Ex-youth Minister Waives Hearing
By Tom Smith Senior Staff Writer
The former music and youth minister of a Sheffield church, charged with molesting a teenage boy, waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday, and his case will proceed to the grand jury. Oliver Brazelle, 80, 311 Meadow Hill Road, Sheffield, is charged with second-degree sexual abuse and one-count of second-degree sodomy, officials said. By waiving his preliminary hearing, Brazelle’s case will be place on the docket to be presented at the upcoming August grand jury session, according to court officials. Agents with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation arrested Brazelle on Jan. 6. Authorities said Brazelle is accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy who was a member of his youth group at the church. The accusation is that the abuse took place in the mid-1990s and occurred at Brazelle’s Shoals Creek residence on Lauderdale 322 near Happy Hollow. Sheffield police launched an investigation in 2012 after church members contacted police in regard to accusations of child sexual abuse. Police said the investigation was put on hold a month later because the reported victims were unwilling to come forward. ABI agents began an investigation in early December after the department was contacted by one reported victim who now is an adult. Brazelle was terminated as music minister on July 27, 2012. Police said Brazelle had not held youth minister duties at the church for about 10 years before his arrest. According to an August 2012 letter to members of the church explaining Brazelle’s termination, the former youth director and music minister admitted to church officials he had an inappropriate relationship with a younger member of the church. Another letter released by church officials during the initial probe, stated that in 2003, the United Methodist Church’s bishop restricted Brazelle from choir directorship with young people after he was accused of inappropriate sexual contact in the 1970s. Second-degree sexual abuse is a Class C felony and is punishable by 1-10 years in prison. Second-degree sodomy is a Class B felony and carries a penalty of 2-20 years in prison. Brazelle is out of jail on bail of $45,000. Tom Smith can be reached at 256-740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com
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