Herman Paul Pressler III (born June 4, 1930), is an American judge who was a justice of the Texas 14th Circuit Court of Appeals in his native Houston, Texas. Pressler was a key figure in the conservative resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention, which he initiated in 1978. He has been accused of sexual misconduct or assault by at least six men, some of whom were underage at the time of the alleged activity.[1]
Paul Pressler | |
|---|---|
| Texas State Representative for Harris County | |
| In office January 8, 1957 – January 13, 1959 | |
| Preceded by | James Watson Yancy Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Roger Daily |
| Judge of the 133rd Judicial District in Harris County | |
| In office 1970–1978 | |
| Judge of the 14th Texas Court of Appeals | |
| In office 1978–1992 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Herman Paul Pressler III June 4, 1930 Houston, Texas, US |
| Political party | Democrat-turned-Republican |
| Spouse | Nancy Avery Pressler (married 1959) |
| Children | 3 |
| Residences |
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| Alma mater |
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| Occupation | Lawyer; retired judge; Leader of Southern Baptist Convention Conservative resurgence |
Political career edit
On January 8, 1957, he became Texas State Representative for Harris County, until January 13, 1959.[2]
In 1988, he became president of the Council for National Policy, until 1990.[2]
Anne Nelson's 2021 book, Shadow Network, alleges that Pressler convinced the senior Republican Party leadership to attempt the same practices to establish minority as in the SBC, one-party control of the United States federal government.[3]
Judge edit
In 1970, he became judge of the 133rd Judicial District in Harris County, until 1978.[2]
In 1978, he became judge of the Texas 14th Circuit Court of Appeals in his native Houston, Texas, until 1992.[2]
Ministry edit
In 1967, Pressler and Paige Patterson met in New Orleans to plan a political strategy to elect conservative convention presidents and in turn members of Southern Baptist Convention boards.[4]
In 1978, Pressler along with W. A. Criswell, Adrian Rogers and Paige Patterson, met with a group of determined pastors and laymen at a hotel near the Atlanta airport to launch the resurgence.[5] The Atlanta group determined to elect Rogers, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, as the first Conservative Resurgence president of the convention.
In 1984, he was nominated on the SBC Executive Committee until 1991 and on the International Mission Board in 1992 until 2000.[2] In 2002, he was deacon at First Baptist Church of Houston and was nominated SBC first vice-president.
In 2009, Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana, announced that its new law school to be constructed would be named in Pressler's honor. However, for financial reasons, the project was suspended in 2013.[6]
Sexual misconduct allegations edit
In April 2018, the Houston Chronicle reported that Paul Pressler was accused by Toby Twining and Brooks Schott of sexual misconduct in separate court affidavits.[7] Both men said Pressler molested or solicited them for sex. The accusations were filed as part of a lawsuit filed in 2017 by Gareld Duane Rollins Jr. claiming he was regularly raped by the conservative leader. Rollins met Pressler in high school and was part of a Bible study Pressler led. Rollins claims he was raped two to three times a month while at Pressler's home.[8] According to the Chronicle, Pressler agreed in 2004 to pay $450,000 to Rollins for physical assault.[9] Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson is also named in the suit, for helping Pressler cover up the abuse.[10] The SBC settled the Rollins case out of court for an undisclosed sum and the case was dismissed with prejudice on December 28, 2023.[11]
In the 2018 Chronicle report, Toby Twining was a teenager in 1977 when Pressler grabbed his penis in a sauna at Houston's River Oaks Country Club. Pressler was a youth pastor at Bethel Church in Houston but was ousted in 1978 after church officials received information about "an alleged incident." Attorney Brooks Schott also stated in an affidavit that he resigned his position at Pressler's former law firm after Pressler invited him to get into a hot tub with him naked. Brooks also accused Jared Woodfill, Pressler's longtime law partner who from 2002 to 2014 was chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, of failing to prevent Pressler's sexual advances toward him and others claiming his indiscretions were well-known at the firm.
In 2019, after the scandals of sexual abuse accusations involving Pressler and sexual abuse cover-ups involving Paige Patterson, the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary removed the stained glass windows depicting the actors of the conservative resurgence, located in the MacGorman Chapel and opened in 2011.[12]
In May 2022, Guidepost Solutions released an independent report stating that Pressler was the defendant in a civil lawsuit alleging that he repeatedly abused the plaintiff beginning when the plaintiff was 14. Two other men submitted affidavits accusing Pressler of sexual misconduct.[13]
Awards edit
In 2009, he was rewarded with the Ronald Reagan Award for Lifetime Achievement.
References edit
- ^ Downen, Robert (March 27, 2023). "Houston GOP activist knew for years of child sex abuse claims against Southern Baptist leader, law partner". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Todd Starnes, Paul Pressler to be nominated for SBC first vice president, baptistpress.com, USA, March 26, 2002
- ^ Nelson, Anne (2019). Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781635573190.
- ^ Jacob Lupfer, Shadows in the stained glass: Patterson and Pressler chapel windows come down, religionnews.com, USA, April 11, 2019
- ^ R. Albert Mohler, Jr., The Southern Baptist Reformation—A First-Hand Account, christianpost.com, USA, May 31, 2005
- ^ Christopher Schelin, New speaker of the House once led never-opened Paul Pressler School of Law, baptistnews.com, USA, October 25, 2023
- ^ Downen, Robert (April 13, 2018). "More men accuse former Texas judge, Baptist leader of sexual misconduct". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- ^ Flynn, Meagan (December 27, 2017). "Houston man's lawsuit alleges retired judge sexually assaulted him". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- ^ Downen, Robert (February 6, 2019). "Lawsuit against ex-judge, Southern Baptist churches drawing to a close". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
- ^ Merritt, Jonathan (May 3, 2018). "The Scandal Tearing Apart America's Largest Protestant Denomination". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- ^ Adams, Liam (December 29, 2023). "Southern Baptist Convention settles in abuse case against Paul Pressler, case dismissed". The Tennessean.
- ^ Bob Allen, Seminary removes stained glass windows celebrating conservative takeover of SBC, baptistnews.com, USA, April 12, 2019
- ^ "Report of the Independent Investigation: The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee's Response to Sexual Abuse Allegations and an Audit of the Procedures and Actions of the Credentials Committee" (PDF).