May 06, 2006

Missouri police investigate molestation by minister in Baptist church

GREENWOOD (MO)
Associated Baptist Press

By Hannah Elliott
Published May 5, 2006

GREENWOOD, Mo. (ABP) -- A Baptist music minister convicted of molesting children at three churches since 1998 sits in a Kentucky prison May 4 while police continue to investigate what his supervisor, a senior pastor in Missouri, knew about the abuse.

Police started an investigation in July 2005 against Shawn Davies, 33, the music pastor at First Baptist Church in Greenwood, Mo., after a young boy came forward with charges of sexual molestation. Now, while Davies sits convicted on counts of statutory sodomy, sex with a minor and sexual abuse, police continue to investigate senior pastor Mike Roy, whom they say allowed Davies to work around children at the church four months after they notified Roy of the investigation.

Roy had planned to run for state representative in Missouri’s 47th district but reportedly has cancelled those plans.

Davies went to prison last December, but KCTV-5, the local CBS affiliate, uncovered more evidence May 1 leading authorities to believe that Davies abused at least two more boys at Greenwood Baptist before Roy fired him.

Posted by kshaw at May 6, 2006 08:17 AM