« Man gets 25 to 50 years for raping girl | Main | Man, 44, gets life sentence for rape of child »
July 16, 2005
Minister guilty on 4 counts, sentenced to 50 years
An eight-man, four-woman jury late Friday afternoon found a 48-year-old Missouri minister guilty of all four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child in the 1989-92 sexual abuse of his then 9 to 12-year-old step-daughter.
The jurors deliberated 2 1/2 hours to reach their verdicts and reconvened at 8 p.m. to consider punishment for the Rev. Eddie Wells of Matthews, Mo. After hearing another round of attorneys' arguments, they considered the case for another 50 minutes and sentenced him to 50 years on each count.
Judge Jody Gilles set sentencing for 4 p.m. Wednesday, at which time he could either make the sentences concurrent or "stake them in some way."
Ascertaining that the panel's guilty verdict was unanimous, Gilles at 6:30 p.m. slowly intoned each count, which alleged various sex acts committed on the girl while Wells and his second wife and family lived in Midland, and concluded, "guilty."
The victim stood stiffly until the judge had finished and then broke into tears and hugged First Assistant District Attorney Teresa Clingman.
Wells' fourth wife, Melanie, wept bitterly after the jurors had left for dinner, embraced and consoled by her husband. The jury returned its sentences at 9:50 p.m.
Testimony began Tuesday morning in the 142nd District Court trial and was finally concluded Friday before final arguments by Clingman, Assistant District Attorney Laura Nodolf and Odessa defense lawyer Warren Heagy.
The prosecutors contended the victim's cousin, aunt and grandfather and two Child Protective Services agent "had no reason to be falsifying information" in the case.
Heagy argued the now 26-year-old victim, who lives in Tyler, "had no reason to keep silent" from the time of the abuse until her "outcry" last year other than to follow the wishes of her mother, Wells' second wife, and prosecute the Matthews Christian Church pastor in retaliation for his falling behind on child support payments.
The trial had been a grueling affair since attorneys took until 7 p.m. Monday to select a jury.
Posted by Nealus at July 16, 2005 09:58 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
