Texas watchdog journalism roundup: Sexual abuse in Baptist churches

Abuse of Faith in Southern Baptist churches

Abuse of Faith in Southern Baptist churches

Welcome to the latest installment of the Texas watchdog journalism roundup — investigative stories in Texas that uncovered hidden facts and held officials accountable.

Abuse of Faith: Southern Baptist sexual abuse spreads as leaders resist reforms | The Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News

A team of reporters compiled news stories and court records to document cases of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest coalition of Baptist churches in the United States. The journalists discovered that church pastors, employees and volunteers sexually abused more than 700 people — most of them children — in the past two decades. Stories by Robert Downen, Lise Olsen and John Tedesco

Spirit of Fear: Hundreds of sex abuse allegations found in fundamental Baptist churches across U.S. | The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Women and children have faced rampant sexual abuse while worshipping at independent fundamental Baptist churches around the country. The network of churches and schools often covered up the crimes and helped relocate the offenders, an eight-month Star-Telegram investigation has found.” Stories by Sarah Smith

Unwatched | The Austin American-Statesman

“A yearlong American-Statesman investigation for the first time reveals in stark detail the dangerous conditions that exist inside many Texas daycare sites, leaving hundreds of children with serious injuries and nearly 90 dead as a result of abuse or neglect since 2007.” Stories by Andrea Ball and Tony Plohetski

Houston police officer in drug raid had previous allegations against him | The Houston Chronicle

Before a deadly drug raid in Houston left two civilians dead, Houston Police Officer Gerald Goines had been involved in “multiple shootings, racked up a smattering of written reprimands, faced several lawsuits and is currently accused of fabricating a drug deal then lying about it in court to win a conviction against a man who has long maintained he’s innocent, according to a Houston Chronicle review of internal police records and court documents.” Story by Keri Blakinger and St. John Barned-Smith

Serial crimes, no hard time | The San Antonio Express-News

Repeat DWI offender James Preston Green managed to stay out of jail for years, even though he repeatedly violated conditions of his probation, lied to law enforcement and berated and threatened the officers who chased and arrested him. After the Express-News published an investigative story about Green, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Story by Brian Chasnoff

Amid historic flooding, Austin water systems sank | The Austin American-Statesman

Records obtained by the American-Statesman shed new light on the water crisis that caused Austin to issue a rare, citywide boil-water notice last year. Story by Elizabeth Findell

Section 8 vouchers are supposed to help the poor reach better neighborhoods. Texas law gets in the way | The Texas Tribune and Reveal

“While states and cities across the U.S. have outlawed discrimination against voucher-holders, Texas is one of just two states that’s done the opposite. In 2015, Texas passed a law that ensured landlords cannot be punished for discriminating against families with vouchers. The law essentially legalized a long-standing practice among landlords that blocked voucher-holders, who are overwhelmingly black and Hispanic, from moving to better neighborhoods.” Story by Edgar Walters and Neena Satija

Signs and blunders | The Texas Observer

The Texas Observer investigated the sudden opposition to a proposed Texas historical marker detailing how, in 1918, Texas Rangers and other vigilantes massacred 15 unarmed civilians in the border town of Porvenir. “An Observer investigation, involving dozens of interviews and hundreds of emails obtained through an open records request, reveals a county still struggling to move on from a racist and violent past, far-right amateur historians sowing disinformation and a state agency that acted against its own best judgment.” Story by Daniel Blue Tyx

He’s built an empire, with detained migrant children as the bricks | The New York Times

An investigation of the nonprofit Southwest Key Program, which provides housing to migrant children, reveals how chief executive Juan Sanchez “built an empire on the backs of a crisis.” Sanchez was paid $1.5 million — twice as much as his counterpart at the Red Cross — and his organization has a record of “sloppy management and possible financial improprieties.” Story by Kim Barker, Nicholas Kulish and Rebecca R. Ruiz

Texas police made more than $50 million in 2017 from seizing people’s property. Not everyone was guilty of a crime | The Texas Tribune

“Last year alone, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors throughout Texas grew their coffers more than $50 million by seizing cash, cars, jewelry, clothing, art and other property they claimed were linked to a crime.” Some of those seizures involved people who were never charged with a crime, but Texas officials don’t keep track of how often that happens. Story by Edgar Walters and Jolie McCullough

Rape suspects walk free. Victims don’t get justice. And police get to count it as a success | Reveal, Newsy and ProPublica

“Across the country, dozens of law enforcement agencies are making it appear as though they have solved a significant share of their rape cases when they simply have closed them, according to an investigation by Newsy, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica based on data from more than 60 police agencies nationwide.” Story by Mark Greenblatt, Mark Fahey, Emily Harris and Bernice Yeung

Did I miss a good story? Contact me or leave a comment below. Don’t forget to sign up for blog updates and check out more watchdog journalism from the great state of Texas.

Read more: