ALABAMA
Times Daily
By Tom Smith Senior Staff Writer
FLORENCE — The father of a 12-year-old who was sexually molested by Oliver Brazelle said he wanted the former Sheffield youth minister to understand the “devastation” Brazelle brought on his family and the community.
“You were respected, an ordained member of the clergy. You had the trust of those members. We considered you and your family our best friends,” the father said. “We had no clue of the devastation you did on our son.
“My son (who is now an adult) is a hero because he came forward, put himself on the line to stop a monster like you. May God have mercy on your soul, but not on your body and your life while you are alive on this earth.”
Brazelle, 81, the former music and youth minister of First United Methodist Church of Sheffield, was indicted in August 2014 on sodomy and sexual abuse charges involving a teenage boy.
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