The Southern Baptist Convention has been named in a lawsuit filed against a Texas church.
According to the Houston Chronicle, three Jane Does, suing for $1 million in damages, are alleging “negligence” and that “the church and the SBC failed to protect the girls from the abuse.”
RELATED: Check out more stories here.
The lawsuit specifically alleges Timothy Jason Jeltema, a former minister at Champion Forest Baptist Church, sent explicit photos to a teenage girl and solicited sexual contact. It also says he may have sent other inappropriate messages to possibly 25 girls. Now 34, Jeltema reportedly worked at Champion Forest Baptist from 2009 until he was arrested in 2018.
According to the report, Jeltema pled guilty to sexual abuse crimes in 2022 and received a five-year prison sentence.
Champion Forest’s attorney, Marc Sheiness, “filed a general denial response in district court,” according to the report.
