Former Al Church Staff Member Gets 50 Years for Sexually Abusing 7-year-old
By Melynda Schauer
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. "Not only did Hankins sexually abuse the child, but he used his cell phone to memorialize the child's nightmare," the government said in a sentencing memorandum. A federal judge sentenced Hankins to 30 years for sexual exploitation of a child and an additional 20 years for possession child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the charges in January. Hankins will also be on supervised release for the rest of his life after finishing his prison term, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance's office said. "The seven-year-old child was not Hankins’ only victim, as he possessed more than 100 videos and more than 1,000 images of child pornography, including a video of a man raping a toddler, according to the sentencing memorandum," Vance said. The FBI investigated the case, Vance added.
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