Youth Minister Sentenced to 52 Years for Molestation

• Key point. Sexual contact with minors can result in lengthy prison sentences.

A Texas court upheld a youth minister's sentence of 52 years in a state prison for one incident of molesting an adolescent boy. A mother approached her church's youth minister and asked if he could visit her 11—year—old son who was having behavioral and emotional problems. The youth minister agreed to help the boy and visited with him on several occasions over the next few months. The youth minister eventually asked the mother if she would allow her son to spend the night at his apartment. The mother agreed after the youth minister assured her that other children would be present. In fact, the boy was the only child who came to the apartment. During that evening the youth minister sexually molested the boy. The boy reported the incident a year later to a counselor, and the counselor immediately ...