CLEVELAND, Ga. (BP) — An alumna of Truett McConnell University (TMU) alleged in an online interview on May 29 that a former faculty member sexually abused her. She claims the abuse happened over a period of several years.

According to the school, which is affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention, the accused has not been employed there in more than a year.

“In February 2024, Dr. Brad Reynolds, who at the time served as an administrator and professor, notified Truett McConnell University (TMU) that he was under investigation by the White County Sheriff’s Office regarding a relationship with an alumnus who was employed at TMU while pursuing her graduate degree,” said TMU CFO Jason Graffagnino in written comments to Baptist Press (BP).

The university said Reynolds was immediately placed on administrative leave and his employment ended “in a matter of days”.

“Had TMU known of this inappropriate behavior earlier, Reynolds would have been immediately dismissed,” Graffagnino said.

Hayle Swinson claims Reynolds groomed her and sexually abused her while she was a student and, later, a soccer coach at TMU.

Reynolds was hired in July 2009 as vice president for academic services, according to a school release. The release stated he had previously served as a pastor and a faculty member at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Georgia Baptist leadership released a statement on May 30 calling for the school to investigate the claims.

“As is true for all Georgia Baptist entities, Truett McConnell University is accountable to its Board of Trustees. We encourage the trustees to take the appropriate actions to fully understand what happened and to ensure this type of behavior will never be repeated,” the statement said.

In an interview with the Roys Report, Swinson and her attorney, Marcia G. Shein, said they believe school leadership was aware of the alleged abuse before Swinson went to the police in 2024.

The university denied this claim in its statement to BP: “TMU takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously. There were no Title IX or HR complaints related to this matter. Based on our commitment to student safety, TMU initiated additional reviews by outside counsel to confirm no previous complaints had been filed, including reviewing the computers and files of former employees.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE  — Brandon Porter serves as Vice President for Communications at the SBC Executive Committee.)