She continued, “Outside of the structure, a federal judge sees this exactly as it is, a crime that needed exposing based on an investigation that was needed.” Thigpen added, “The $3 million plus spent defending this could have built the database and filled it with names already well-known, and also funded continued reform that would give a level of accountability and transparency to keep you better protected from the future.”
“This set a new precedent. For that reason and others, I am thankful Johnny lost,” said Thigpen.
Johnny Hunt’s Lawsuit Against Guidepost Solutions and the SBC
Hunt served as the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Woodstock in Georgia for over 30 years, was the president of the SBC Pastors Conference in 1996, and was the president of the SBC from 2008-2010.
Hunt served as North American Mission Board‘s (NAMB) senior vice president of evangelism and leadership from 2018-2022. He resigned after Guidepost Solutions, a third-party firm hired by the SBC to investigate the denomination’s handling of sexual abuse allegations, named Hunt in its report.
The report outlined credible allegations made by the wife of a pastor whom Hunt befriended and mentored. The woman accused Hunt of sexually assaulting her in 2010, just weeks after Hunt had completed his term as SBC president. The allegations against Hunt also resulted in First Baptist Church Woodstock suspending his role as pastor emeritus.
Hunt admitted to a “brief, but improper” encounter with his accuser but claimed it was “consensual.”
“I vigorously deny the circumstances and characterizations set forth in the Guidepost report. I have never abused anybody,” Hunt said at the time. “It was not abuse nor was it assault.”
Seven months later, Hunt was cleared by a team of pastors to return to ministry.
Hunt filed a defamation lawsuit against Guidepost Solutions, the SBC, and the SBC Executive Committee in March 2023. In the suit, Hunt argues that his “consensual…brief, but improper” encounter was a private matter and should not have been made public in Guidepost Solutions’ report.
Hunt’s complaint claims that “some of the precise details are disputed, but at most, the encounter lasted only a few minutes, and it involved only kissing and some awkward fondling.”
“The decision to smear Pastor Johnny’s reputation with these accusations has led him to suffer substantial economic and other damages,” the suit reads. “He has lost (his) job and income; he has lost current and future book deals; and he has lost the opportunity to generate income through speaking engagements.”
.){kind=link}