One of the largest churches in the Jackson area has announced allegations that a youth pastor in the 1980s groomed a 12-year-old girl for an abusive sexual relationship that began when she was 15, and later paid for her therapy after she entered a non-disclosure agreement.
Broadmoor Baptist Church, located in Madison, published a detailed account of the allegations on their website, saying they believe them to be credible and it is part of their Christian mission to be transparent and supportive of the victim.
All visitors to the homepage of the church website are met with a pop-up window that reads “A Statement About Our Past” with the option to click a link to read the statement or close the pop-up.
“As your Lead Pastor and the Church Council of Broadmoor Baptist Church, we need to bring to you a matter of great importance, and great grief,” the statement begins following a passage from Psalm 33.
According to the statement, about two weeks ago a woman approached the church and alleged that she had been sexually abused by a man named David Ingram. Ingram was a youth pastor at Broadmoor from 1982 to 1988. The church’s statement said when he first began that role, he was a 28-years-old and married. He remained a member of the church from 1988 until 2010, when he became “lead pastor of a nearby church,” according to the statement.
Josh Braddy, the lead pastor of Broadmoor Baptist Church, signed the announcement along with the church council. Braddy arrived at Broadmoor in June of 2020, 32 years after Ingram last served as youth pastor.
Broadmoor church members, with direct knowledge, confirmed that Ingram is now lead pastor at Tinsley Baptist Church, roughly a 45-minute drive from Broadmoor. The website for the Tinsley church also identified Ingram as a local realtor. Ingram did not respond to requests for comment. According to the statement, Ingram’s attorney has denied all of the allegations made against him.
“As a church family, we loved David, his wife, and his children, and we still do. With that being said, ten days ago Church Council heard from a woman who was also part of our church family. Her story was one of sexual abuse by David while he was in the position of our youth pastor. As part of her story, the survivor informed us of grooming that began when she was 12, and sexual abuse which began at age 15 and continued for several years,” Broadmoor’s statement reads.
Broadmoor said it is withholding certain details to protect the victim’s identity and maintain integrity in its ongoing investigations. That said, the statement does include a striking amount of detail on an issue that has often been shrouded in secrecy by other faith-groups in the past.
The church says it has spoken with multiple people with whom the victim disclosed the abuse over many years, including three of her counselors, and that her story has remained consistent.
Some of the details include a confrontation between Ingram and the victim, with the victim’s husband and two of her counselors present.
“We have spoken to the counselors to better understand the details of the confrontation. Both counselors have confirmed to us that David offered a non-specific apology, and that he did not attempt to refute or deny anything presented to him in that meeting,” the statement reads.
The church also says it has documentation of payments Ingram made to help with therapy and other medical costs. The statement stresses that “a sizeable portion of these payments were made only after the survivor agreed to a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”) which prohibited her and her husband from speaking of these allegations.”
The statement says that the victim claims to have told a former pastor about the abuse “shortly after David was no longer Broadmoor’s youth pastor,” a role he left in 1988. The church has received documentation that in 2019 she told the same former pastor she wanted to warn Ingram’s current congregation.
“At this point we do not know what, if any, actions were taken as a result of these requests,” the statement reads. “It is also our understanding that the survivor shared aspects of her abuse with pastors and other church leaders starting in 2011. Some care and help has been provided to her throughout this time, but we believe a more thorough response was warranted.”
Broadmoor also made a commitment to supporting the victim. Helping with legal costs is one of many steps the church says must be taken in “seeking to care for the survivor and restoring her agency and voice in this process.” The motivation for this level of support is linked to the church’s core beliefs, according to the statement.
“As Church Council, we have communicated to both the survivor and David that should David choose to pursue a lawsuit against her for breaching the NDA and telling us her story, Broadmoor will assist in her defense, including a willingness to reimburse certain costs,” according to the statement. “We believe this is right and Biblical – the harm occurred through our former youth pastor, which means it is our responsibility to pursue justice. This justice is not a pursuit Christians should take begrudgingly, but rather a calling and a command to soberly embrace and humbly fulfill.”
The church also made commitments to investigating what happened decades ago, and also conducting a review of its current policies and practices.
The statement recognized that this news may be especially difficult for other survivors of abuse, and recommended multiple resources, including their own counseling services and the Southern Baptist Convention’s abuse hotline, overseen by Guidepost Solutions at (202) 864-5578 or [email protected].
“We recognize that this journey will be full of grief, and that many of you may also feel anger, confusion, loss, and many other emotions. Our church family has strong relationships with both the survivor’s family and David’s, and the wounds are and will be deep. We also recognize that for many in our congregation who have also suffered abuse, this may be an intensely painful time for you – please know that the road you are walking weighs heavily on us, and we do not want you to walk it alone,” the statement reads.
Madison Police officials said they are aware of the situation but declined to say whether any investigation has been opened.
The Southern Baptist Convention, of which Broadmoor and Tinsley are members, has itself been embroiled in a series of sexual abuse scandals, for which the convention is currently under federal investigation.
