Child Sexual Abuse Alleged In Assemblies Of God Royal Rangers Program
Royal Rangers, a scouting group associated with the Assemblies of God, was the situs for the sexual abuse of minor boys, according to reporting by NBC News.
Travis Reger claims he was abused in 1984 at the age of 10 by a leader in the Royal Rangers at Albany First Assembly of God church in Oregon. Although he says his father confronted the pastor, Stan Baker, about the leader’s behavior, nothing happened. The leader was convicted in 1988 for abusing two other boys.
Reger said in a deposition that Baker admitted to knowing about the abuse and said the leader was “in counseling.”
“He knew all of it,” Reger told NBC News. “I’m not going to say he encouraged it, but he was involved in trying to keep it quiet so that the great Assembly of God church’s reputation wouldn’t be sullied.”
One Royal Rangers leader from the church was sentenced to prison for 10 years and another for 15 years.
In 2021, a lawsuit against the Assemblies of God related to abuse within Royal Rangers at Albany First Assembly of God was settled for an undisclosed amount.
The abuse reported in the Royal Rangers is part of a series of reports about abuse in the Assemblies of God and associated ministries reported by NBC, MinistryWatch, and other outlets.
Royal Rangers was started by youth director Johnnie Barnes in 1962 as a Christian alternative to Boy Scouts of America. The Royal Rangers program claims to have “influenced the lives of over 2 million men and boys in the United States and around the world” since its founding.
NBC said it uncovered that at least 29 Royal Rangers leaders were accused of sexually abusing boys under their leadership since the 1970s.
One such leader, convicted of sexual assault in Illinois in 1990, reportedly told authorities he had molested 75 boys, but prosecutors never confirmed that number.
In 2000, the abandoned storage unit of a Royal Rangers leader was auctioned off and a book of nude photos of children was discovered among his belongings. The man was arrested and confessed to molesting Royal Rangers boys for over three decades and keeping photos of his victims as keepsakes.
In 1993, the Assemblies of God created a “Reducing the Risk” program for churches to prevent or reduce the risk of child sexual abuse in churches. However, the guidance contained recommendations, not requirements.
Brandon Champion said he was abused by Samuel Thompson in the mid-1990s after the risk reduction program was created. Champion reported the abuse to his pastor, who said he would “take care of this” but didn’t call the police. Champion’s mother called the police and Thompson was convicted of sexual abuse and sodomy and sentenced to three years in prison, NBC reported.
Last year, Thompson was labeled a “prolific child molester” by federal officials and sentenced to 220 years in prison on new abuse charges.
In an official statement about the alleged abuse of boys in Royal Rangers, the denomination wrote, “Even one instance of abuse is too many. Our hearts are broken for each child affected. We continue to look for ways to help local churches that choose to use the Royal Rangers curriculum adopt and strengthen rigorous standards.”
While the Assemblies of God makes recommendations for screening of Royal Rangers leaders, it does not require it. According to Chapter 27 of the Royal Rangers Leader Guide, the groups are “encouraged” to adopt recommendations, including a written application, references, a criminal background check, and an interview.
It also suggests adopting policies and procedures to ensure the safety and security of the children, including training about recognizing and reporting child abuse, adequate supervision of those interacting with the boys, and proper response and reporting policies.
The denominations claims that “[c]hurches of any denomination that establish a Royal Rangers charter must affirm they have adopted a process for screening and supervision of adult leaders who work with minors, which includes criminal background checks and references from previous work with minors.” The link to the process sends readers to the Royal Rangers Leader Guide that makes recommendations for policies to adopt.
Furthermore, the Assemblies of God acknowledged to NBC that the “overwhelming majority of churches using Royal Rangers curriculum choose not to charter,” so they don’t follow any process required by the denomination for chartered groups.
Scouting programs attract perpetrators who are seeking access to children and are therefore high-risk, Victor Vieth, a former prosecutor and child abuse prevention advocate with Zero Abuse Project, told NBC. He added that boys are often less likely to disclose abuse.
By failing to enforce stringent policies, Vieth said, the Assemblies of God has “lit a fuse.”
“And on the other end of that fuse,” he said, “will be the sexual abuse of children.”
This article was originally published at MinistryWatch.
Kim Roberts is a freelance writer who holds a Juris Doctorate with honors from Baylor University and an undergraduate degree in government from Angelo State University. She has three young adult children who were home schooled and is happily married to her husband of 28 years.