Louisiana pastor sentenced to 80 years for sexually molesting two boys

A suburban New Orleans religious pastor has been sentenced to 80 years’ imprisonment after being convicted of sexually molesting two boys – the third time in which he was found guilty of abusing minors. While Terry Reed received his punishment at a state court hearing on Thursday, the mother of one of his survivors read a victim-impact statement on behalf of her son which called him “an utter failure and a sorry excuse for a man”. Jurors found Reed guilty on 6 May of two counts of third-degree rape and two counts of molestation of a juvenile, as Jefferson parish, Louisiana, district attorney Paul Connick’s office said in a statement. He molested both survivors after gaining their guardians’ trust, taking them into his home in the Jefferson community of Terrytown. Prosecutors established that Reed, under the guise of acting as their pastor, cited biblical scripture to manipulate the youths into believing his sexually abusive behavior with them was normal. The verdict against Reed in May came after two prior convictions for similar crimes. He had pleaded guilty in 1997 to indecent behavior with a juvenile. And in 2017, he pleaded guilty to indecent behavior with a juvenile and molestation of a juvenile. Reed faced up to 40 years in prison on each of the juvenile molestation convictions from May when he was brought before Judge Ray Steib for sentencing. …