Southwestern Baptist provost indicted on falsifying records in alleged abuse cover up
A former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary professor has been indicted on a falsifying records charge as part of a federal investigation that alleges he attempted to cover up a sexual abuse report, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Matthew Queen, a former interim provost at the Fort Worth theological school, failed to inform the FBI of a conspiracy to destroy evidence in an investigation of sexual misconduct and, instead, produced falsified notes to investigators, according to the news release from the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York.
“Queen’s alleged actions deliberately violated a court order and delayed justice for the sexual abuse victims,” said James Smith, FBI assistant director in charge.
Since 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI have been investigating allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct related to national religious institutions, including Southwestern Baptist, according to the release. A grand jury subpoena required all documents in Southwestern Baptist’s possession related to sexual abuse allegations against anyone employed by or associated with the seminary in south Fort Worth.
In November 2022, a Southwestern Baptist employee received a report alleging that a student committed sexual assault, according to the indictment. The employee immediately notified campus police, but no further action was taken by the institution at the time and the assault was not reported to prosecutors, the release says.
In a statement posted Tuesday by Southwestern Baptist, staff says the school “facilitated the arrest” of the student and suspended him, who later withdrew from the college.
The employee that received the report created a document in January 2023 describing the sexual assault allegation and the failure of the seminary to address the allegation, the release said. In a meeting with Queen and a member of the seminary’s executive staff, the member told the employee to destroy the document, the indictment states.
In an interview from May 2023, Queen falsely told authorities that he did not hear the executive staff member ordering the employee to destroy the document. Days after the interview, Queen falsely told another employee that he took notes of the meeting, which stated the executive staff member “merely discussed” with the first employee to redirect the submission of the document to another department at Southwestern Baptist, the indictment alleges.
Those falsified notes were provided to the grand jury subpoena.
Southwestern Baptist says when the institution became aware of the original report and later responses from certain staff, the school “disclosed the matter to the Department of Justice, as required by a DOJ subpoena.”
“The seminary has repeatedly informed staff of their duty to fulfill the obligations of the subpoena. The seminary has and will continue to cooperate fully with the DOJ in its investigation of sexual abuse,” the statement reads.
Queen could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
According to Southwestern Baptist, all employees alleged to have “acted improperly” are no longer employed by the school.
“Southwestern Seminary takes seriously its moral and legal duties to care for victims of sexual abuse. The actions alleged in the indictment are antithetical to the values of the seminary,” the school said in the statement.
