State law enforcement has opened a criminal investigation into a reported sexual abuse case at Broadmoor Baptist Church in the early 1990s involving a minor and a youth pastor.
Broadmoor released a public letter to their congregation in 2022 that detailed abuse reported of a former female member, who was a minor involved in the youth group at the church in the early 1980s, by a former youth pastor. In 1982, Broadmoor hired then-28-year-old David Ingram as their youth pastor, and he held the post until the spring of 1988. Reports show that Ingram stayed at BBC after leaving the position and remained involved with the youth group.
According to a 73-page investigation report from Guidepost Solutions, the external firm hired by the church to investigate the abuse, the unidentified female began being groomed by Ingram as early as 12 years old during private spiritual counseling sessions. The report stated that in addition to those one-on-one interactions, where Ingram would allegedly leave gifts and notes for the girl in his office, he would give her rides home with no one else in the car. The findings go on to say that, while parked in the car, the two began to have personal conversations where Ingram divulged information like “lack of sexual intimacy in his marriage.”
The victim reported that what began as a platonic relationship with a mentor became increasingly sexual from her 7th to 12th-grade years, escalating to Ingram initiating sexual contact short of intercourse when they were alone in the car, at his home or office, and on bus rides during church-sponsored trips. Ingram reportedly later confessed to the girl that he loved her and spoke about leaving his wife to marry her.
The relationship was ended by the victim in 1988, who says she suffered severe depression and shame, believing that she had had an affair with a married man. Ingram left the ministry that same year to pursue a career in real estate but remained an active member at Broadmoor and helped with the youth group, such as hosting Bible studies in his home.
The victim reportedly became aware once she left for college that the relationship was inappropriate and abusive, leading her to divulge the details to other pastors at the church, trusted friends, her parents, and her now-husband. Ingram was hired as a pastor again at Tinsley Baptist Church in Yazoo County in 2010, and Broadmoor hired Guidepost for the investigation in 2022 when current leaders were made aware of the abuse. The church’s full response is detailed in the report, which can be read here.
During Guidepost’s investigation, another sexual abuse case that reportedly happened at Broadmoor was uncovered and was found to be the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. According to their report, the alleged abuse occurred in the early 1990s and involved a different victim and different staff member.
The second reported female victim says she was sexually assaulted at a local waterpark when she was 12 years old by someone unrelated to Broadmoor. She later started attending the BBC youth group, where she grew comfortable around the youth pastor and disclosed the sexual assault to him. He reportedly accused her of lying, stating she would appear “more upset if a sexual assault had actually occurred.”
She continued attending church events and met a then 20-year-old recreation assistant who would “help hide her in the gym to avoid attending youth group.” A relationship is said to have developed between the two. The victim reports that the recreation assistant sexually abused her at the age of 13 by having sex with her.
She was asked to leave Broadmoor by a youth group volunteer when she was 14 after the relationship had been discovered. The man reportedly left the church after being confronted with the allegations. Guidepost stated that the investigation into the second abuse was limited due to respect for MBI’s investigation.
In response to an inquiry from SuperTalk Mississippi News to the MBI, Bailey Martin of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety stated the following:
“The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is conducting an investigation into a past incident that occurred at Broadmoor Baptist Church. Due to this being an ongoing investigation, no further comment will be made.”
The alleged abuse occurred when Broadmoor Baptist Church was located in Jackson, and has since relocated to Madison. The church issued the following statement:
“Broadmoor has made a limited disclosure of the allegations consistent with our policies concerning reports of sexual abuse. We have been informed that there is an ongoing police investigation, and welcome any assistance by the public to provide any information concerning these allegations.”
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