Southern Baptists' list of alleged abusers contains at least 20 people with Oklahoma ties

At least 20 individuals with Oklahoma ties are included in a list of alleged abusers that have been made public by the Southern Baptist Convention. 

The denomination's Executive Committee delivered on its promise to disclose the list, which was released shortly before 9 p.m. Thursday.  According to an independent sexual abuse report on the denomination's handling of sexual abuse allegations, the list had been privately maintained by the group's former general counsel August Boto and a staff member. The criteria used for deciding who made the list in the first place has not been disclosed.

Guidepost investigators indicated that the list included 703 names, with 409 tied to Southern Baptist churches. The compilation released on Thursday included about 700 names. Many were cross-referenced by stories published by news outlets, including The Oklahoman and, most notably, the Houston Chronicle and the ongoing abusers database the newspaper created, along with the San Antonio News Express, for its 2019 bombshell investigative report called "Abuse of Faith."

More: Oklahoma pastor called for shared database of Southern Baptist's sexual predators list

Southern Baptists hope releasing list of alleged abusers will inspire reform

"This list is being made public for the first time as an initial, but important, step in addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing reform in the Convention," Willie McLaurin and Rolland Slade said in a joint statement on Thursday. McLaurin is the Executive Committee's interim president and chief executive officer, while Slade serves as the committee's chairman.

"Each entry in this list reminds us of the devastation and destruction brought about by sexual abuse. ... It is our hope that releasing this list places a spotlight on truth and transparency. Southern Baptists have made it clear that transparency in the area of sex abuse should be the norm."

More: Oklahoma Baptists speak out on establishment of Southern Baptist sexual abuse hotline

The two leaders said the list was being made public as it was provided to Guidestone Solutions. McLaurin and Slade noted that some of the names were redacted, along with information regarding the individual's offense. They said legal counsel advised the Executive Committee to redact some information with the idea that the details may be forthcoming in those cases.

The pair said the redaction of some names came about due to "identifying information of survivors and/or other individuals unrelated to the offender." Also, they said many of the entries list either an arrest or charges, but no disposition, thus those names were redacted. McLaurin and Slade said as of May 24, the Executive Committee has conducted preliminary research and, where guilty pleas, convictions, judgments, sentences, and/or inclusion on a sex offender registry could be easily verified, the entry was left unredacted.

Names of two other people with Oklahoma ties were redacted but not their alleged offenses. One person was listed as a Southern Baptist pastor who resigned from his church after being caught at a strip club. A second individual, also identified as a Southern Baptist pastor, pleaded not guilty to molesting a girl in 2011.

Here are the people with Oklahoma ties on the Southern Baptist Convention list

The Oklahoman also redacted some names because information about them was unverifiable.

People with Oklahoma ties whose names and offenses were included in the "secret" compilation, include:

• Roy Edward Williams, 2021. Williams is described as a former Southern Baptist preacher and longtime member of Bunker Hill Baptist Church in Vinita who preached on occasion. In November 2021, a federal grand jury indicted him on five counts of coercion and enticement of a minor in Indian Country, four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country, one count of sexual contact of a minor between 12 and 16 years old in Indian Country, and one count of possession of child pornography. The alleged abuse occurred between 2002 and 2018. Update from The Oklahoman: In April 2022, Williams, 64, pleaded guilty to five counts of coercion and enticement of a minor in Indian Country and to possession of child pornography, according to a spokesperson in the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Oklahoma (in Tulsa). He is in federal custody and awaiting sentencing.

• Jody Hilliard, 2018. Hilliard, a high school principal in Elgin, was former assistant pastor at First Baptist Church in Duncan and minster of education at Central Baptist Church in Lawton. He was convicted of lewd and indecent proposals and acts to a child under 12 in June and sentenced to seven years in prison and 18 years probation. He died in prison in 2018.

• Henry David Gleason, 2018. Gleason was a retired minister at Harmony Star Freewill Baptist Church in Claremore when he was charged with sexual abuse of three girls, the youngest age 7. Update from The Oklahoman: According to Oklahoma Corrections Department records, in 2019, Gleason was sentenced to two years in prison for three counts of lewd acts with a child and sexual battery of a person over 16. He was released from prison in July 2021 and is on probation.

• Benjamin Lawrence Petty, 2018. In 2016, Petty was a cook at Falls Creek youth camp at Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center near Davis, when he was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl. Petty was convicted in 2018 of first-degree rape, forcible sodomy and rape by instrumentation. He initially received a 15-year suspended sentence and no prison time, causing public outrage. Petty claimed he was innocent, but a judge revoked his probation after a polygraph examiner concluded he was deceptive on two polygraph tests in which he denied committing the June 2016 alleged sex crimes. He was ordered to serve 15 years in prison. He is currently incarcerated in the Lawton Correctional Facility in Lawton, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections offender database. The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma settled a lawsuit filed on behalf of the victim.

