BishopAccountability.org
 
  Pastor Sentenced in Molestation of 13-Year-Old Boy

By Crystal Carreon
Sacramento Bee
October 19, 2007

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/443719.html

In a Sacramento County courtroom teeming with parishioners, a south Sacramento pastor was ordered Friday to serve up to a life sentence in prison for molesting a 13-year-old boy at a Meadowview library in the spring.

Frederick Deshawn Dew was sentenced to 15-years-to-life for the aggravated sexual assault of the child on March 8; Dew was also sentenced to an additional seven years for molesting the child.

Superior Court Judge Michael P. Kenny handed down the sentence after a morning hearing where Dew addressed the court, with his church supporters seated behind him.

The founder and pastor of Praise Tabernacle church on 44th Street, expressed sympathy for the victim and his family, but maintained that he was innocent of any crime.

Shortly after his arrest, Dew told The Bee that he had not attacked the boy and believed that God would help uncover the truth.

Over the summer, jurors convicted Dew on all four felony counts following a trial in which the child testified that Dew, a stranger, had molested him in the book aisle and in the men's restroom at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library on 24th Street.

The victim managed to escape and alerted a library security guard, who then tried to stop Dew from leaving.

Security officers noted the license plate on Dew's Mercedes as he sped away and returned to his church. He was arrested the next day.

In court on Friday, Deputy District Attorney Allison Dunham also mentioned Dew's criminal history from Southern California, including sexual battery and fraud - a history that Dew asked the judge to look past.

"This defendant committed these acts with complete and utter disregard...his actions would have on the lives of his victims," Dunham said in a statement after the hearing. "He betrayed the trust of his family, his friends and his congregation."

She said Dew will now have plenty of time in prison to reflect on his crimes, and "one day he may come to accept responsibility."

 
 

Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.