A former Southern Baptist Convention seminary professor accused of sexual abuse by a student has filed a defamation lawsuit against the SBC and several other entities, claiming he was an "easy target" and a "bona fide scapegoat" in the sex abuse scandal surrounding the denomination.
David Sills, a former professor of missions and cultural anthropology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and his wife, Mary, filed a complaint on Nov. 21 in the Circuit Court of Mobile, Alabama.
The lawsuit centers on allegations that Sills sexually abused Jennifer Lyell starting in 2004 when Lyell was a student and Sills was a professor.
Lyell, who served as vice president of LifeWay Christian Resources, posted a confession in 2018 claiming how Sills, who has been married for over 30 years, sexually abused her and groomed her. At the time, Lyell maintained that she faced opposition when seeking justice through the SBC.
In February, Lyell received a public apology from the SBC executive committee over its handling of the matter.
In the lawsuit, Sills admits that while he engaged in a "morally inappropriate" relationship with Lyell, it was "consensual." When confronted about the relationship after Lyell presented her claims to SBTS President Albert Mohler, the lawsuit says, Sills resigned from his post at Southern Seminary.
"David Sills was repentant and obedient to the rules of the SBC," the complaint alleges. But in an attempt to improve the SBC's damaged...
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