GADSDEN (AL)
CBS 42
Gadsden, AL (WIAT) Etowah County District Attorney Jimmie Harp announced the conviction of Thomas Russell Reilly today. Reilly was accused of first degree rape and four counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12. Reilly faces from 20 to 99 years in prison. Sentencing for Mr. Reilly is May 30. Read the full press release below.
Thomas Russell Reilly, 59, of Henderson Street, Gadsden, was convicted by an Etowah County jury today on charges of Rape in the First Degree, and four counts of Sexual Abuse of a Child under 12 years of age. The jury returned the verdicts after less than two hours of deliberation. Judge Allen Millican scheduled a sentencing hearing in the cases for May 30, 2012.
The charges against Reilly stemmed from incidents where he allowed numerous female children to spend the night with him in his home, on the premise that if they stayed the night, he could take them with him to church the next morning at the Tabernacle, on South 11th Street, here in Gadsden. Reilly, who lived alone, also picked the children up from school on Wednesdays to attend church with him that evening. Reilly told law enforcement that he worked as an usher and security guard for the church, as well as driving children to church in a van. He stated that he did not get paid for the services, and that he did not charge the parents of the girls for babysitting.
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