Former Baylor Campus Minister Indicted for Trafficking, Indecency with Children
Chris Hundl and Daniel Savala, both involved with the Assemblies of God Chi Alpha college ministry, are facing felony charges in Texas.
Former Baylor University campus minister Chris Hundl and his mentor Daniel Savala were indicted by a McLennan County, Texas grand jury on September 14 for indecency with a child and trafficking of persons.
Hundl, 38, and Savala, 67, have both been involved with the Chi Alpha World Fellowship college ministry of the Assemblies of God.
Chi Alpha World Fellowship, a network of Christian ministries sponsored by the Assemblies of God has a presence on more than 300 college campuses. It has been the subject of scrutiny since several leaders associated with the ministry have been implicated in sexual abuse scandals.
The indictment states that over the course of two years, from May 2021 through April 2023, Hundl and Savala engaged in the continuous trafficking of underage persons at least two times, and also engaged in indecency with the same victims. Savala’s charges were enhanced because of his previous conviction in Alaska of sexual abuse of a minor.
Under Texas Penal Code §20A.03, continuous trafficking of persons is a first degree felony and punishable by 25 to 99 years in prison.
The charges related to indecency with a child are second or third degree felonies depending on the circumstances, and the sexual performance of a child charge is a second degree felony.
In May, the former leader of the Chi Alpha chapter at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Christopher Hundl, was arrested for allegedly encouraging two boys under the age of 15 to perform sexual acts. The improper sexual activity allegedly happened in a sauna at Hundl’s home in Waco and at the Houston home of registered sex offender Savala.
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Hundl told police he had considered Savala a “spiritual mentor” since he was in college, and that Savala considered masturbation a “spiritual activity.”
Savala pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in 2012 in Alaska, but later allegedly served with five Chi Alpha Ministries college chapters. He was arrested in June by the U.S. Marshals Service Lone Star Task Force.
In May, Dallas-area law firm Scheef & Stone sent a letter on behalf of sexual abuse victims to several universities and university systems, asking them to limit the activity of Chi Alpha Ministries on their campuses. The letter asserted that Savala, in his over 30 years of association with Chi Alpha, groomed and sexually abused college-age men.
William Robinson, a Chi Alpha pastor in Corpus Christi, Texas, was charged with a first-degree felony of the continuous sexual abuse of a child in July. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Earlier this spring, a website was created by Ronald Bloomingkemper to give survivors of sexual and spiritual abuse a place to commune.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Today, many men and women have stood up, and the indictment of Daniel Savala proves that,” Bloomingkemper said of the indictment.
Even though Savala and Hundl have been indicted, Bloomingkemper believes the work must go on. He plans to continue supporting survivors on his website, despite letters accusing Bloomingkemper of defamation on the XA and the Lions Den website.
“The entire culture of Chi Alpha came from [Savala] and his influence; even though [Savala] has been removed from the ministry, exposing predators and supporting survivors in their pursuit of justice and healing will continue,” Bloomingkemper added.
Main photo: Daniel Savala, left; Chris Hundl, right
