A father is suing the prominent Texas megachurch, First Baptist Church Dallas, for allegedly mishandling his son’s sexual abuse in 2022.
The father alleges in the lawsuit that their now 16-year-old son was sexually abused by an older student on a church youth mission trip in 2022. The family said church leaders bullied, shamed, and intimidated their son with “extreme and outrageous” conduct in response to a report of the sexual abuse, according to the lawsuit.
Along with the church, pastors Ryland Whitehorn and Alan Lynch are named as defendants in the suit. Whitehorn and Lynch are listed on the First Baptist Dallas staff page as of Monday afternoon.
First Baptist, currently led by Dr. Robert Jeffress, is a powerhouse church in Texas with 16,000 members, according to its website. Throughout the years, Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, and Donald Trump have visited it.
It made headlines this summer, when its 134-year-old historic sanctuary was largely destroyed by fire.
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The lawsuit aims to “hold First Baptist legally accountable for its egregious failure to protect” the victim, said Boz Tchividjian, an attorney at BozLaw PA, which co-represents the father along with two local Texas law firms.
“Our client was an eighth-grade boy who was sexually victimized during a church trip by a tenth-grader whom First Baptist should have recognized as a danger to others due to his prior history,” Tchividjian told The Roys Report (TRR) in a statement.
He continued, “Despite repeatedly assuring our client’s parents that he would be well-supervised and safe, church leaders not only disregarded the mandated curfew but also made the deliberate decision to leave our client alone in a hotel room with the perpetrator and three other tenth-grade boys.”
The family is seeking more than $1 million in damages for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy.
First Baptist denied the allegations in a statement to TRR, claiming the incident was “consensual sexual activity.”
“The alleged incident involved sexual activity between two male teenage parishioners,” the church said. “Immediately upon learning of the subject allegation, it was reported to the necessary applicable law enforcement agencies. “After extensive investigations, including interviews with eyewitnesses, each law enforcement agency indicated this was consensual sexual activity and closed any and all respective cases.”
Alleged assault occurred on San Diego mission trip
The alleged incident occurred on a youth mission trip to San Diego in July 2022.
A month before this trip, the father was already hesitant and had safety concerns about sending his then 8th-grade son on mission trips.
In June of 2022, his son was at a youth “adventure camp” in New Mexico when a fellow teen allegedly held a knife to his throat. Church officials discouraged the family from pressing charges regarding this incident, according to the lawsuit.
Leaders then reassured the family that the mission trip to San Diego would have more supervision and that their child would be safe.
On the San Diego trip, the son, identified as D.R., was invited to the room of four 10th-grade boys while on the trip.
The teenagers did not have a curfew that night of the trip but were just restricted from being in a hotel room occupied by the opposite sex, according to the lawsuit.
D.R. and the 10th-graders watched a violent and sexually graphic R-rated movie on Netflix. After that, one of the 10th-grader boys sexually abused D.R., while another student witnessed it, the lawsuit claims.
The witness told D.R. the next morning that “no one needs to know what happened yesterday,” according to the suit.
“Because D.R. did not want to get in trouble or to be shamed by the older boys, D.R. did not report the abuse,” the suit wrote.
Church leaders intimidate the boy
Two months after the trip, D.R.’s mother was called by church officials to meet with them regarding an “incident” that happened on the trip, the suit said. The family then met with a group of First Baptist Dallas employees, including Lynch, Whitehorn, and church staff member Davin Hutchinson, according to the lawsuit.
At that meeting, Hutchinson accused their son of watching pornography and masturbating alongside other boys during the trip.
Lynch then lectured and attempted to intimidate, frighten, and confuse D.R., according to the suit.
After briefly leaving the room with his mother to calm down, D.R. returned and shared about the abuse with the leaders.
Lynch said he would report the incident to local law enforcement, the suit said.
The suit adds that “at the end of the meeting, Lynch told D.R. that what D.R. had done was wrong and that D.R. needed forgiveness from First Baptist.”
Several days later, the mother followed up with the church leaders about next steps.
Lynch allegedly told her that “all we have right now are allegations” and that “no force” was used by the alleged perpetrator. Because of that, Lynch said leaders who already knew about the situation would attempt to keep D.R. apart from the other boy.
Lynch said no other leaders would be informed of the alleged abuse, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit notes, “From this point forward, Lynch argued with D.R. and (the mother) whenever they spoke and attempted to intimidate them and bully them into silence.”
Later the family asked for a copy of the church’s sexual abuse policy, but church leaders refused to provide any written policy. Leaders allegedly said that the church had no policy “to report sex abuse of minors,” according to the lawsuit.
