Terry Dobbs, pastor of Old Fashion United Baptist Church (no web presence) in Yorktown, Indiana was sentenced today to nine years in prison for sexually molesting a church girl he was counseling. The courtroom crowd was filled with Dobbs supporters who asked that their child molesting pastor be given probation. Dobbs’ wife blamed the victim and their son blamed the girl’s parents.
The now-former pastor at a Yorktown church on Thursday was sentenced to nine years in prison for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old member of his congregation.
Terry Wayne Dobbs, now 54, in July pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct with a minor and child solicitation.
Delaware Circuit Court 5 Judge Thomas Cannon Jr. imposed a 13-year sentence, with nine years executed and four years suspended.
During a hearing that exceeded two hours, Dobbs repeatedly said he could not explain or justify his actions.
I don’t know where this came from,” he said. “I’d give anything if I could tell you what happened.” [how about a stiff prick has no conscience]
Authorities said Dobbs, at the time pastor of Old Fashion United Baptist Church, had a sexual relationship with the girl after she began counseling with him about personal problems in July 2016.
He was arrested last December.
Deputy Prosecutor Doug Mawhorr said the teenager was the target of “an extreme example of grooming and manipulation.”
Mawhorr said the married pastor at one point got “down on bended knee” and proposed to his victim, giving her a ring and declaring her his “promise wife… so the sex could be legitimized.”
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Dobbs’ wife testified there was “blame to be shared” by her husband and his victim.
The pastor’s son suggested the victim’s parents should not have allowed her to meet with his father alone.
Daley recommended his client – who suffers from chronic health problems stemming from a head injury – should receive a seven-year suspended sentence.
At one point, Daley asked those in the packed courtroom to stand if they supported his client.
All of the people on one side of of the courtroom stood. With the exception of one person, those on the other side – including members of Dobb’s former church – remained seated.
Dobbs said he spent almost “every waking hour… trying to figure out” how he could have behaved in such a fashion.
“I threw (his career in the ministry) away and I don’t know why,” he said. “It will haunt me everywhere I go.”
Cannon called the former minister’s actions “tremendously disturbing.”
“Your actions, however you justify them, render your words meaningless,” the judge told Dobbs. “You undertook a pattern of grooming with the victim to satisfy your prurient desires.”
The Muncie man will be required to register with local authorities as a sex offender for 10 years upon his release from prison.
