Former Phoenix pastor gets prison for sexually abusing girls, Associated Press (September 17, 2018)

Former Phoenix pastor gets prison for sexually abusing girls

A former pastor has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and lifetime probation for sexually abusing underage girls who attended his Phoenix church.

Maricopa County Superior Court officials say Jose Vicente Morales was sentenced Monday.

He pleaded guilty last month to molestation of a child, sex abuse and three counts of attempted molestation of a child.

The 51-year-old Morales will get credit for the more than two years he’s already served since his 2016 arrest.

Morales formerly was the pastor of Iglesia Cristiana Impacto de Fe, a small church in Phoenix.

Court documents indicate the sexual assaults occurred throughout the 1990s and from 2007 to 2011.

After his arrest, authorities said Morales admitted to a sexual relationship with the 18-year-old girl but denied everything else.