Before Schaap assumed leadership in 2001, the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, was one of the largest Separate Fundamentalist Baptist churches in the United States.
Schaap had married the daughter of the former leader, Jack Hyles, who had brought in as many as 20,000 people each week with his brand of fundamentalism.
Recently, “New IFB” preachers have picked up the torch regarding fire-and-brimstone sermons, with some even cheering the murder of LGBTQ persons and calling for the government to punish anyone convicted of sodomy.
BREAKING: According to https://t.co/sR3NkzgsW6, Jack Schaap – former pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana – was released yesterday, May 4, 2022.
This was confirmed by a staff member at FCI in Ashland, KY over the phone
He was originally to be released 2/2/23. pic.twitter.com/hdQyIWb0zK
— STOP IFB CHURCH ABUSE (@preacherboysdoc) May 5, 2022
Schaap was a pastor whose criminal behavior contradicted his conservative sermons. It’s important to recall this individual and his deeds because it’s been some time since his name has been mentioned.
Jack Shaap Sentenced to 12 Years for Teenage Sexual Contact
In Indiana, a former megachurch pastor was sentenced to 12 years in jail. On Wednesday for crimes related to sexual contact. he had with a teenage parishioner.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s staff for the northern district of Indiana. Jack Schaap, 55, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hammond for the past 11 years.
He pleaded guilty to a federal charge of transporting a juvenile across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual behavior.
Forty thousand members at this church in a Chicago suburb. And about 15,000 show up every Sunday. A spokeswoman stated that Schaap worked for the church and Hyles-Anderson College for nearly 30 years.
Prosecutors claim that the girl was 16 when the contacts started, but she turned 17 while they were going on. U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano sentenced Schaap to five years in prison. Two years longer than prosecutors had requested.
Jack Shaap Admitted his Involvement with a Teenage Girl
According to the prosecution’s sentencing brief, Schaap claimed in court that he was overworked and burned out from working 100-hour weeks and suffering from prostatitis at the time of the offense. Over 140 letters praising him were submitted to the judge.
However, prosecutors observed in the memorandum that Schaap and his victim communicated 662 times through phone or text message in one month and spent significant time together, which could indicate that he found time to fit these activities into his hectic schedule.
The government’s investigation suggests that “lust, hubris, and poor judgment” were to blame for the defendant’s fall from grace rather than “stress, exhaustion, depression, or medical ailments,” the prosecution wrote.
The church’s regulations provide that adultery is just cause for removal, and an internal investigation led to Schaap’s termination last summer.
Is Jack Shaap Released Now?
According to official documents, the former pastor of the largest Individual Fundamental Baptist church in the United States has been released from a federal jail. He admitted to taking a minor out of state for sexual purposes.
Prisoner records maintained by the Bureau of Prisons show that 64-year-old Jack Schaap was freed from federal custody on Wednesday.
According to official documents, Schaap spent time behind bars at Kentucky’s Federal Correctional Institution Ashland.
In a statement, First Baptist Hammond’s spokesman Rick Sparks confirmed that the congregation had learned of Schaap’s freedom.
The statement added, “Our ministry has not had contact with him and does not know his future plans,” which was written by Sparks. We know he is not affiliated with Hyles-Anderson College or First Baptist Church.
The circumstances surrounding Schaap’s release remain murky. In 2012, he was apprehended on federal charges of transporting. A juvenile across state lines for sexual purposes. And he eventually pled guilty.
He received a 12-year prison. According to a judge’s judgment denying Schaap’s early release from prison before 2023. his release date was February 2, 2023.
However, as part of criminal justice reform initiatives, the Bureau of Prisons’ website now notes that federal sentences are being reviewed and recalculated.
