By Andrew Clevenger
The Charleston Gazette
April 17, 2009
http://wvgazette.com/News/200904160408
 |
| Timothy Edmonds |
Man was youth minister at local church
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Chesapeake man who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl who attended the Christian school run by his mother-in-law was sentenced Thursday in Kanawha Circuit Court to up to 20 years in prison.
In January, a jury convicted Timothy Charles Edmonds, 37, of three counts of sexual assault by a person in a position of trust. The victim, now 19, testified that Edmonds "rubbed his private part" against her crotch and rear on four different occasions in March 2006.
At the time, she was a student at the Upper Kanawha Valley Christian School, which is run by Edmonds' mother-in-law, Patricia Priddy. The school is connected to the Chesapeake Apostolic Church, where Edmonds' father-in-law, Phillip Priddy, is pastor.
Edmonds said during the trial that he was not officially affiliated with the church. Kanawha County assistant prosecutor Michele Drummond said he was listed as assistant youth minister in several bulletins.
From the witness stand, Edmonds denied all of the allegations against him, saying he had never been alone with the victim.
During Thursday's hearing, Edmonds again claimed he was innocent and asked Judge Irene Berger for mercy. He offered a lengthy explanation of why he admitted kissing and "grinding" with the victim while they were alone in a house he was renovating near the church to a probation officer who prepared a pre-sentence report.
Edmonds said he had received some bad advice from a jailhouse lawyer, who told him that he had to admit wrongdoing and show remorse so he would "pass" a psychological evaluation required before he could be eligible for probation.
"I've sat in jail for 90 days," he said. "I really, really, really don't want to go back there."
Berger told Edmonds she didn't believe his new denial. She read extensively from Edmonds' admission from the pre-sentence report, which she said included specific details that wouldn't be offered by someone trying to make up a false version of the events.
"You went into great detail, Mr. Edmonds, about the situation," Berger noted. "You went out of your way to admit to acts which constitute sexual abuse."
By trying to distance himself from his statements to the probation officer, Edmonds was demonstrating a lack of remorse and a refusal to accept responsibility for his actions, she said.
"You are continuing, in your statement here this morning, to be manipulative," she said.
Berger imposed three 10- to 20-year sentences, and ordered them to run concurrently.
Public defender Ronni Sheets asked Berger to consider probation or home confinement for Edmonds because he had already been punished. As a convicted felon, he could no longer serve with his National Guard unit, which is deployed in Afghanistan, she said.
Drummond argued for a prison sentence.
"His actions were despicable," she said. "He used a girl ... who is of a special needs category, who obviously was easily led by someone she trusted."
If the victim's mother hadn't found a love-letter from the girl to Edmonds hidden in a pillowcase, the assaults might have continued, she said.
After the hearing, the victim's father said his daughter stays mostly in her room and won't go out after dark.
"She trusted him," he said. "She thought he was a man of God."
Edmonds didn't apologize to the victim's family during his sentencing, but spoke only about himself and how much he wanted to avoid prison, he said.
"He got what he deserved," the victim's father said.
Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.