The defamation suit filed by disgraced pastor and former SBC leader Johnny Hunt against the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has a new trial date. The trial comes after the SBC and Hunt were unable to come to an agreement during court-ordered mediation.
The lawsuit stems from a bombshell 2022 report published by Guidepost Solutions, in which Hunt was accused of sexually assaulting the wife of a pastor Hunt was mentoring.
Hunt, who was the SBC president at the time of the alleged assault in 2010, remains adamant that the encounter was consensual.
The SBC had contracted Guidepost Solutions to conduct an investigation into whether the Executive Committee had mishandled allegations of sexual abuse, dating back to 2000. Since the SBC president is an ex officio member of the Executive Committee, the allegations against Hunt were included in the report.
RELATED: Settlement Talks With Johnny Hunt Fail. SBC and Former President Likely Headed to Trial.
At the time the report was released, Hunt was the senior vice president of evangelism and leadership of SBC’s North American Mission Board (NAMB). While he maintains his innocence, Hunt resigned shortly after the report was released.
Guidepost Solutions and the SBC Executive Committee are also named in the suit.
When the SBC Executive Committee contracted Guidepost Solutions to conduct its investigation and publish its report, it entered into an indemnification agreement with Guidepost Solutions and thus will be covering any legal expenses Guidepost Solutions incurs as a result of the report.
In the suit, Hunt argues that his sexual misconduct was a personal matter and that the SBC and Guidepost Solutions ruined his reputation by making the incident public.
Hunt is seeking the princely sum of more than $100 million.
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