ALABAMA
Alabama’s 13

By Sarah Killian

BIRMINGHAM, AL –
A former pastor charged with sex crimes appeared in a Jefferson County courtroom Thursday morning.

Jay Strickland is charged with sex abuse and sodomy after two adults told police he molested them as children.

According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, investigators began looking into Strickland in April after a man came forward and said the pastor molested him as a child. A woman also said she was abused by Strickland when she was a child.

Strickland served as Administrative Pastor at Sharon Heights Baptist Church in Jefferson County. After his arrest last month, the church severed all ties with him.