July 29, 2005

Aldine Pastor Convicted Of Sexual Abuse

HOUSTON (TX)
Click 2 Houston

POSTED: 6:52 am CDT July 29, 2005

HOUSTON -- A longtime pastor of a Pentecostal church in Aldine has been convicted of sexually abusing a teenage girl in his congregation 10 years ago.

The Rev. Curtis Bass of the International Pentecostal Church was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison on two charges of indecency with a child.

A woman, now 26, testified that he touched her breasts when she was 16 years old in 1994.

"God is still in control," Bass, 53, said to dozens of church members seated in the courtroom after his sentencing.

Defense witnesses described Bass as a longtime youth minister known for encouraging teens to participate in the church, which has about 100 members.

"It's sickening, from someone who supposedly does the Lord's work," Assistant District Attorney Robert Freyer told jurors Thursday.

Posted by kshaw at July 29, 2005 08:18 AM