North Carolina Pastor Matt Queen said in a recent statement that he will seek “to be vindicated by God and man” following the news that he had been charged with falsification of records in connection with the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) ongoing investigation of Southern Baptist entities.
The United States Attorney’s Office alleges that Queen, a former administrator at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS), sought to cover up a report of sexual abuse that occurred at the seminary in 2022.
In a statement released by the United States Attorney’s Office on May 21, FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said, “Matthew Queen, an interim Provost, allegedly failed to inform the FBI of a conspiracy to destroy evidence related to the ongoing investigation of sexual misconduct and instead produced falsified notes to investigators.”
“Queen’s alleged actions deliberately violated a court order and delayed justice for the sexual abuse victims,” Smith continued. “The FBI will never tolerate those who intentionally lie and mislead our investigation in an attempt to conceal their malicious behavior.”
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In a statement released on the same day, SWBTS said that it “has and will continue to cooperate fully with the DOJ in its investigation of sexual abuse.”
“The indictment against Matt Queen, a former seminary administrator and professor, stems from a report in November 2022 of an alleged sexual abuse committed by a Texas Baptist College student,” the school said. “Within hours of becoming aware of an arrest warrant for the student on January 24, 2023, the seminary facilitated the arrest of the accused student, who was suspended and later withdrew from the college.”
According to the seminary, Queen was placed on administrative leave in June 2023. He later resigned.
Queen has served as pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, since February. He has been put on administrative leave, the Southern Baptist church announced on May 28.
 ongoing investigation of Southern Baptist entities. ){kind=link}