ALABAMA
Associated Baptist Press
By Bob Allen
A former children’s minister at an Alabama Baptist church was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to child sex abuse March 7.
Jeffrey Dale Eddie, 41, longtime associate pastor for children and church administration at Highland Park Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, Ala., entered pleas to 16 counts of sodomy, three counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 and one count of child pornography.
According to the Huntsville Times, prosecutors offered a plea bargain after talking with parents of victims.
“The main reason was to keep any of these children from having to testify and being named in the indictments,” said Colbert County District Attorney Bryce Graham. “Every victim and every parent is in agreement with this or we wouldn’t have done it. I hope this brings closure to these people and they can get back on with their lives.”
Eddie, arrested Feb. 4, had worked at Highland Park Baptist since 1998. Members called him “Brother Jeff.” He was originally taken into custody for child pornography found on his church-owned computer when the pastor investigated a report of him behaving suspiciously with a child.
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