Youth pastor gets 9 years in child-sex case
Pastor Dale Morgan
Youth pastor gets 9 years in child-sex case*
Judge scolds man for lack of remorse after crimes against 12-year-old girl
Friday, January 12, 2007
A former youth pastor was sentenced to nine years in prison yesterday
for having sex with a 12-year-old girl in his church.
David Tillis, 23, of 3742 Ferman Rd. on the South Side, had pleaded
guilty in October to sexual battery and gross sexual imposition after
admitting to repeated sex acts over a year with the girl, who is now 14.
She wrote Tillis a letter that accused him of ruining her life.
"You played with my mind. You tricked me and I fell for it all," the
girl wrote. Her mother, who read the letter in Franklin County Common
Pleas Court, and grandmother had asked for the maximum sentence of 20 years.
Judge David W. Fais labeled Tillis a sexually oriented offender, saying
he showed no remorse until the end.
"You broke their trust, and you violated her," Fais told Tillis, who
stood emotionless next to defense attorney Joe Edwards. "I didn’t find
any contrition or remorse" in Tillis’ statements.
Tillis befriended the girl at Brown Road Community Church, 1553 Brown
Rd., and gave her a pet nickname. He was originally charged with
multiple counts of rape, which included more than 100 sexual acts at the
church and at his home, prosecutors said.
Upon his release, Tillis must verify his home address with authorities
every 30 days for 10 years.
"I regret what I’ve done, and you have my word, for whatever that’s
worth, that I will never be standing before any other judge," Tillis said.