Charles Michael Balfe Must Serve 9 1/2 Years in Prison, a Year on Probation and Be Listed As a Sexual Predator.
By Ludmilla Lelis
Orlando Sentinel
March 21, 2008
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-minister2108mar21,0,4887906.story
DeLAND - The young woman once again had to face the man who had twisted Bible teachings with beatings and sexual abuse during five of her teenage years.
But she told a judge that the strength of her character helped her as she returned to court Thursday for Charles Michael Balfe's sentencing.
"Despite his best attempts, he didn't destroy my character," she said. "It is that strength that allowed me to go on the stand and tell complete strangers what he did to me without breaking down.
 |
| Former Internet evangelist Charles Michael Balfe sits in the courtroom in 2006. Photo by Dennis Wall |
"It gives me that same fortitude to do it again," she said.
Circuit Judge James R. Clayton sentenced Balfe, her abuser and a former Internet evangelist, to 91/2 years in prison, followed by a year's probation. Balfe, who is 63, also has been designated as a sexual predator.
A Volusia jury in February 2006 convicted Balfe on two counts of sexual activity with a minor between 12 and 18 years of age.
Clayton had originally sent Balfe to prison for 30 years, but an appellate court ordered a new sentence under the punishment guidelines in effect when the abuse occurred in the 1990s.
During the trial and on Thursday, the victim described the abuse, which started when she was 12 -- from the mental cruelty and his twisted use of religion, to his punches and the sexual abuse.
She urged the maximum sentence possible.
"His age does not keep him from preying on children, nor does his alleged religious conviction," she said.
Other victims testified during the 2006 trial that Balfe had inflicted similar abuse against them.
The attorneys and the judge agreed that the maximum sentence would be 10 1/2 years, but Assistant State Attorney Tammy Jaques asked that one year be served as probation, under strict rules. That includes a curfew, a GPS monitor, no sexually stimulating materials in his home, and no volunteering for a church or school.
"While we are giving away a year of prison, the supervision is incumbent for the safety of the community," Jaques said.
His defense attorney, Jeff Dees, argued about the prohibition against volunteering with a church, but the judge made his sentiment clear: "I don't want him around any children."
Dees said the sentence was legal and that his client continues to maintain his innocence. Balfe didn't comment during the hearing.
Ludmilla Lelis can be reached at 386-253-0964 or llelis@orlandosentinel.com.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.