PASCAGOULA (MS)
The Mississippi Press
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
PASCAGOULA -- Former church youth minister Paul H. Valentine will serve 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to two counts of sexual battery and touching a teenager for lustful purposes by a person in a position of trust.
Valentine, 36, of Ocean Springs, was ac-cused of having oral sex on two separate occasions in September 2004 and touching the girl in incidents that occurred around the Labor Day holiday the same year.
He was arrested in September 2005 and indicted shortly afterward.
The girl, who attended St. Paul United Methodist Church in Ocean Springs while Valentine was her youth minister, was 15 at the time of the crimes, District Attorney Tony Lawrence said.
One of the crimes was committed while Valentine stayed at the victim's family's home after Hurricane Ivan damaged Valentine's home, Lawrence added.