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	Former Fairbanks Pastor Sentenced for Sex with Teen By Sam Friedman News-Miner August 5, 2011 http://newsminer.com/bookmark/14958020-Former-Fairbanks-pastor-sentenced-for-sex-with-teen Former Fairbanks pastor Shawn Anthony Justice was sentenced Thursday to serve a prison term of eight years and three months for having sex with a teenage girl who had been his parishioner. Justice, 33, was convicted of eight counts of second-degree child sexual abuse after a jury trial last November. The sentence was significantly more than the five years suggested by defense attorney Steven Hansen but less than the 10 years suggested by Assistant District Attorney Gayle Garrigues. He also was sentenced to more than 30 years of suspended time, which he would have to serve if he violated release conditions. “I understand the pleas for leniency,” Superior Court Judge Michael McConahy said when imposing the sentence. “But he was the shepherd placed in charged of protecting his flock, and he turned out to be a wolf,” McConahy said, borrowing language used by the prosecutor. “Leniency to the wolf is not justice to the lambs.” Justice had a similar sexual relationship with another teenager when he was 24 and working as a musical director of a church in Virginia. McConahy said he could not consider the previous offense a prior conviction because it took place in Virginia, where laws are not as strict. In Virginia, Justice was sentenced to take classes about appropriate relationships but received no jail time. McConahy also praised the courage and poise of three teenage girls who testified at the trial. The victim spoke again at the sentencing, saying she often wonders what her life would have been like had she not met Justice. She said she will always be scarred by the experience, but that she will use it to help others. The News-Miner does not identify victims of sex crimes. Justice met the victim when he was pastor of Corinthian Baptist Church in 2007. She testified in trial that he began sending her sexual text messages the following year. Her parents learned of the text messages and tried to keep her from him by telling him to stay away, withdrawing from the church and monitoring her phone and computer usage, her father said at the sentencing Thursday. But in 2009, she snuck out of her house and rode her bike to Justice’s apartment to have sex. Justice had been dismissed as pastor of the church in August 2008 and then led a satellite church, also in Fairbanks. His firing led to a lengthy court battle between church leadership and the congregation about which group had authority over the pastor. Ultimately, the case was dismissed. Many members of the church attended the sentencing. McConahy said Thursday he had been impressed with the church during the case and that Justice’s behavior should not reflect badly on it. Justice said in a hearing last month that he plans to appeal the conviction. He chose not to speak at Thursday’s sentencing. He will be eligible for parole after he has served one quarter of his sentence. He could receive credit for as much as a third of the sentence for good behavior while in jail. Contact staff writer Sam Friedman at 459-7545. Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Former Fairbanks pastor sentenced for sex with teen Contact: sfriedman@newsminer.com
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