Family alleges son sexually abused on First Baptist Dallas mission trip, sues for over $1M

A North Texas father is suing First Baptist Dallas for negligence over allegations that his teenage son was sexually abused by an older boy on a summer mission trip in July 2022, court documents state.

The lawsuit was filed in Dallas County on Nov. 11. The plaintiff is bringing suit on behalf of his son and is asking for more than $1 million in damages.

Ryland Whitehorn, the church's executive pastor of ministries, and Alan Lynch, the minister of pastoral care and counseling, are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.

First Baptist Dallas officials said they reported the alleged incident to law enforcement authorities, who determined the sexual activity was "consensual," according to a statement obtained by Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.

"First Baptist Church of Dallas categorically denies any allegations of impropriety," the statement reads.

The teen, who was a member of First Baptist's student worship choir, was invited to attend a mission trip to San Diego, California, the year he finished eighth grade. His parents met with the leader in charge of the trip before giving their permission. They were assured that "First Baptist would ensure that the students would be supervised and protected," the lawsuit states.

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Prior to the mission trip, the teen's parents allowed him to attend a camp in New Mexico sponsored by First Baptist Dallas. During the camp, another First Baptist student allegedly held a knife to the teen's throat and threatened him, according to the lawsuit.

Police officers in New Mexico informed the teen's parents and asked if they wanted to press criminal charges. Later, two church employees called the parents to discourage them from pressing charges and assure them that the church "was taking the situation seriously," the suit states.

Neither of the church employees apologized for the incident during the call, according to the lawsuit.

As a result of the incident in New Mexico, the teen's parents were reluctant to let him go to San Diego with the group. They had "multiple conversations" with the leaders regarding safety protocols for the mission trip, the lawsuit states.

They parents said they were told the "participants would be a 'more solid set of teens,'" and the students would be more closely supervised than they were at the New Mexico camp.

The leaders assured "Plaintiff ... that First Baptist took the safety and supervision of the students on trips sponsored by First Baptist very seriously," the suit states.

"Once again, based on the repeated assurances of First Baptist, and its agents" the teen's parents allowed him to go on the mission trip to San Diego, according to the lawsuit.

The group stayed in a hotel while in San Diego. The last night of the trip, one of the leaders informed them that there was no curfew, according to the suit. The only restrictions were that they remain on hotel property and not go in rooms occupied by the opposite sex.

A 10th-grader invited the teen to the hotel room he shared with three other boys in the same grade. One of the leaders was in the room talking to the 10th-graders when the teen and other eighth-grade boys arrived, according to the lawsuit. He got ready to leave about 30 minutes later and told the teen he should leave as well and go back to his own room, the suit states.

The 10th-graders told the leader that they wanted the younger teen to stay. He gave the boy permission and left, according to the lawsuit.

"This was the last time (the teen) had any adult supervision that night," the lawsuit states.

One of the boys in the room got on Netflix and played an R-rated movie at some point during the night. Soon after it ended, the 10th-grader who invited the teen to the room sexually abused him, the lawsuit alleges.

Another 10th-grader witnessed the abuse, according to the suit. The next day he told the teen and the other eighth-grade boys that, "No one needs to know what happened yesterday," the suit states.

The teen didn't report the abuse because he "did not want to get into trouble or to be shamed or threatened by the older boys," according to the lawsuit.

About two months after the San Diego trip, the teen and his parents were called to an urgent meeting at the church with Lynch and Whitehorn.

Lynch, the minister of pastoral care and counseling at First Baptist Dallas, began asking the teen questions about the incident in San Diego, the parents said. He tried to "intimidate, frighten, and confuse" the teen, according to the lawsuit.

The teen told Lynch about "the full extent of the abuse by (the older boy)," the lawsuit states, and Lynch told the family he would report the abuse to law enforcement authorities.

The parents understood that the 10th-grader who allegedly abused their son wouldn't be allowed on church property. Lynch later called them to say that "all we have right now are allegations," and "no force was used" by the older boy, the suit states. Youth leaders who already knew about the reported abuse would try to keep the two boys away from each other during activities, the parents said they were told.

No other leaders would be told about the alleged abuse, Lynch said, according to the suit. He then argued with the teen's parents "whenever they spoke and attempted to intimidate and bully them into silence," the suit says.

The lawsuit also alleges that the same older boy abused another minor on a prior First Baptist Dallas mission trip. The victim's mother said she told First Baptist about the abuse, but a church employee convinced her not to report it to higher church authorities.

"First Baptist knew that ... an older youth with a history of sexually abusing younger boys, would be on the San Diego Mission Trip when First Baptist was assuring Plaintiff ... that (his son) would be safe on the trip," the suit states.

When the plaintiff asked for a copy of First Baptist's sex abuse policy, he was told that the church didn't have a policy to report the sex abuse of minors, the lawsuit alleges.

In addition to suing First Baptist for negligence, the teen's father is suing the church and Lynch on allegations of intentional infliction of emotional distress and the church, Lynch and Whitehorn for civil conspiracy.

After learning that the 10th-grader sexually abused the teen, "First Baptist, Whitehorn and Lynch formed a civil conspiracy to silence (the teen) and cover up the abuse," the lawsuit states.