Trinity Baptist Church sex scandal

Trinity Baptist Church

The Trinity Baptist Church sex scandal was a United States sex scandal that came to national attention in 2011. The scandal centered on the way that Trinity Baptist Church, an independent Baptist church in Concord, New Hampshire, and its former pastor handled the 1997 rape and subsequent pregnancy of one of its members, a minor girl, by her employer. The employer was another member of the congregation who hired the girl as a babysitter for his children.

Tina Anderson rape incident

In 2010 Tina Anderson, a former student at the church's Christian school who was 15 in 1997, accused married church member and father Ernest Willis, a man of 39 at the time, of raping her twice in 1997 from which she became pregnant. Tina had been the Willis's babysitter at the time of the rape.^[1] Tina appeared on 20/20 and said she had confided her pregnancy to Willis. Willis offered to pay for an abortion but when rejected by Anderson, Willis concocted another plan, she said. "He asked me if I wanted him to punch me in the stomach as hard as he could to try to cause a miscarriage," she said. "I told him, 'No, leave me alone.'" Tina considered Willis a father figure, and babysat for his family, according to the prosecutor. "Her trust and admiration were repaid with violence and rape," prosecutor Wayne Coull told the judge.^[2]

Chuck Phelps was the senior pastor at the time.^[3] Anderson charged that Phelps forced her to "confess her sin" before the congregation, covered up the crime by sending her to Colorado during her pregnancy, and had her give up her child for adoption.^[4] Matt Barnhart, a former Trinity Baptist Church member, witnessed Anderson's "church discipline" session in 1997. His wife testified she was "mortified" by what the church did to the teen."^[5] Phelps claimed Anderson was 16 at the time of her pregnancy, said the accused rapist was never a church officer, and said that Anderson was never forced to make a statement before the church.^[6] The accused rapist's trial started in May 2011.^[1]

Brian Fuller, the pastor who followed Phelps, expressed deep regret about the way the church had handled the incident and disgust that Willis was allowed to remain a church member for seven years following the incident.^[7][8] On April 8, 2011, the church released a statement affirming that in 1997, it had "immediately notified" the New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth and Families about the incident but regretted how "the incident was handled," that the "victim stood before the congregation," and that "the accused remained in our congregation awaiting arrest by the Concord Police Department." ^[9]

20/20 coverage and trial

On April 8, 2011, the incident was featured on ABC's 20/20.^[10] On May 27, 2011, a jury found Willis guilty of "forcible rape"; and on September 7, 2011, a judge sentenced him to 15 to 30 years in prison.^[11]

The rape had remained unreported until Barnhardt reported the church discipline session on a blog (Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) cult survivors). The blog founder Jocelyn Zichterman followed up with Barnhardt and upon learning Anderson's identity and location she contacted the Concord police. Tina Anderson stated she was in shock when the Concord police called asking if she wanted to talk about the rape in early 2010. "Anderson, now 29, said in a victim impact statement Friday that Willis destroyed the person she was and filled her with shame and guilt." "Before trial, Willis pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape but denied he forcibly raped Tina Anderson twice in 1997. She said it happened once while he was giving her driving lessons and again at her home weeks later. Willis testified that the two had sex on only one occasion and it was consensual."^[5] Willis was convicted and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. Willis appealed his conviction to the New Hampshire Supreme Court; the court denied his appeal.^[12]

Despite the media outcry, Phelps remained on Bob Jones University's Board of Trustees until an online campaign finally led to his resignation in December 2011.^[13][14]

See also

• Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment

References