posted on September 26, 2004 02:32:30 AM new
Sep 25, 10:40 PM EDT
POCAHONTAS, Ark.(AP) A former pastor was sentenced to 35 years in prison for raping a young girl who said the man had told her that God approved of their sexual relationship.
A jury convicted Donald Lee Flanery, 46, on Friday, and recommended the sentence that Circuit Judge Harold Irwin imposed later that day in Randolph County, in northeastern Arkansas.
Prosecutors said Flanery, of Ravenden Springs, assaulted the Maynard girl nearly three dozen times, beginning when she was 11 and ending when she was 13.
At the time of the incidents, Flanery was the pastor of a non-denominational church known as The Family of Christ. Documents filed in the case said the assaults occurred at the church, his residence behind the church and at a new home he was building.
The girl told investigators that Flanery had told her that God approved of a man having more than one woman, despite her age.
"It was biblical," she said.
She also told police that Flanery was a religious man "who would go through bouts of apology," according to investigators.
Sheriff Brent Earley said members of Flanery's church protested the verdict and pointed fingers at prosecution witnesses.
"They stood up and approached the witnesses and some said, `You're going to pay for this," Earley said. Deputies were summoned to help with security.
This is a thread about the bigotry and distrust of a so called christain pastor, and I approve of it's content.
Prevent Bigotry through Education.