TEXAS
Baptist News
By Bob Allen
The younger of two brothers convicted of sexually exploiting girls in the youth group of a Texas Baptist church has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Jordan “Jordy” Earls, 26, received a sentence of 180 months in prison, the statutory minimum, in exchange for pleading guilty to a single count of producing child pornography. Prosecutors said they were prepared to add at least 10 counts if Earls rejected the plea bargain and the case had gone to trial.
Previously Earls’ older brother, Joshua Earls, 31, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after also pleading guilty to child pornography. Authorities say together the brothers, sons of a Baptist minister, used Joshua Earls’ position as youth minister at Arapaho Road Baptist Church in Garland, Texas, to entice minor girls to take pornographic pictures of themselves and share them with the brothers over the Internet.
One victim filed a civil lawsuit in February, alleging that leaders of the congregation either knew or should have known that the men posed a danger to the church’s youth.
At his sentencing hearing Feb. 18, Jordy Earls said he is sorry for his crimes and hopes the people he harmed would forgive him.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.