Jack Schaap

Jack Schaap was the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana — one of the most influential churches in the Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) movement, with approximately 15,000 members. He was the son-in-law of Jack Hyles, the legendary IFB figure who founded the church and Hyles-Anderson College. Schaap took over as senior pastor after Hyles died in 2001. Schaap was entrusted with counseling a struggling teenage girl who had attended the church since she was five years old. Instead of providing pastoral care, he groomed the 16-year-old and had sex with her on multiple occasions over months. He transported her across state lines — to Illinois and Michigan — for sexual encounters. When church staff discovered the relationship, they reported it to police. Schaap was fired on July 31, 2012. In September 2012, he was charged under the federal Mann Act (transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes) and pleaded guilty. The judge noted that Schaap tried to 'cover up and eradicate evidence,' downloaded software specifically designed to delete photographs of his encounters with the victim, blamed the teen's 'aggressiveness,' and claimed he did not know he was breaking the law. He was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. Schaap was released from prison in May 2022, approximately nine months early. He reportedly has not registered as a sex offender as required by the terms of his release.