MARK ADERHOLT Tarrant County sheriff's office

Jessi Turnure of KARK/Fox 16 reports on the arrest of a Baptist preacher who is charged with sexually assaulting a teen in Texas in 1996 The man, Mark Aderholt, has served pastoral stints since then in Baptist churches in North Little Rock and Little Rock.

Anne Miller said she had sexual contact with Aderholt when she was 16 and he was a 25-year-old seminary student in Texas and later said she’d been abused.

Advertisement


Miller reported the alleged abuse to the International Mission Board in Virginia in 2007, where Aderholt had moved up the ranks as a missionary.

“The IMB decided to conduct an internal investigation,” she said.

According to documents, IMB found, “It was more likely than not that Aderholt engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with Miller,” and she had “suffered as a result of” it.

However, the religious organization never told police, and Aderholt was able to resign.

Miller thought he had been fired until this year.

“My heart just dropped,” she said. “It was like I had been misled by the IMB.”

Two months after his resignation he was working in Arkansas at Central Baptist. He later joined the staff of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock but left there about a year ago, Turnure reports. He worked recently as an official of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, Baptist Press reports. It includes extensive comments from the mission board about why no charge was pursued and why Aderholt’s past wasn’t disclosed to future employers.

Miller has sent an email commenting on our report:

Advertisement

“I am the victim in the Aderholt case that you wrote on and wanted to clarify a few things:

“I didn’t say I had sexual relations with Mr. Aderholt. We never had intercourse which is implied by that phrase. I said that he sexually abused me and assaulted me. That is what the law said he did.

“Also, I did not “later decide” he abused me. I later understood that what he did was abuse me. His assault was never at any point a choice for me. It is and always was abuse.

“Thank you for your report and would appreciate these updates if possible.”

I have edited the original report in response to her comment. I used the word “relations” to avoid intercourse because the reports don’t specify the nature of the contact and the missionary board used the word “relationship.”

50 years of fearless reporting and still going strong

Be a part of something bigger and join the fight for truth by subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times. For 50 years, our progressive, alternative newspaper in Little Rock has been tackling powerful forces through our tough, determined, and feisty journalism. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 email subscribers, it's clear that our readers value our commitment to great journalism. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing or donating – as little as $1 –, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be supporting our efforts to hire more writers and expand our coverage. Take a stand with the Arkansas Times and make a difference with your subscription or donation today.

Previous article Trump people and their enemy. Plus: Got your grocery ID card? Next article Southern group credits Arkansas with education gains