QUINCY — As he prepared to sentence Isaiah Mikkelson Friday morning, Judge Tad Brenner took a moment to discuss sexual abuse occurring in church settings.

“That any religious institution does not have policies and procedures and education in place to prevent situations like this from happening is absolutely appalling,” Brenner said. “That is a situation which is beyond my jurisdiction and beyond the jurisdiction of a secular court, but it is something that I feel compelled to say in terms of Mr. Mikkelson.”

Brenner then sentenced Mikkelson, 22, a former youth leader at Hope Lutheran Church in Quincy, to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He pled guilty to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse with a person under the age of 18 on Sept. 26.

“What I see is grooming of these two young ladies went on for a very long period of time,” Brenner said….