Former Jefferson County Pastor Charged with Sex Crimes Appears in Court

By Sarah Killian
Alabama's 13
July 17, 2014

http://www.alabamas13.com/story/26047358/former-pastor-charged-with-sex-crimes-appears-in-court-jay-strickland

Former pastor Jay Strickland appears in court July 17, 2014. He's charged with sex abuse and sodomy.

A former pastor charged with sex crimes appeared in a Jefferson County courtroom Thursday morning.

Jay Strickland is charged with sex abuse and sodomy after two adults told police he molested them as children.

According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, investigators began looking into Strickland in April after a man came forward and said the pastor molested him as a child. A woman also said she was abused by Strickland when she was a child.

Strickland served as Administrative Pastor at Sharon Heights Baptist Church in Jefferson County. After his arrest last month, the church severed all ties with him.

When asked about Strickland, the pastor at Sharon Heights Baptist Church, Terry Trivette, released the following statement:

Upon knowledge of the allegations against Jay Strickland, the church immediately notified the necessary authorities. The decision was made at that time to place Mr. Strickland on an indefinite leave of absence. Upon knowledge of the formal charges filed by Jefferson County, the decision was made to relieve Mr. Strickland of his employment at Sharon Heights Baptist Church. The church has no further comment on this matter at this time.

Strickland was also an employee at UAB Hospital. Since his arrest, he’s been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of this investigation.

Thursday morning, Strickland was scheduled to appear before Jefferson County Judge Shelley Watkins for his preliminary hearing. At the hearing, Judge Watkins granted a motion to postpone the hearing until next month.

Strickland’s attorney, Richard Jaffe, says they need more time to investigation the allegations against his client.

"We just don't have enough information now to make good legal decisions that make sense, so we need more time,” Jaffe said.

The charges against Strickland stem from incidents that allegedly happened more than 7 years ago. Jaffe says they have questions about the timing of these charges.

"If it happened 7 or 8 years ago, why suddenly is it surfacing years later? And that's one of the things we have to investigate carefully," Jaffe explained.

In the courtroom Thursday morning, Strickland was surrounded by his wife and other family members. Jaffe says his client maintains his innocence.

"He's continuously denied these allegations and remains in shock. And, he's been trying to survive each day."

Strickland’s preliminary hearing has been moved to Aug. 21. He remains out of jail on a $70,000 bond.