Mississippi state officials have enlarged their sexual abuse investigation into a Baptist church to include a second juvenile.

As first reported by WLBT 3 in Jackson, Mississippi, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) is investigating two sexual abuse cases connected to Broadmoor Baptist Church in Madison, Mississippi.

One of the allegations of abuse involves David Ingram, who served as Broadmoor’s youth pastor from 1982 to 1988.

The second allegation of abuse involves a girl who attended Broadmoor’s youth ministry decades ago. Though the abuse involved two people unrelated to Broadmoor, the victim says the church mishandled her abuse and eventually kicked her out of Broadmoor’s youth group because of it.

De acuerdo a un survivor’s statement published online, the abuse involving Ingram was first reported to Broadmoor’s former senior pastor decades ago, but the pastor failed to act on the information.

However, in 2022, that alleged victim told current church leaders about Ingram’s alleged abuse, and the church hired Guidepost Solutions to conduct a third-party investigation into the allegations.

As a result of that investigation, MBI began investigating Ingram’s alleged crimes, according to WLBT. Then, when Broadmoor published Informe de Guidepost on its investigation, the report prompted a second victim to come forward with her story.

En un correo electrónico a El Informe Roys (TRR), MBI spokesperson Bailey Martin confirmed the bureau’s investigation into another alleged victim, adding, “Due to this being an ongoing investigation, no further comment will be made.”

En una oracion referring to the first victim, Broadmoor Baptist said, “We must speak clearly – We are heartbroken.

“. . . We believe this survivor has made credible assertions that she was sexually abused by David (Ingram) in his role as Broadmoor’s youth pastor. This belief combined with our Christian values and our policies require that we take certain actions.”

In its 73-page report, Guidepost Solutions commended Broadmoor’s current leadership for its “openness and willingness to address and initiate this investigation. Though this matter went unaddressed for many years . . . when the allegations came to current church leadership, leadership acted appropriately with dedication and transparency.”

First Allegation

In her survivor statement, the first victim accused Ingram of grooming her when she was 12 and sexually abusing her, beginning at age 15. The victim said the abuse continued for several years.

en un statement published by Broadmoor, the church said the woman approached pastors and other church leaders with information about her abuse, beginning in 2011. At that time, Ingram was serving in youth ministry at another church.

Over the following years, multiple individuals, including three past and present counselors, verified the woman’s account. The counselors also shared that the woman and her husband shared with church leaders a letter, detailing Ingrams abuse, that was read to Ingram and his wife in a personal confrontation.

Ingram reportedly offered a non-specific apology during thw confrontation and did not attempt to refute or deny anything presented to him in that meeting. According to Broadmoor’s statement, Ingram’s half-hearted apology was supplemented with financial payments from Ingram to cover therapy and medical costs for the woman.

However, prior to any payments being made, the woman signed a non-disclosure agreement, prohibiting her and her husband from speaking of these allegations.

Over the past more than a decade, the woman repeatedly approached former Broadmoor pastors and others with her concerns about Ingram and her conviction that others needed to be warned about him, the statement says.

Church leaders do not know if any actions were taken because of the woman’s requests.

Through Ingram’s attorney, Ingram has denied the allegations.

Church leaders have publicly said that should Ingram choose to pursue a lawsuit against the woman for breaching the NDA, Broadmoor will assist in her defense, including a willingness to reimburse certain costs.

“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.”

Second Allegation

After Guidepost Solutions published its report, a second woman came forward with allegations she was sexually abused by two different men. The woman claims she told Broadmoor’s then-youth pastor about the abuse by one of the men, but the pastor accused her of lying, “stating she would appear more upset if a sexual assault had actually occurred.”

The girl kept attending recreation events with Broadmoor, where she says she met a 20-year-old recreation assistant who would help hide her in the gym so she could avoid attending youth group. During these hiding periods, she said the recreation assistant, who served as a youth pastor at another church, repeatedly raped her, local media reported.

The woman says that when the abuse by the recreation assistant/pastor was discovered, a youth volunteer at Broadmoor asked the woman to leave. The woman said the volunteer referred to the abuse as a “relationship.”

The woman’s alleged abuse was reported to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) when the woman was an adult, WLBT reported. The SBC reportedly referred the woman back to Broadmoor. The alleged abuser was confronted with the allegations and left his church, the television station reported. 

Sheila Stogsdill is a freelance print journalist and digital reporter, primarily covering crime issues for KSN/KODE.