Ex-Southern Baptist leader indicted on sexual abuse of teen
A former Southern Baptist official has been indicted in Texas on charges related to the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl in 1997, when he was a 25-year-old seminary student in Fort Worth.
Mark Aderholt, now 47, was indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury Tuesday on a count of sexual assault of a child under 17 and three counts of indecency with a child.
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Aderholt, a prolific missionary, was the associate executive director and chief strategist for the South Carolina Baptist Convention for a year and a half until resigning over the summer.
Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board, which sends missionaries overseas, has acknowledged it was told of the alleged abuse in 2007 but didn’t report the case to law enforcement. Aderholt also worked as a pastor in Arkansas.
The Associated Press has tried to contact the person last listed as Aderholt’s lawyer for comment.
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This version of the story corrects the 1st paragraph to make clear Aderholt was a Southern Baptist leader, not a Southern Baptist Convention leader.
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