AUSTIN, Texas — At least five Austin-area pastors and teachers were named among the hundreds of Baptist leaders accused or found guilty of sexual abuse of children, according to a 205-page document released by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
The convention released the list last week, which includes cases between 2000 to 2019.
The list was released in response to an independent investigation by Guidepost Solutions LLC, which concluded SBC leaders failed the public and its community by mishandling sexual abuse cases and mistreated victims and survivors, according to their report.
SBC released a statement regarding why its leaders made the decision to release their internal list:
"This list is being made public for the first time as an initial, but important, step towards addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing reform in the Convention," the statement said. "Each entry in this list reminds us of the devastation and destruction brought about by sexual abuse. Our prayer is that the survivors of these heinous acts find hope and healing, and that churches will utilize this list proactively to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us."
RELATED: 6 Central Texas pastors named in accused sexual abuser list released by Southern Baptist Convention
Though KVUE identified at least five cases within our viewing area, there could be more due to parts of the list being redacted.
According to SBC, the list has redactions because there are entries "that reference an admission, confession, guilty plea, conviction, judgment, sentencing, or inclusion on a sex offender registry. The only exception to those entries is the redaction of names or identifying information of survivors and/or other individuals unrelated to the offender."
Below is a list of local names that were released within the document:
Ruben A. Garcia
Garcia was an associate pastor and youth pastor at Betania Baptist Church of Austin in 2016.
He pleaded guilty to enticing a child with intent to commit a felony and was sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication on Sept. 24, 2018.
Jerry Dale Carver
In 2006, Carver, 51, was a the minister of education at Greater Hills Baptist Church in Austin.
He was charged with abusing a 15-year-old old boy. He pleaded guilty. He was convicted of attempt to commit sexual assault of a child in 2008 and given 10 years probation.
Shane Flournoy
Flournoy was a youth pastor, sign language teacher and dorm supervisor at the Texas School for the Deaf in 2008.
He was convicted of four charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 for abusing at least five boys in Harris County and separately convicted of having improper relations with a student in Travis County. He was prosecuted for offenses that occurred between 2000 and 2007. His victims included a student he molested as a dorm supervisor for the Texas School for the Deaf. He was sentenced to six years in prison in 2009 in Travis County and sentenced to 15 years in 2010 in Harris County. He is incarcerated in Texas.
Bradley Wayne Dixon
Dixon, was a dormitory director at San Marcos Baptist Academy, a Baptist boarding school, in 2001.
He was convicted by jury of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, four counts of indecency with a child by contact, one count of sexual performance by a child and two counts of assault in 2001. His crimes involved at least three different male victims, court records show. He was sentenced on one count to 75 years and additional time on other charges. He is incarcerated in Texas. He was also known as Brad Bartlett.
Santiago “Jimmy” Morales Jr.
Santiago “Jimmy” Morales Jr. was an employee at San Marcos Baptist Academy and was affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 2004.
He agreed to a plea deal of deferred adjudication on a charge of an improper relationship between an educator and child. His 10-year community supervision period ended in 2018.
KCEN 6 News contributed to this report.
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