Kennesaw councilman Leonard Church will spend 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of child molestation and four counts of sexual exploitation of children.
Church, 67, who also served two terms of mayor of Kennesaw, pleaded guilty to the charges just prior to his jury trial beginning in Cobb Superiour Court Monday morning. He had previously rejected a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for 15 years.
In exchange for the guilty plea, Cobb prosecutors reduced a count of aggravated child molestation, which carried a life sentence with a minimum 25 year prison term, to simple child molestation.
Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds said the victim’s family approved of the deal because it closed the case without the boy being forced to testify. The victim was 9 years old at the time of the offense in 2014.
Reynolds said investigators found between 800 and 1,000 images of child pornography on Church’s computer devices. He is accused of showing the boy images and inappropriately touching him.
Reynolds said it was important to his office that Church plead guilty and take responsiblity for his behavior.
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