Former seminary professor Matt Queen has pled guilty to making false statements to federal investigators during their investigation of sexual abuse involving the Southern Baptist Convention and its entities. The investigation included Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s handling of a report of alleged sexual assault by a student.
Queen initially pled innocent to a charge of obstructing justice in the sexual abuse case involving the accused student and was arraigned May 21. Queen was set to go to trial Nov. 13, but is now scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 26, 2025.
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Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, released a statement on Wednesday (Oct. 16) in response to the plea agreement.
“From the beginning, Southwestern Seminary has fully cooperated with the Department of Justice in its investigation of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention. We remain resolute in our commitment to continue to do so,” the statement noted.
“We pray for victims of sexual abuse. Southwestern Seminary remains committed to doing everything possible to protect all members of the seminary community from sexual abuse and harassment.
“Our prayers continue for Matt Queen and his family, as well as for others who have been involved in this process.”
Queen served as a professor at Southwestern Seminary from August 2010 until June 2023. He was accused of giving the FBI falsified information in 2023 about reported sexual misconduct by a student of the seminary’s undergraduate-level Texas Baptist College in November 2022. Queen served as SWBTS’ interim provost from January to June 2023.
Queen was named pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, earlier this year, and was put on administrative leave while the investigation continued.
To read more on this case, see links below:
Southern Baptist pastor pleads guilty to felony in federal inquiry into seminary for abuse -Tennessean
Matt Queen pleads guilty to federal charges -Baptist Press
Matt Queen pleads guilty to making false statement to FBI -Baptist News Global
Statements on conviction of Matt Queen -Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
