In April 2018 we reported that evangelist and youth pastor Acton Bowen was arrested and “charged with second-degree sodomy, enticing a child to enter a vehicle or house for immoral purposes, and second-degree sex abuse” of a male minor under the age of 16.
This week Bowen was sentenced to 1,008 years in prison after pleading guilty to all counts of sexually abusing six male teens between the ages of 13 and 16 and ordered to pay $840,000 in fines.
AL.com reports: “Bowen still faces trial in Jefferson County on three felony charges of traveling to meet a child for sex, enticing a child for a sexual act and sodomy. Trial is set on those charges for April 20, 2020. If Bowen ever should be released from jail on his Etowah County convictions – which prosecutors said was unlikely – he would be considered a ‘sexually violent predator,' which means he would face a 10-year probationary period.”
Bowen told the courtroom:”The shame and guilt I feel is overwhelming and has been for a long time. My heart was never wanting to hurt anybody but my mind was not well.”
A 2018 news report following his arrest:
