Ten years ago, Sharon Clement's world turned upside down.

The pastor she trusted, abused that trust, and lured her into a sexual relationship.

But when everything became public, her abuse was labeled an affair, and instead of receiving help, she receives shame and rejection. Now she's speaking out,

not just about the abuse, but about her road to recovery. Welcome to the Roy's report, a podcast

dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I'm Julie Roy's. And about two weeks ago,

I became aware of Sharon's story.

That's because the church where her abuse occurred, Lex City Church in Lexington, Kentucky,

made headlines for another scandal.

This time, it wasn't the senior pastor involved in sexual misconduct,

but the executive pastor, Zachary King.

King is facing six charges related to the alleged rape and

sodomy of a minor. And in the wake of the charges against King, Lex City has closed. It's not often

that we see such a dramatic consequence to news like this. But then again, this is the second time

that this church has been rocked by scandal.

The first time was in 2014, when then pastor Pete Heiss stepped down after publicly admitting

to what was labeled an affair. But as you'll hear in this podcast, that's what often happens

with adult clergy sexual abuse, or ACSA. And that's one of the reasons ACSA is so devastating to its victims.

But as you'll hear, healing is possible. So if you're a victim of ACSA or another type of abuse,

I think you'll really be encouraged by Sharon's story. But before we dive in, I want to thank

the sponsors of this podcast, Talbot Seminary, and Mark Hord of Barrington.

Are you passionate about impacting the world so it reflects biblical ideals of justice?

The Talbot School of Theology Doctor of Ministry program is launching a new track

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