During a debate on Wednesday, Kansas Democrat Adam Hamilton faced tough questions from moderator John Holt regarding his church’s handling of allegations concerning inappropriate touching back in 2005. Holt pressed Hamilton on why his church chose to investigate the accusations internally instead of reporting them to the authorities right away. Hamilton, who is the founding pastor of the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, is running against Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS).
“Parents entrusted your church to take care of their children,” Holt said, emphasizing the breach of trust involved.
He referenced Hamilton’s previous acknowledgment to CNN about the church’s response to the complaints. “We should have called the police immediately, but that was not our policies 21 years ago,” Hamilton had stated, a remark that Holt played back for emphasis.
Holt pointed out that the volunteer in question returned as a camp leader in 2006, despite facing further allegations at that time. It was only then that church officials decided to contact law enforcement.
“Obviously, it’s your responsibility to take care of these kids,” Holt remarked. “Why not override that policy back in 2005 when you had to know that police or law enforcement are better at investigating these kinds of things than staff?”
Hamilton didn’t provide a clear reason for not overriding church policy in 2005 and instead highlighted the changes made afterward. “The reality is that we did change our policy after that,” he said.
The church reached out to authorities the following year after more allegations surfaced against the volunteer. Hamilton pointed to the investigation that followed, noting, “They found the same thing. It was inconclusive. There was uncertainty, and as a result of that, they refused to press charges as well.”
The allegations involved church volunteer Scott Preston Moore. Court records reviewed by the Kansas City Star indicated that two teenage boys reported an incident during a November 2005 church retreat, where a man entered their sleeping quarters and inappropriately touched them. The church conducted an internal investigation but failed to notify the police or social services, and the darkness prevented the boys from identifying the man definitively.
Moore returned as a cabin leader the next year and was accused of similar behavior, prompting church officials to report the incidents from both years to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office. However, the Star reported that the court records did not confirm that Moore sexually assaulted anyone during the 2006 retreat.
Later, in 2013, Moore was convicted of misdemeanor sexual battery involving a 16-year-old boy at his home in Overland Park in 2010, receiving a one-year jail sentence for that offense, which was unrelated to the church retreats. Additionally, according to a fact check by the Star, there was no evidence that Hamilton personally made the decision to allow Moore to return to camp in 2006.
