Jacob Malone, a former pastor at Calvary Fellowship, a nondenominational
church in Downingtown, has been jailed for three-six years in prison
for sexually assaulting and impregnating one of his young parishioners.
The 35-year-old American from Exton who was arrested in January 2016, was sentenced Friday after entering guilty pleas to institutional sex assault, corruption of minors and child endangerment, NY Daily reported.
The court heard that he began to sexually assault the girl in the fall
of 2014, impregnated her when she was in her late teens and she gave
birth a year ago to their daughter.
She, however, maintained that the former pastor took advantage of her 'mentally, physically, spiritually.'
Admitting to the crime, Malone told the court that he gave the girl
alcohol but said the sexual encounters were consensual denying that he
raped her. But he apologized, saying his 'failures and weaknesses' had
hurt her, her family and his family. 'She admired me and trusted me, and
I betrayed that,' he added.
In a statement, his defense attorney Evan Kelly said that he 'has always
been adamant' he did not rape the teenager but has admitted to other
crimes. 'And for that, he is embarrassed, ashamed and truly remorseful,'
Kelly said.
Although, prosecutors had reached an earlier plea deal to hand him a
two-year minimum jail term, but Judge Jacqueline Cody rejected that deal
a month ago and slammed him with three-six years jail terms.
She said the case was 'one of the times when the court system fails' and
said even with the stiffer sentence in the new plea agreement Malone
would be 'serving a sentence much lighter than the crime deserves.'
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