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	Former Youth Minister Gets 20-Year Term The Mississippi Press May 23, 2006 http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississippipress/index.ssf? /base/news/114837935375640.xml PASCAGOULA -- Former church youth minister Paul H. Valentine will serve 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to two counts of sexual battery and touching a teenager for lustful purposes by a person in a position of trust. Valentine, 36, of Ocean Springs, was ac-cused of having oral sex on two separate occasions in September 2004 and touching the girl in incidents that occurred around the Labor Day holiday the same year. He was arrested in September 2005 and indicted shortly afterward. The girl, who attended St. Paul United Methodist Church in Ocean Springs while Valentine was her youth minister, was 15 at the time of the crimes, District Attorney Tony Lawrence said. One of the crimes was committed while Valentine stayed at the victim's family's home after Hurricane Ivan damaged Valentine's home, Lawrence added. Lawrence said a big key to the case was e-mail conversations between Valentine and the victim that began a year before any sexual encounters occurred. "I told the judge, If you could see the e-mails, you could see this coming from a mile away,'" Lawrence said. "Unfortunately, nobody had the e-mails until after it was discovered." The cyber crimes unit of the state attorney general's office "greatly assisted" in gathering the electronic dialogues and strengthening the case, Lawrence said. "This defendant not only molested a 15-year-old child, he violated the trust of the parents, the church and the community," Lawrence said. "That deserved a 10-year sentence day-for day. Circuit Judge Kathy King Jackson's sentencing called for Valentine to serve at least 10 years without a chance for parole, with 10 years suspended on each charge, Lawrence said. "I only hope that we will not see any more church-related crimes of this nature, and I hope this strict sentence will convince people considering committing crimes against children will decide not to make an innocent child a victim," Lawrence said. "If they do, then they can expect to receive substantial prison time." The family agreed to the plea agreement, said Lawrence, who read a prepared statement by the victim on her behalf, In the statement, she said she is moving on with her life. "I let (Valentine) make me a victim. I allowed his lack of character and integrity to mark me as a victim of sexual abuse. But I am a survivor, not a victim," she wrote of the situation, adding that the therapy she sought helped her heal. "I refuse to let it leave even a small negative mark on my life," she added. "The most comfort I will receive through his sentence is the knowledge that he will not be able to do this again." In addition to having to register as a sex offender, Valentine was also fined $1,000 on each charge. "(Valentine) should know that he has not won here," the teenager also wrote. "I am not still the fragile, damaged girl that would cry herself to sleep at night. I have grown and become such a stronger person. I am valuable in and of myself, and I am enough. I will go on to live a successful life in whatever I choose to do, and I have friends and family that love and support me through all of this. (Valentine) can't take that away."
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