71-Year-Old Indiana Pastor Convicted on 3 Counts of Child Molestation
An Indiana pastor was convicted of three counts of child molestation by a jury on Tuesday.
Otis Benard Jetter, 71, was arrested in December 2012. At the time of his arrest, he was a pastor of Indianapolis-based Pilgrim Chapel Missionary Baptist Church.
The victim, Arthur Stevens, was a longtime church attender, Fox59 reproted last year.
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Stevens testified that he was first abused by Jetter in the mid-1990s when, at the age of 12, the pastor asked the victim to get into bed naked where he joined him, unclothed.
Stevens said the abuse occurred in hotels throughout the city and Jetter's van.
Although Stevens' aunt was suspicious that something was not right about Jetter's interest in Stevens, her nephew always denied that anything was happening when she asked. Stevens has subsequently said that Jetter paid him off to prevent him from revealing the relationship.
Stevens, who is now an adult, changed his mind and decided to report the abuse to authorities when, according to charging information, "he saw that a young boy, whom he didn't know, had been showing up at church and that (Jetter) had brought him," and he wanted to prevent his experience from being repeated.
Jetter, who has denied the charges, will be sentenced on Dec.18, reports The Indy Star.
One of the charges against Jetter is a Class A felony, which carries a potential penalty of 20 to 50 years in prison, and two are Class B felonies, which carry penalties of six to 20 years.
The Christian Post's attempts to reach Pilgrim Chapel Missionary Baptist Church were unsuccessful.
