Missouri Pastor Indicted for Sex Abuse Then Worked at Church for 5 More Months

Shawn Davies was under indictment for sexual abuse in Kentucky as of May 18, 2005 according to court records. Shawn was a pastor on staff at First Baptist Greenwood, MO and later convicted of abusing 7+ boys at the church.

He was not fired by the church until October 2005 - five months following the indictment.

Here's the timeline that we've pieced together after reviewing dozens of news articles:

2001 - Sheriff in Kentucky begins first known investigation into sexual abuse by Shawn Davies according to court records. Abuse occurred in Davies' role as pastor.

August 2003 - Shawn Davies is hired by First Baptist Greenwood / church senior pastor, Mike Roy. Abuse incidents at First Baptist Greenwood begin this same month.

May 18, 2005 - Shawn is INDICTED in Kentucky on sexual abuse charges.

July 2005 - 14-year old victim who had been doing community service at the First Baptist Greenwood comes forward to police to report that Shawn Davies abused him. According to news reports, Mike Roy is aware of this and talks to deacons about it. (We aren't sure, but it seems like the church members may have been unaware of allegations at this time.)

October 2005 - Shawn is fired from First Baptist Greenwood after the porn is discovered on his computer. This is at least the second time the church looked for porn. They didn't find any the first time. It is worth noting that the VICTIM'S TESTIMONY from the July police report was discounted by the church who did not act to remove Shawn Davies on the basis of the victim's report of abuse.

December 2005 - Shawn is jailed in Scott County, Kentucky for sex crimes.

May 2006 - KCTV-5 in Kansas City reports that authorities believe Davies abused 2 MORE BOYS at FBC Greenwood between July 2005 when Mike Roy learned of abuse allegations at Greenwood and October 2005 when Davies was fired. Did Mike Roy know that Shawn had been indicted for sex abuse in Kentucky in May 2005?

May 2006 - Greenwood Detective Robert Leslie tells Associated Baptist Press that police have faced set backs since July 2005 "because of Roy's unwillingness to cooperate."

The Associated Baptist Press (now Baptist News Global) reports that police had to seek a search warrant in order to gain access to the church/crime scene.

"This is quite a large case," Leslie told reporters. "We're looking at some of these victims being victimized numerous times. I would really like some information from [Roy] in regard to this incident."

June 2006 - Shawn is charged in Missouri with 25 counts of crimes against children. According to the Georgetown News-Graphic in KY (January 21, 2007), "According to court record, some of the [Greenwood] victims said Davies touched their genitals, performed oral sex on them, gave them alcohol and choked them until they were unconscious."

Late 2006

FBC Greenwood Senior Pastor, Mike Roy left the church.

FBC Greenwood Associate Pastor, Bobby Albers resigned shortly thereafter. By September 2008, he had landed a promotion to senior pastor and was hired by Celebration Baptist Church in Kansas where he now goes by the name Dr. James Albers.

January 2007 - FBC Greenwood Board Member, Lee Orth is quoted by Associated Baptist Press confirming that Mike Roy would not speak to authorities, "It was mishandled," Orth said of Roy's decision not to talk. "Mike felt bad because it happened on his watch. He felt bad about that." Georgetown, KY newspaper also reported that Roy declined to speak to authorities.

January 18, 2007 - Shawn Davies is sentenced to 20 years for child sex abuse in Missouri. He pleads guilty and begins serving a 20 year concurrent sentence for crimes in Kentucky and Missouri.

TWELVE YEARS LATER....

July 2019 - Shawn Davies is released early. Takes up residence near Branson, Missouri as a registered sex offender. His address in Reeds Spring, Missouri is a stones' throw from Keystone Baptist Church (Google map link).

October 2019 - Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Nominating Committee nominates and the convention appoints Mike Roy as trustee of Southwest Baptist University (SBU). Southwest Baptist University objected to the Nominating Commitee's role and provided two sets of alternative trustees both of which were rejected by the MBC. MBC gave SBU an ultimatum and timeframe in which to make MBC the sole member of the corporation (SBU) giving it unprecedented control over decision-making such as removal of trustees. Note: SBU's objections were unrelated to concerns over Mike Roy's involvement at FBC Greenwood.

Sidebar Regarding SBU vs MBC Dispute : The Rally has received a number of messages from people stating that SBU never wanted Mike Roy as trustee. Those associated with the Rally were unaware of the ongoing dispute between SBU and MBC over the appointment or dismissal of trustees. ,SBU did not object to Mike Roy on the basis of the mishandling of abuse at First Baptist Greenwood. SBU President, Eric Turner, said that they were unaware of these concerns until February 21, 2020, the date of the first For Such A Time As This Rally post. The Rally has since learned that there has been much, much written about this dispute - particularly centering around the October 2019 Missouri Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. There have been a few particularly noteworthy quotes from MBC leadership.

Chair of the MBC's Nominating Committee and pastor of First Baptist Church - Bethany, MO, Ryan Kunce, said at the October Annual Meeting that the Nominating Committee voted for those they “believe will best serve Missouri Baptists and will hold our entities accountable.” Isn't it ironic that this included an individual at the center of Missouri's largest clergy abuse case? Where is the accountability for Mike Roy?

January 2020 - Southwest Baptist University installs Mike Roy as trustee.

February 21, 2020 - For Such A Time As This Rally posts old news links outlining police concerns about Mike Roy's lack of cooperation and action in the FBC Greenwood / Shawn Davies abuse situation and notes Mike Roy's recent appointment as trustee to a Missouri Baptist Convention university.

February 24, 2020 - Southwest Baptist University trustees meet in emergency session. SBU president, Eric Turner, says that they had just learned about concerns over Mike Roy's past. Despite SBU trustees' ability to remove a fellow trustee based on their charter, they chose not to act by removing Roy based on the mountain of information available, but to investigate the situation.

February 24, 2020 - Missouri Baptist Convention publishes a news article in The Pathway in which they ignore 12 - 14 years of news reports and state that allegations of Mike Roy not cooperating with police were raised by For Such A Time As This Rally founder, Cheryl Summers. The Pathway declared these allegations "untrue.' The Pathway does not mention the Rally and individually targets one member of the Rally.

February 26, 2020 - Several Rally members along with SNAP representatives travel to Missouri Baptist Convention headquarters in Jefferson City to hold a press conference outside the Baptist Building. For Such A Time As This Rally and SNAP representatives called for an Attorney General investigation into sex abuse in the Missouri Baptist Convention similar to the one conducted of the Catholic Church in 2019.

While there, Cheryl Summers asked to speak with Don Hinkle, editor of The Pathway. The receptionist said Don would come down. After waiting 30 minutes, Don's assistant came down. She said that Don was not in the building, and that she couldn't call him because he left behind his cell phone. Cheryl hand-delivered copies of the prior news reports which initially raised concerns about Mike Roy's lack of cooperation in 2005 - 2007. Don's assistant said that it wasn't Don's idea to write the article. She referred Cheryl to MBC Communication Director, Rob Phillips. With two other Rally members as witnesses, Cheryl asked Rob Phillips if Don Hin...

Read the rest of the story here.