Dr. Matt Queen, a former administrator and professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, has been sentenced to six months of house arrest, one year of probation, and a $2,000 fine for lying to federal investigators.
Queen pleaded guilty in October to making false statements during an investigation into whether Southwestern had mishandled allegations of sexual assault.
Queen was charged with falsification of records amid the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) probe of Southern Baptist entities regarding their handling of sexual abuse allegations. The investigation of Southwestern began in 2022.
At the time of the investigation, Queen was serving as interim provost for the school.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged that shortly after the DOJ opened its investigation, Southwestern received a report of sexual abuse committed by a student, but the incident was not reported to the DOJ.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office further said that Terri Stovall, who serves as dean of women at the school, created a document in January 2023 that described the failure of Southwestern “to take action regarding the allegation at that time” but that Heath Woolman, then chief of staff, ordered the document destroyed during a meeting with Stovall and Queen.
Queen later produced notes for investigators that he said were from that meeting. The notes conflicted with Stovall’s testimony, and investigators believed them to be falsified.
Queen was placed on administrative leave from Southwestern in June 2023. He subsequently resigned and then assumed the role of pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, in February 2024.
Queen was indicted in May 2024.
“My integrity is everything to me, and I will cling to that integrity and seek to be vindicated by God and man,” Queen said at the time.
