Pastor who cheered Orlando gay nightclub massacre found guilty of child molestation
Thu. April 13, 2017 7:55 AM by OnTopMag.com
A Georgia pastor who tweeted support for last year's Orlando shootings has been found guilty on eight charges related to child molestation.
Jurors on Monday found Kenneth Adkins guilty of three charges of child molestation, three charges of aggravated child molestation and two charges of enticing a child for indecent purposes.
Adkins, who is expected to be sentenced on April 25, faces up to life in prison.
The charges stem from allegations made by a male former member of Adkins' congregation. Adkins' church, the Greater Dimensions Christian Fellowship, has locations in Brunswick, Jacksonville and Atlanta.
Prosecutors claim that Adkins groomed two teenagers to have sex with him, according to the Florida Times Union.
Adkins, 57, vocally opposed expansion of Jacksonville's Human Rights Ordinance (HRO) to include sexual orientation and gender identity. During the debate, he tweeted an image of Jacksonville City Councilman Tommy Hazouri, who was leading the effort, with the message, "I Love Homosexuals. Because I Love Watching. I Am Freaky."
When asked about the tweet, Adkins told WJAX: "I think as a pastor – homosexuality, that's vulgar and that's pornographic, and the whole thought of it."
After a gunman killed 49 people and wounded dozens more in an Orlando gay nightclub, Adkins tweeted: "been through so much with these Jacksonville Homosexuals that I don't see none of them as victims. I see them as getting what they deserve!!"
Jurors on Monday found Kenneth Adkins guilty of three charges of child molestation, three charges of aggravated child molestation and two charges of enticing a child for indecent purposes.
Adkins, who is expected to be sentenced on April 25, faces up to life in prison.
The charges stem from allegations made by a male former member of Adkins' congregation. Adkins' church, the Greater Dimensions Christian Fellowship, has locations in Brunswick, Jacksonville and Atlanta.
Prosecutors claim that Adkins groomed two teenagers to have sex with him, according to the Florida Times Union.
Adkins, 57, vocally opposed expansion of Jacksonville's Human Rights Ordinance (HRO) to include sexual orientation and gender identity. During the debate, he tweeted an image of Jacksonville City Councilman Tommy Hazouri, who was leading the effort, with the message, "I Love Homosexuals. Because I Love Watching. I Am Freaky."
When asked about the tweet, Adkins told WJAX: "I think as a pastor – homosexuality, that's vulgar and that's pornographic, and the whole thought of it."
After a gunman killed 49 people and wounded dozens more in an Orlando gay nightclub, Adkins tweeted: "been through so much with these Jacksonville Homosexuals that I don't see none of them as victims. I see them as getting what they deserve!!"
Article provided in partnership with On Top Magazine