TEXAS
Houston Chronicle
By Andrew Kragie
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
A onetime volunteer youth pastor from Willis has been sentenced to life in prison and won’t be eligible for parole until 2046 after his recent conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Dell Ivan Godkin, 48, was convicted Aug. 11 by a Montgomery County jury, prosecutors said in a news release Monday.
The victim — whom prosecutors say was a relative — told the jurors the abuse began when she was 13 and continued until shortly before her 17th birthday, when they “made a deal” that he would stop abusing her if she would not tell anyone.
“He would say lots of things about God being OK with it,” prosecutor Monica Cooper said. He would use Bible verses about men and women’s roles to justify the abuse.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.