Second Alleged Victim of Blue Springs School Board President Speaks Out

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Accusations against a former school board president continue to emerge.

Bobby Hawk, who also serves as senior pastor of Epic Church in Independence, resigned as president of the Blue Springs school board on Wednesday. On Thursday, Epic Church announced that Hawk had been placed on leave from his duties at the church.

Blue Springs Police confirm to FOX4 that they took a report from an alleged victim Thursday morning. Two victims contacted FOX4 Thursday, accusing Hawk of sexual misconduct, including one victim who said she was 12 at the time.

“He hugged me frequently and put his arms around me more often,” Izzy Davis, who is now a college student, said Thursday.

Davis said she was 12 when Hawk molested her at a gathering at his home.

Davis turned himself in to Blue Springs police Thursday, detailing an incident that happened 12 years ago. In a blog post, Davis wrote about two occasions when Pastor Hawk forced her to hold his hand as if they were dating, then allegedly put both hands under her thigh for the duration of a film broadcast. Davis' blog post accuses Hawk of “grooming” her for the future.

“I immediately felt horrible. I didn’t know what to do,” Davis told FOX4 News.

“I was afraid I would cause a scene and upset him with a strong reaction and be offended by it. I didn't want to upset him. »

Ali Terwilliger said she was a 22-year-old church volunteer in 2011. Terwilliger said that on one occasion Hawk intentionally touched her rear and that he frequently talked about wanting sex with She. Terwilliger said she knew Davis and his testimony inspired her to speak out.

Terwilliger said she complained to Epic Church leaders, but ultimately chose to leave the church. Terwilliger said she doesn't believe Hawk should remain pastor of the church there.

“It's certainly not an environment, at least it wasn't at the time, an environment where they were helping victims,” Terwilliger said.

“It was more about trying to cover up what was going on with the pastor. »

Epic Church is affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination. Don Miller, who leads the Southern Missouri Ministry Network, said leaders in that denomination were aware of the allegations against Hawk.

“When allegations against a minister arise, we take these matters very seriously and have a well-established process for responding to them,” Miller said by email.

“We are following these guidelines to properly investigate these allegations.”

Davis said she knows of at least three other alleged victims and she hopes they will feel strong enough to speak out as well.

FOX4 News contacted Bobby Hawk directly three times Thursday. So far, he has not responded to our calls.