IMB president issues apology over sexual assault investigation

Mark Aderholt, former chief strategist for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, who was arrested on July 3 on charges of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl more than 20 years ago in Texas, continues to await the decision of a grand jury regarding an indictment. According to District Court 297 officials in Texas, a trial date will be set if and when an indictment is issued.

In the meantime, International Mission Board President David Platt has issued an apology to Anne Marie Miller, who has alleged the assault.

“I want to publicly apologize for the pain and hurt that Anne Miller has specifically suffered in this situation,” Platt said in a statement. “Further, I want to apologize for various ways we in the IMB have contributed to such hurt and pain through our response to this point.”

Platt also announced a “thorough and independent examination of the IMB’s present policies to ensure that our current zero tolerance for child abuse, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment is completely and consistently enforced.”

IMB officials conducted interviews with Miller and Aderholt in 2007 but did not report their findings to law enforcement officials. According to IMB statements in news stories, Miller said in 2007 she did not want to press charges for the 1996-97 incidents. In a July 18 Baptist Press story, Miller refuted the IMB’s claim that she did not want to report the alleged abuse to law enforcement.

Aderholt resigned from the IMB in 2008 and worked for Central Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., from April 2008 to December 2009. He became the minister of missions and evangelism for Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock on Dec. 1, 2009.

In 2016, a few months after Immanuel’s pastor, Gary Hollingsworth, accepted the position of executive director-treasurer for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, Aderholt joined him as chief strategist.

Hollingsworth told The Courier he was not aware of the IMB interview or of any alleged criminal actions when he hired Aderholt.

“I do not know why Mark chose not to reveal this to me,” Hollingsworth said, “but the two terms that came to mind when I first learned of the accusations were surprise and disappointment. Surprised, in that nothing in my association with Mark over the years of our service together would have ever led to any inkling of such an accusation. Disappointed, because learning of the past accusations in the way I did was difficult for me in that it was totally contrary to the open communications of our past working relationship.”

Hollingsworth added, “I am terribly sorry for and deeply troubled by this entire situation. Every person who has ever been abused deserves justice, and every person who has been accused as an abuser deserves due process. I would never knowingly bring anyone on staff who I believed was an abuser.

“Throughout this situation, our convention officers and Executive Board members have shown themselves to be incredible men and women of wisdom and integrity. Our entire staff continues to move forward to fulfill our purpose as a convention, which is to help churches fulfill the Great Commission. I thank God for the privilege of serving our South Carolina Baptists and am incredibly thankful for the prayers that have been lifted in the past months.”

On her Facebook page, Miller has asked why the International Mission Board did not notify Aderholt’s future employers, and she stated that the IMB owes Immanuel Baptist Church and the South Carolina Baptist Convention an apology for failing to notify those entities of the IMB interviews.

Hollingsworth stated, “Of course I would have loved to have known about the information before hiring him. The president of the IMB has issued an apology to Ms. Miller. Prayerfully, we will all learn from this experience and make the necessary changes, so these kinds of things do not occur in the future.”