A 78-year-old pastor was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for molesting two young girls at his church in Cobb County.
John Aubrey Pinkston, of Dallas, was found guilty on two counts of child molestation Thursday afternoon after the jury deliberated for only half an hour.
Two young girls testified that Pinkston touched them at Congregation of God Seventh Day, a Kennesaw church Pinkston founded and led. Pinkston admitted to police that he had touched one girl, saying it was a “stupid mistake” but that it lasted “only 15 seconds,” according to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
“Not only did he not take responsibility, when he took the witness stand, he spit in everyone’s face with the nonsense that he used to try to manipulate that jury,” Cobb Assistant District Attorney Chuck Boring in a news release.
Pinkston apologized and asked for leniency before being sentenced, but when questioned about his sincerity, he said, “What more do you want me to do? You’re going to send me to prison anyway,” according to a Channel 2 Action News report.
He was sentence to 20 years, with 10 years to serve in custody and the remainder on probation.
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