Georgia is finally on the verge of criminalizing sexual exploitation by clergy members
Senate Bill 542 would finally close a loophole that let pastors exploit people under their care without criminal consequences
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Georgia is now—finally—on the verge of passing a bill that would make it illegal for clergy members to sexually assault people under their authority.
That sort of law is already on the books in several states because of course it is. Anytime a power dynamic is exploited, whether it’s a professor over a student or a boss over an employee, it should be obvious that the abuse is criminal even if the acts themselves aren’t illegal.
That’s not the case in Georgia, where just last year, due to reporting from The Roys Report and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, we learned that Bradley Reynolds, an administrator at Truett McConnell University, was indicted for his actions after sexually abusing a former student at his private Christian school. But he was only punished for lying to cops, not for the actual abuse. Because his victim was a legal adult at the time, the law didn’t care if Reynolds had any sort of power over her. Without further evidence of assault, it’s basically assumed that the sex was consensual.
That fact is why Senate Bill 542 was even brought forth.
The bill adds clergy members to the list of people who can be prosecuted for “improper sexual contact” over someone whom they’re counseling, or over whom they have “spiritual authority,” over someone who’s a student at their school, etc. Those convicted of this crime could be sentenced to up to 25 years in jail on top of a fine of up to $100,000. (If the crime is committed against a child, the penalties are more significant.)
Only 14 states (plus the District of Columbia) have laws in place to punish clergy members for similar actions.
When Republican Sen. Randy Robertson introduced the bill in the Judiciary Committee last week, with Reynolds’ survivor Hayle Swinson next to him, he explained why this was necessary:
… What we’ve experienced for many, many years here in the state of Georgia, is we have seen members of the clergy exploit their power and authority over individuals in their churches—females by the vast, vast majority, and use their authority to manipulate these ladies into entering into relationships that they would not normally enter into.
…
… To give you an example, a young lady who may be going through a divorce and reaches out for counseling within her church, and while appearing to be sympathetic and attempting to help the person through the spiritual conundrum of a marriage breaking up, the ministers gain the trust of these ladies and manipulate that trust into a “distorted discipleship” where, by the time they turn around, they’ve entered into a sexual relationship with this predator, and feel somewhat trapped, because when they come out and try to defend themselves, a lot of times, the aggressor will say, “Well, it was consensual. She never said no.”
Robertson went on to say he had a personal connection to all this:
… He said his wife Theresa and her sister were both groomed by their pastor in high school and beyond, as well as several other girls at their church in LaGrange.
“SB 542 is important to me as a follower of Christ, as the husband of a woman who has been impacted by improper and criminal action by a clergyman, and as the father of two daughters,” Robertson said in a statement.
(I’m not a fan of how Republicans only ever seem to care about sensible pieces of legislation when it impacts them personally, but okay, if that’s what it takes.)
The bill later passed through the committee on a unanimous vote, which made sense given that the bill has 23 Republican co-sponsors and Democrats aren’t about to vote against something like this.
At a time when Republican in Congress are fully ignoring the Epstein files in order to protect Donald Trump, it’s downright refreshing to see Republicans in Georgia taking sex crimes seriously.
Even the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and oversees Truett McConnell University, is supporting this, which is the least they could do at this point.
Mike Griffin, a representative of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, testified in favor of the bill. Griffins — saying that he was speaking with the approval of Executive Director Thomas Hammond — said Georgia Baptists “fully support this legislation,” noting “how drastic and devastating the sex abuse is that’s going on across our nation, including even in our Churches.”
He added,“We do believe that this legislation is needed in order to educate those in our churches and institutions regarding the responsibility of maintaining protection over both minors and adults related to sex abuse.”
Notice how he talks about rampant sex abuse “including even in our Churches” as if outside sinners have infiltrated their world, when faith-based abuse has existed for as long as organized religion has been around.
Anyway, the window for action to pass this bill was extremely narrow:
The legislation faces a tight timeline. Crossover Day in the Georgia General Assembly, the deadline for a bill to pass at least one chamber to remain alive, is March 6, and the session is scheduled to end April 2.
That means the full Senate needed to pass this bill on Friday—and they did so unanimously. Now the House needs to get this over the finish line within the next month.
The most damning thing about all this is that the loophole existed at all. It should be a given that people with authority over anyone shouldn’t be allowed to exploit that power dynamic, yet clergy members are given a free pass in the majority of states. That’s not an oversight. That’s a choice based on unearned deference we give to religious leaders.
It took multiple survivors speaking out for lawmakers in Georgia to finally do something about it. It’s commendable they’re taking action, but these types of bills shouldn’t require investigative reporting, public scandals, or a survivor sitting next to a state senator so that everyone can understand just how serious these problems are.
Not that anyone’s made this argument yet, but SB 542 isn’t anti-faith. It’s simply pro-accountability. It’s also a reminder that religious institutions aren’t immune to corruption. If anything, they’re uniquely positioned to conceal it.
If Georgia lawmakers believe exploitation is wrong, this should be an easy vote. If it doesn’t pass, however, it’ll be a reminder of whose side these Republican lawmakers are on.
𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒’𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑡, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑆𝐵 542 𝑖𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖-𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ.
Give them time.
Better late than never, but I really have to hand it to men who only begin to see women as human beings once they have daughters. To this, a pat on the back. We have a long way to go. Happy International Women’s Day.