D.R. “suffered and continues to suffer severe emotional distress caused by the extreme and outrageous conduct of First Baptist and Lynch,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit alleges that the same 10th-grade boy who abused D.R. also abused another teen on a previous First Baptist trip, according to the lawsuit. In that instance, Lynch had convinced the victim’s mother to not report the abuse to higher authorities at the church.
Lawsuit text – Ridlon v. FBC Dallas – filed Nov. 11, 2024
Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.
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34 Responses
Interesting that the police found no wrongdoing concerning the incident. Not a big fan of youth mission trips too much nonsense can go on.
The police have a very high burden of proof. Doesn’t mean wrongdoing didn’t happen.
They were dealing with a “he said/he said” situation. Those are nearly impossible to bring to trial.
Especially in Texas where our rape and sexual assault laws are very specific and hard to prosecute.
Chuck Gordon, good point about youth groups. Short-term mission work can be tremendously beneficial for the participants. Our church allows minors to travel but with conditions: 1) at least one of his/her parents is on the project and 2) all team members (regardless of age) must apply, be thoroughly vetted, and agree to comply with a code of conduct.
One suspects that the trip described above included some individuals who should have been disqualified based on prior behavior. And not enough adults relative to the number of teenagers.
Good thing they are starting a campaign to raise $95 million dollars to rebuild their building. I can’t fathom a church spending that much for a building.
They have a $4M water fountain installed in the front of the church that changes the water flow to match the beat of music and it also changes colors.
I was disgusted about this for months because it was installed during Covid and there were small businesses all around their church campus going out of business and people losing everything, but that damn water fountain was all over the local news.
It is an extremely wealthy church with wealthy members. And brings in around $18M-$22M yearly in revenue.
And their head pastor has a net worth of around $20M and is tight with Trump and Congressional Republicans.
This is a civil suit, not criminal.
Lord have mercy on that child, and his family, who now not only suffered sexual abuse but abuse from their spiritual home in addition.
Wolves love power above all else.
May this family’s future bear the unmistakable skill of our shepherd.
They have all the words to say to the victim to shame them. It is disgusting and these “leaders ” will be held accountable by God.This young man is innocent. Where are the perps now? Did they have words spoken to them. Maybe their parents give generously . Thank you Julie
As a parent, if my child had just made an outcry of being sexually assaulted to a pastor of our church and the pastor tells them “you need forgiveness from the church” I would have immediately gotten up and left.
Getting to the truth should be wanted by all church leaders. I’m so sorry to you parents who have to go thru hell and back for justice. Come clean, church leaders.
So the father had concerns about letting him go to SAN DIEGO – but let him go anyway. Hmmm. Something wrong with this picture.
Why? Because his dad had concerns about letting his 13yr old son travel half way across the country? Sounds like normal concerns any parent might have. He met with the youth leaders and they answered his questions.
But it looks like youth leaders failed to supervise or make scheduled check ins with students after removing curfew, and setting new rules : you can leave your rooms, do not go into the room of someone of the opposite sex, and don’t leave the Hotel.
Ungodly pastors and leaders. Rich in this world, but bankrupt in character and righteousness. Wicked, insensitive, sinful leaders who cover up wrong doing instead of shining the light of God on it and making retribution. Minors, weaker than adults, trusting children, all preyed upon by ungodly leaders in our churches. We are surely in the last days where love has “grown cold” and “lawlessness will abound” in the churches. Lawlessness has always abounded in the secular world since the beginning of time. Jesus was talking about the lawlessness in the churches. It won’t be long until we see Jesus coming in the clouds to reign on this earth. It won’t be long now.
I have come to respect Boz Tchividjian and his advocacy for victims. If he’s willing to get involved, I imagine the family has a sound case.
When his name is one of the ones who crops up after most of these scandals surface, it makes you wonder what his actual motivation is. Helping? Or profiting. He’s made some statements, especially during the IHOPKC debacle, that raise some red flags. If you are profiting off the abuse, that is almost as bad as the abuse itself.
He deserves to get paid for his time but if he is suing for a million dollars and gets a third that is real good for him. I am curious about the red flags.
David Cremer,
Actually, no. It doesn’t make me wonder at all. I view him as a gift from God to victims such as this.
I do kind of wonder why anyone WOULD wonder, and cynically seek to assign impure motives of grift where there seem to be none in him.
What is your real issue that drives this comment?
David Till
Boz has credentials that should relieve your concerns about his motivations. A former Liberty University professor and chief prosecutor of sex crimes, he became very disturbed by the number of pastors and other Christian leaders who not only committed these crimes but largely had the support of their congregants even after their convictions based on clear evidence. Many of the victims weren’t just on their own but were targets of abuse by those same congregations. No one was speaking for them. That is what prompted him to form GRACE (which seeks to prevent and help communities appropriately respond to abuse, not take legal action) and what ultimately led him to represent sex crime victims.
