IOWA
Des Moines Register
Written by
Jeff Eckhoff
ADEL, IA. — Former Pella pastor Patrick Edouard illegally exploited his female parishioners for sex, but he never forced sex upon them, a Dallas County jury ruled Friday afternoon.
Edouard, pastor at Pella’s Covenant Reformed Church until his multiple extramarital affairs came to light in December 2010, was convicted Friday of four charges that he violated a law banning sex between people who provide “mental health services” and those who come to seek guidance from them. He was also found guilty of having a pattern or practice of exploitation.
Edouard was acquitted, however, of three more-serious rape charges — apparently because jurors agreed with defense arguments that the women were never physically forced to start the affairs.
Edouard now faces between five and nine years in prison when he’s formally sentenced on Oct. 19. He remains free on $45,000 bond. Neither Edouard nor his victims agreed to comment Friday.
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