A year after pleading guilty to one count of obstruction of justice by falsification of a document during a federal investigation, Dr. Matthew Queen has returned to ministry. Queen now serves on the pastoral care team at Plymouth Park Baptist Church in Irving, Texas.
In March, the former administrator and professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was sentenced to six months of house arrest, one year of probation, and a $2,000 fine. Queen, who faced up to five years in prison, had resigned from Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, after pleading guilty.
Federal Investigation Into Matthew Queen
As ChurchLeaders has reported, in 2022 the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) began investigating alleged mishandling of sexual abuse allegations by leaders at various Southern Baptist Convention entities. The DOJ didn’t pursue charges against the denomination.
But in October 2024, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York charged Queen with falsification of records and making a false statement to law enforcement. The DOJ dropped the first charge, and Queen pleaded guilty to the second.
Investigators argued that Queen, who had been serving as interim provost at Southwestern Seminary, “attempted to interfere with a federal grand jury investigation by creating false notes in an attempt to corroborate his own lies.”
Federal prosecutors disputed the claim by Queen’s attorney that the conduct had no negative consequences. “The defendant’s repeated lies dragged out the Government’s investigation and distracted resources better spent elsewhere,” they told the judge.
Queen’s six-month home confinement required him to wear an electronic monitor and participate in mental health treatment.
People Attested to Matthew Queen’s Character
Before Matthew Queen was sentenced in March 2025, dozens of friends, family members, and colleagues submitted letters attesting to his character. Hope Queen, Matthew’s wife, said her husband had struggled with the “enforced silence” at Southwestern Seminary surrounding the DOJ investigation.
Queen’s attorney said his client has advocated for victims of sexual abuse, has encouraged them to report incidents to authorities, and understands his responsibilities as a mandatory reporter.
Before his sentencing, Queen expressed remorse and told a federal judge he had been dealing with extreme stress, isolation, and “dysfunctional dynamics” at Southwestern. He said he “did something quite out of character for me—I lied to two colleagues to make myself more credible by claiming I had made notes that I had not written.”
That behavior “shocked” him, Queen said, because “it is simply not who I am or how I have lived my life and ministry.” After lying to federal authorities, Queen considered taking his own life, he recalled.
In his letter to the judge, Queen said he had repented to God and had “learned from my mistake.” He also indicated he would use his time during home confinement “to help others.”
Southwestern Seminary said it “fully cooperated” with the federal inquiry and works to “protect all members of the seminary community from sexual abuse and harassment.”
