FORT WORTH (TX)
Centre Daily
By BEN TINSLEYSTAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
FORT WORTH — A man who is the pastor and principal of a Haltom City Baptist church and school was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison and 10 years’ probation for sexually molesting a young boy over a period of five years. Jay Preston Connell of Landmark Baptist Church and Landmark Christian Academy received two-year sentences for each of three counts of indecency with a child by contact. The sentences will run concurrently.
Additionally, he was sentenced to 10 years’ probation on a count of indecent exposure to a child, Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Kim D’Avignon said. The probation term will begin immediately.
Connell, 53, knew his victim since the boy was 7 years old, prosecutors said. Connell mentored him after the boy’s father died several years ago. The boy, who is now 16, last attended Connell’s school in April 2004.
When Connell gets out of prison, he will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, D’Avignon said.