ALABAMA
WBRC
Tuesday, August 30th 2016
By Melynda Schauer, Digital Content Producer
BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) –
A former Hoover church staff member and Shelby County resident convicted of sexually abusing a 7-year-old child has been sentenced to 50 years in prison, according to federal authorities.
Federal investigators say Jason Michael Hankins, 35, found his victim by targeting a single mom on a Christian dating site.
The government recommended a 50-year sentence, saying Hankins targeted his victim and engaged in repeated sexual exploitation that lasted the whole time he had access to the child.
Hankins was formerly on staff at the Family Life Center at Shades Crest Baptist Church in Hoover. He resigned from his position after his first arrest for a sodomy charge in 2013.
Hoover police arrested him again the same week on multiple sex abuse charges involving a young female victim and held him on a $6 million bond.
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