He is a hero.
Just no other way to describe him.
Lots of unanswered questions. Does Texas law declare that minors are capable (or incapable) of legally consenting to sexual activity? Why does a large and prominent church not have a policy on sexual assault by 2024, especially after the SBC’s highly publicized scandals involving such crimes? Or does the church have a policy but not comply with it? How can sexual assault not involve force? Why were minors unsupervised for hours and able to watch an R-rate film?
The law in Texas is as follows:
1. No person under the age of 13 can legally consent.
2. Between the ages of 14-16, a person can consent, but the other person cannot be more than three years apart in age difference (and see #1 above).
3. At age 17, any person can consent with anyone age 14 or older.
Certain other relationships cannot consent (e.g. teacher-student, family members, etc.)
Cec Merz,
Why does the renowned pastor of this church still preach special “for pay” events with Johnny Hunt, after the Guidepost Solutions report found credible evidence that Johnny had sexually abused another and younger pastor’s wife? (Johnny argues this was also consensual, and so could NOT constitute abuse.)
You are right; questions abound. But, some of the questions seem to fit together into a perhaps cohesive answer?
David Till
Well, this large prominent church pretty much writes its own rules to follow, because the lead pastor is Robert Jeffres, who not only has favor with the Tx Governor and AG, but was a prominent figure in the Trump White House during his first term.
During the 2020 election Mike Pence came and held a campaign rally at First Baptist Dallas during a special Sunday Service for FBD members only.
COMPLICITY is a sin.
“You are your own worst enemy when you partner with a criminal, for a curse of guilt will come upon you when you fail to report a crime.” Proverbs 29:24-25
Which is worst – being ashamed of yourself, or not being ashamed, when you ought to be?
Certainly, the church failed that young man, but so did all of the older boys in that room.
It’s not the perfection of our lives, but the direction. As Christians, we seemed to be going in the wrong direction. It breaks my heart.
When God literally burns your church down, maybe it’s time to stop and practice some self examination and repentance.
May it ALLLL come to light.
Jen…I’m no Trump worshipping Robert Jeffers fan here but overtly saying it was God who burned the church down…you’d better look in the mirror and realize you’re falling in love with your typed words.
Every single one of us, including the founders of this site, ought to be required to publicly empty our closets of the worst things we’ve ever thought, said, or done…post them here…then we can post our comments.
I have a feeling that Jesus would be writing in the sand and the comment section would die a quiet death. Would we humble ourselves like that??? Something to ponder the next time you’re about to post a story or submit a comment. I’m talking to myself as much as anyone else.
This is no lie.
Robert Jefferes is not embarrassed about the special privileges he and his church receive all because the questionable relationship he has with our Govenor and AG.
I’m not American but doesn’t “8th grade” mean the boy was 13years old?
How can it therefore have been “consensual”??
And how were they even able to access Netflix?
What kind of “church group” was this?
Snakes will be snakes. They tell you what you want to hear, but do not do any of it. Jesus warned about them. But people do not want to listen to Jesus, they prefer the snakes selling snake oil to sheep. The neo-Pharisees are still among us still doing what they can to kill the real Jesus Christ.
I’m curious about the abuser, that 10th grade kid. If this wasn’t his first transgression, why is FBC Dallas covering for him. Are his parents prominent members and donors to the church?
“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.” (James 5:1)
“Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord, and dishonest scales are not good.” (Proverbs 20:23)
A youth group junket from Dallas to San Diego qualifies as a “short-term missions” trip?
In the 1980s about a dozen members of my youth group mixed and poured concrete at a youth camp being built by sponsored missionaries in the wilds of northern Mexico. In the afternoons we conducted a VBS for little kids at the small church the same missionaries were involved with in a nearby town. We also got to know kids our age, making personal connections with peers, sometimes across a language barrier.
We slept in tents, and access to screens of any kind would have been as unimaginable as our having any energy left to do anything but sleep after lights-out. Our idea of fun after sundown involved singing around a campfire, and maybe someone had a guitar, but that didn’t matter.
I never went into missions or formal ministry, but these immersive, relationship-focused, service-oriented trips were deeply formative on multiple levels. I just hope we did some actual good, however small.
By the way, our parents weren’t with us, but they knew each of the adults who were. My youth leaders were not perfect, but they never acted in a way that caused me to doubt their competence or sincere regard for our safety or well-being.
Church, what have we become?
“It was consensual sexual activity.”
I’m just having a hard time with this being the defense the church is going with.
I wouldn’t even be surprised if there was “no written policy to report sexual abuse of minors within the church” however they are mandatory reporters and should have reported the sexual assault outcry made by the 8th grader to the police and CPS after the meeting ended.