Abuse claims about Arkansas minister who worked in Moore come to light
As the Southern Baptist Convention prepares to launch a database aimed at keeping sexual predators from hopping from church to church, this very scenario unfolded at an Oklahoma house of worship whose leaders said they were unaware that the church's former youth minister had been accused of sexually abusing a child at his previous church employer.
Current leaders of First Baptist Church of Moore said they learned only recently that one of the church's former youth ministers, Patrick Stephen Miller, 37, was hired to work at their church though sex abuse allegations had been made against him at Immanuel Baptist Church in Arkansas.
According to Pulaski County court records, Miller was initially charged with second-degree sexual assault, a felony, in January 2019. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment. According to court records, Miller was given a one-year suspended sentence. He received 19 days credit for time already served and he wasn't required to register as a sex offender.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, citing Little Rock police reports, said Miller routinely played hide and seek with young people at Immanuel Baptist while other adults weren't around, and in 2015, he allegedly took a child into a closet, sitting her on his lap and sexually assaulting her.
The matter came to light in December 2023 after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Miller petitioned to have his criminal record sealed. A hearing on his request is set for Feb. 1 in Pulaski County Circuit Court in Little Rock.
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According to recent reports in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the 2015 accusations came to light a few months after Miller left the church in 2016. Miller worked at the church from 2014 to 2016 and was an assistant director of children's youth ministry.
The Arkansas news outlet reported that the pastor of Immanuel Baptist, the Rev. Steven Smith, did not tell his congregation about the accusations and subsequent charges against Miller until December 2023 ― years after church leaders filed the initial police report in 2015 and at least a year after Miller's conviction. Notably, Smith also declined to tell an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter whether he alerted First Baptist-Moore about Miller.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that the state of Arkansas and the families of two of Miller's victims have came forward to contest his petition to have his criminal record sealed. Miller's petition is being opposed by two young people who attended Immanuel Baptist ― including the initial victim and another student who came forward after learning in 2023 about the first case against Miller, according to the Arkansas news outlet.
Smith told his congregation about the accusations against Miller, the subsequent police investigation and Miller's conviction after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette began reporting on the case in 2023.
The Rev. Tyler Kelly, executive pastor at First Baptist-Moore, sent the following statement about Miller in response to a query by The Oklahoman. The church's leaders have declined to make any other comment.
"While current leadership only recently became aware of our church’s past connection with the accused, we are disheartened by this troubling conduct and pray for all those who have been impacted," the statement said.
"This type of behavior goes against all we stand for as a church and is not tolerable, nor will be tolerated inthe future. We have worked to inform our congregation and will share any and all pertinent information with the authorities. Although we have no relationship with the accused and there has been no indication of any alleged behavior occurring in the context of our church, we will work with authorities in the case that any information comes to light. We again are heartbroken for anyone who has been impacted and believe that all churches should do everything they can to stop this kind of behavior from happening."
'Gross and negligent'
Miller's case comes as the Southern Baptist Convention grapples with a sexual abuse crisis that has snowballed since the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News published the investigative report "Abuse of Faith" in 2019. Southern Baptist delegates, called messengers, subsequently asked for a third-party investigation into leaders' response to sexual abuse allegations. Scandal erupted anew once the report from the investigation was released in 2022, exposing how some of the denomination's leaders, from 2000-2020, mishandled sex abuse allegations. That independent sex abuse report included a secret list of hundreds of sex offenders with ties to Southern Baptist churches or affiliates. In August 2022, Southern Baptist Convention leaders said the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating the denomination for reported clergy sex abuse.
In 2022, Southern Baptist messengers approved a series of sex abuse reform measures, most notably a Ministry Check website that would serve as a database listing credibly accused ministry leaders, volunteers and others associated with Southern Baptist churches.
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The Rev. Mike Keahbone, pastor of First Baptist Church of Lawton, is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention's Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force that has been tasked with implementing effective abuse reforms. Keahbone, who is also a member of the denomination's Executive Committee, said the task force continues to work on launching the Ministry Check database website.
He said he was caught off guard by the Immanuel Baptist controversy.
"For me, personally, I hate every bit of that situation," he said.
"I hate that someone in his position as a children's minister took advantage of children and abused them by abusing his authority. I hate it that his church was not properly informed when it happened and I think it's gross and negligent that he was able to move on to another church."
Keahbone said he is not sure what First Baptist-Moore knew or didn't know about Miller but he "should have never gotten to them."
"He should have been shut down and never allowed to be around kids ever again so it's just an awful, awful situation and I hope that justice is served on behalf of the victims of this guy."
Sex abuse survivor and advocate Christa Brown said the case is a prime example of why she has been on a 20-year crusade to get the Southern Baptist Convention to protect unsuspecting congregations from sex abusers.
"The story of Immanuel Baptist in Arkansas is the story of the day, but it's also a story we've seen hundreds of times in the Southern Baptist Convention," she said.
"In the abstract, church and denominational leaders talk the talk of being transparent about sexual abuse allegations, but when those allegations arise on the home turf, they almost always conceal things."
Patrick Miller arrested in Oklahoma after he left Moore church
First Baptist-Moore's current leaders have declined to say when Miller was a staff member at their church, though the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette said it was able to determine through social media posts that he had left his job at the Oklahoma church of his own accord about four months prior to his 2018 arrest stemming from the Little Rock Police investigation.
Little Rock Police reports show that U.S. marshals arrested Miller in Oklahoma in December 2018. He was subsequently transported to Arkansas to face the accusations against him.
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According to Little Rock Police reports, Miller's foster children were taken from his Oklahoma home by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services after that agency learned of the police investigation.
A spokeswoman for DHS said she could not speak on the matter.
"Oklahoma Human Services takes very seriously our responsibility to protect the safety of Oklahoma’s children and to ensure children served in the foster care system are protected from further maltreatment," Casey L. White with the DHS office of communications said in a statement.
"Child welfare investigations are confidential by state and federal statutes, so Oklahoma Human Services is unable to publicly discuss this situation with anyone who is not authorized by statute or permitted by an order of the court."
How to help
Oklahoma Baptists, the state affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention, has an Abuse Prevention and Response Guide. The faith group's hotline for assistance related to abuse prevention, abuse response or survivor care is 833-942-3030.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has a 24/7 Abuse and Neglect Hotline for Oklahomans to report concerns about the treatment of children. It is 800-522-3511.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: First Baptist Moore says it wasn't warned about former youth minister
