficult to gauge how many abuses might be occurring within the Southern Baptist Convention.”

Several child sex abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches have surfaced recently.

Bellevue Baptist, a megachurch near Memphis, fired a longtime minister, the Rev. Paul Williams, last month after he acknowledged sexually abusing his son 17 years ago.

The church’s internal investigation found that church leaders, including current pastor, the Rev. Steve Gaines, knew about the abuse last year, but did not act immediately.

The investigation began in December only after the prodding of Williams’ son, who asked Gaines why his father was allowed to continue as a minister even after leaders had found out about the abuse.

“I accept full responsibility and could have handled this in a more appropriate way,” Gaines told the congregation last month.

In another case, Shawn Davies, a former music and youth minister at the First Baptist Church of Greenwood, Mo., pleaded guilty last month to molesting boys ages 12 to 16.

Vasquez says she’s seeking damages for medical costs and mental and physical injury as well as punitive damages.

“They’re allowing these men to go from church to church,” she said. “They’re not protecting the victims. They’re protecting themselves.”

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