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	Verdict Upheld in Youth Minister Case By Johnny Gunter News-Star March 9, 2010 http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20100309/NEWS01/3090305 LOUISIANA -- Fourth District Attorney Jerry Jones said Monday that the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal has upheld the sentence of a former youth mentor at a Sterlington church who received eight years each on three counts of sexual battery of a juvenile. Jeremy Michael Little, 26, was sentenced May 28 by 4th District Judge Carl Sharp. Little had pleaded guilty after his arrest in January 2009. Sharp also revoked Little's probation on a previous drug charge and he will have to serve another three years on that charge for a total of 27 years. "He used his position with the church to prey on young men," Jones said. "He deserves every day he got." James Edward Beal of Jonesboro, a lawyer with the Louisiana Appellate Project, handled Little's appeal. "The imposed sentence is neither grossly disproportionate to the severity of the offense nor shocking to the sense of justice," the 2nd Circuit noted in its judgment. It further stated that by state law the defendant could have received up to 10 years per count. Sharp rendered his sentence after hearing emotional pleas from the fathers of two of the victims who asked the judge to give Little the maximum of 30 years. "He violated not only my son, but the church, church members and God," said one of the fathers. "He held a position of trust and he violated it." One father said before the incident, his son was an honor student. "He's been thrown out of school and has been placed in a private school," the father said. "If this had not happened, he'd still be an honor student." The fathers said their sons were given liquor and then drugged before they were molested by Little. At the time of his arrest, Sterlington Police Chief Barry Bonner said the stepmother of a 17-year-old told police her stepson may have been molested during a sleepover at a churchgoer's house. Little was serving as a youth mentor at the Assembly of God Church of Sterlington and was residing with an associate pastor. Bonner said a talk with the 17-year-old warranted further investigation, and police identified two other possible victims, both 16 years old. Police called Little in for an interview and claimed the youth mentor gave a recorded confession to fondling the two, while one was intoxicated and the other was asleep. Little allegedly provided an alcoholic beverage, a mix of vodka and Kool-Aid, to the 17-year-old and fondled him when he was asleep as well. Bonner said Little had told the church of a previous drug conviction and his two-year probation term. Little had no record of child abuse, and the church decided to hire him despite his criminal history. "Unfortunately he had this hidden inside him." Bonner said. Contact: jgunter@thenewsstar.com
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