• Brian Burchfield, 2016. Burchfield was a former youth minister at Immanuel Baptist Church in Shawnee. According to the sex offender registry, he was convicted of soliciting a minor by using technology and sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years probation.

• Damien Keith Bonner, 2014. According to the list, Bonner was pastor of Galilee Baptist Church in Tulsa, and former pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Tulsa. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for lewd molestation of a teenage girl in 2013 and sentenced to a consecutive three-year sentence for touching another girl.

• Dustin Ray Werneburg, 2012. Wernerburg, a youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Coalgate, was convicted of rape and two counts of lewd and indecent acts or propositions to a child in 2012. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus a 30-year suspended sentence.

• Joseph Monroe Leal, 2011. Leal was pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church of Henryetta when he was charged with sexting a 14-year-old girl after the two attended Summit Church Camp in 2009. He served at churches in Shawnee and Wellston, as well. He pleaded guilty in 2012 of using technology to engage in sexual communication with a minor. He was sentenced to six years in prison with three years suspended.

• Billy Ray Smith, 2010. Smith, a volunteer youth worker at Calvary Baptist Church in Durant, was convicted of forcible sodomy in 2010. He is serving a 15-year-sentence in an Oklahoma prison.

• Sean David Whisenhunt, 2009. Whisenhunt was youth minister at Central Baptist Church in Owasso. He was convicted of sexual battery in 2010 and received a suspended sentence. He was convicted of violating the terms of his sex offender registration in 2014 and received another suspended sentence.

• Joshua Spires, 2009. Spires, former pastor of First Baptist Church of Jay, was convicted in 2009 after pleading guilty to 10 counts of lewd molestation of a minor. He served nine years in an Oklahoma prison and was released in 2018. He is on probation/community supervision until 2029.

• Darrell Gilyard, 2007/2008. Gilyard, who once served at Hilltop Baptist Church in Norman, was also on staff at churches in Florida and Texas. According to published reports, Gilyard was accused of inappropriate sexual misconduct with women numerous times at churches he served. He is a registered sex offender in Florida for two 2009 convictions of lewd and lascivious molestation of two teenage girls, one between 12 and 15 years old and another younger than 16. He went to work at another church in 2012 after serving a three-year prison term.

• Charles W. "Chuck" Bryan Jr., 2008. Bryan was a youth volunteer at Chisholm Creek Baptist Church in Edmond. He received a 10-year prison sentence for lewd and indecent propositions and acts involving a 15-year-old girl. Bryan, who was also convicted of forgery, was incarcerated in Oklahoma and required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

• Kenneth Wayne Huneycutt, 2008. Huneycutt was former pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Ada when he pleaded guilty to molesting two boys and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. In the list, he is described as being affiliated with an independent Baptist faith group and not the Southern Baptist Convention.

• Aaron Matthew McDonald, 2002. McDonald was former music director at Dewar First Baptist Church in Dewar when he was accused of molesting a 15 year-old boy. He was also former music director of Calvary Baptist Church in Sulphur. Update from The Oklahoman: McDonald was convicted of sexual battery of a person over 16 and received a 10-year sentence, according to the Oklahoma Correction Department's offender database. He entered into the Oklahoma prison system in 2003 and was released in 2005.

• David Glen Randol, 1996. Randol, former youth minister of Arrow Heights Baptist Church in Broken Arrow, was accused of abusing a 13-year-old. According to the list, he committed suicide after police told him he would be charged with molestation and related offenses. Update from The Oklahoman: Randol died of a self-inflicted bullet wound in 1996 as the Tulsa County district attorney's office was preparing to file felony charges against him, according to a report from the Tulsa World. The charges stemmed from allegations that Randol sexually abused a girl who attended Arrow Heights Baptist. Information about Randol's case was the focus of a report in The Oklahoman.

• Steve Lamberson, 1995. Steve Lamberson was pastor and principal of Liberty Heights Free Will Baptist Church in Tulsa. He was sentenced to five years in prison for molesting a teenager. Lamberson is listed as "Baptist type unknown."

• Roy E. Jones, 1992. Jones, pastor for 35 years of First Baptist Church of Del City, received a seven-year suspended sentence for abusing multiple girls in 1986.

• Thomas V. Cossairt, 1989. Cossairt was retired former pastor of First Baptist Church, Carter Lake, when he received a suspended one-year jail sentence and two years' probation after pleading guilty to indecent contact with a child. A charge involving a second child was dropped.

• In 2009, a pastor from Weleetka was convicted on six counts of domestic abuse and found not guilty of nine counts of lewd molestation and assault and battery.

• In 1999, a youth minister in Ardmore was charged with child molestation. His Baptist affiliation is unknown, according to the list.

• In 2011, a Tulsa pastor was accused of sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl between 2003-2004 and again from 2007-2010. The compiler of the list noted that he did not know if the individual was convicted nor did he think know if the accused man was a Southern Baptist.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Southern Baptist list of alleged sexual abusers includes Oklahoma ties