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Bob Jones University Releases Report on Handling Sex Abuse Complaints

GREENVILLE, S.C. ― An independent report on how Bob Jones University has dealt with sexual abuse over several decades concluded that university employees weren’t properly trained to handle such cases and victims seem to have been blamed.

The 300-page report, released Thursday, recommended that the 3,000-student, fundamentalist school issue an apology to abuse survivors hurt by the school’s response.

It also suggested the school provide better training for school personnel and provide tuition assistance to student victims of abuse who left the university before receiving their degrees.

The report was compiled by the group GRACE, or Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, hired two years ago by the university. The report spans approximately four decades and included dozens of interviews with school personnel as well as students and former students, some of whom are abuse victims.

University President Steve Pettit issued the apology even before the report was released publicly.

“I would like to sincerely and humbly apologize to those who felt they did not receive from us genuine love, compassion, understanding, and support after suffering sexual abuse or assault,” he said Wednesday. “We did not live up to their expectations. We failed to uphold and honor our own core values.”

Pettit also said he is appointing a committee to review the report and make recommendations within three months.

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