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Tennessee pastor who was facing 72 years in prison for repeatedly raping his adopted daughter, 14...
DAILY MAIL UK ^ | May 14, 2019 | Lauren Fruen For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Posted on 05/14/2019 12:08:19 PM PDT by Morgana

FULL TITLE: Tennessee pastor who was facing 72 years in prison for repeatedly raping his adopted daughter, 14, is jailed for just 12 after dozens of parishioners show up to court to support him

A former Tennessee pastor who repeatedly raped his adopted teenage daughter has been given an effective 12 year prison sentence after dozens of parishioners showed up to court to support him.

Prosecutors had sought the maximum term of 72 years behind bars for 41-year-old David Richards, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports.

But a judge cited his longtime ministry and the support he still receives as mitigating factors after more than 30 people showed up to support Richards at the sentencing last week.

Knox County Criminal Court Judge Steve Sword also pointed to the fact he had started a Bible study for fellow inmates at the Knox County Detention Facility.

The victim was 16 when she reported the abuse by her sole guardian, saying it began two years earlier.

Amber Richards, who chose to speak publicly after the February verdicts, said in her victim impact statement: 'I wanted to throw my body away.'

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Current Events; General Discusssion; Other Christian
KEYWORDS: christian; christianpastor; churchofgod; pastor; rapist; sexabuse; tennessee
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Is it okay if I ask...What the hell?
1 posted on 05/14/2019 12:08:19 PM PDT by Morgana
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To: Morgana

People get very attached to pastors, and will dig in to support them, regardless of the behavior.


2 posted on 05/14/2019 12:09:40 PM PDT by Fido969 (In!)
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To: Morgana

Go Vols


3 posted on 05/14/2019 12:10:35 PM PDT by babble-on
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To: Morgana

Exactly!!!!!!!


4 posted on 05/14/2019 12:11:18 PM PDT by JBW1949 (I'm really PC....PATRIOTICALLY CORRECT!!!!)
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To: babble-on

LOL!!!


5 posted on 05/14/2019 12:11:46 PM PDT by TomServo
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To: Fido969

People get very attached to pastors, and will dig in to support them, regardless of the behavior.

yep......................

6 posted on 05/14/2019 12:12:09 PM PDT by Red Badger (We are headed for a Civil War. It won't be nice like the last one....................)
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To: Morgana

But a judge cited his longtime ministry and the support he still receives as mitigating factors after more than 30 people showed up to support Richards at the sentencing last week.

What kind of idiotic reason is THAT to reduce his sentence? The fact that he was able to lie to people for a longtime? That he found 30 idiots to support him? What does this judge use for brains besides shit?


7 posted on 05/14/2019 12:13:12 PM PDT by Pravious
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To: Morgana
If Tennessee pastors were allowed to marry...
8 posted on 05/14/2019 12:16:29 PM PDT by Mr.Unique (The government, by its very nature, cannot give except what it first takes.)
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To: Fido969

“People get very attached to pastors, and will dig in to support them, regardless of the behavior.”

Ha. Our kids’ southern Baptist pastor decided he was really a woman and had the appropriate mutilations done. By the time a new pastor arrived, a lot of the congregation had left.


9 posted on 05/14/2019 12:17:03 PM PDT by treetopsandroofs
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To: Morgana
The article didn't produce much in the way of evidence against him. If he was doing it continuously, I would think that once she made up her mind to get him, she could have made certain that they got evidence.

I wonder what the Jury saw to convince them? I couldn't convict just based solely on what was presented in the article. What I would be expecting to see is some sort of DNA evidence, or recording, or witness, or something.

10 posted on 05/14/2019 12:17:35 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: Morgana

I suggest hanging the fellow by his testicles, over a very long drop, until he either has a very long fall - or simply stops breathing. Either solution would work for me.

Pastors, teachers or any other authority figure doing something this dastardly deserve the same fate.


11 posted on 05/14/2019 12:18:21 PM PDT by JoeVet (First rule of holes ... when you find yourself standing in one - stop digging ... unless ur a Dim)
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To: Morgana

Sole guardian.
Trusted....
Hang him.


12 posted on 05/14/2019 12:20:21 PM PDT by gathersnomoss (Grace and Dignity Will Win The Day.)
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To: DiogenesLamp

“...Authorities found her mattress stripped bare but say they recovered his DNA...”

It pays to read before commenting sometimes...


13 posted on 05/14/2019 12:20:38 PM PDT by JBW1949 (I'm really PC....PATRIOTICALLY CORRECT!!!!)
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To: Morgana

I would ask worse.

Smh


14 posted on 05/14/2019 12:24:10 PM PDT by dp0622 (The Left should know if.. Trump is kicked out of office, it is WAR)
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To: Pravious
What kind of idiotic reason is THAT to reduce his sentence?

Perhaps the judge was not so convinced of his guilt as was the Jury?

The article doesn't say much about what evidence swayed the Jury that he was guilty. No DNA puts a lot of doubt in my mind. If things were as this girl claimed, it would seem they would have plenty of DNA.

15 posted on 05/14/2019 12:24:35 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: JoeVet

ALWAYS believe the girl.


16 posted on 05/14/2019 12:27:53 PM PDT by Balding_Eagle ( The Great Wall of Trump ---- 100% sealing of the border. Coming soon.)
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To: JBW1949
“...Authorities found her mattress stripped bare but say they recovered his DNA...”

It pays to read before commenting sometimes...

I did read that. I must have read it too quickly because I thought it said they couldn't recover any DNA.

Even so, i'm not sure what the significance is of finding a man's DNA in a bed in his home if the bed had been there for a long time. Maybe he used to sleep in it himself.

On the other hand, maybe they got this one right.

17 posted on 05/14/2019 12:32:19 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: Mr.Unique

If the church would go after these people instead of hiding them and moving them around.


18 posted on 05/14/2019 12:32:31 PM PDT by the_daug
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To: DiogenesLamp

From the article:

“...She told authorities where they could find DNA evidence at her home and said Richards had texted her about taking their relationship ‘to the next level.’

Authorities said they found her mattress stripped bare and his phone factory reset, but they were able to recover his DNA...”

Did you even read the article????


19 posted on 05/14/2019 12:33:07 PM PDT by JBW1949 (I'm really PC....PATRIOTICALLY CORRECT!!!!)
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To: Pravious
Never mind. I had misread the article. Apparently they did find DNA.
20 posted on 05/14/2019 12:33:18 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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