Cleric Guilty Of Raping Churchgoing Children: MANHATTAN—Jeremy Fulton, a former minister at Mariners’ Temple Baptist Church in Lower Manhattan, has pleaded guilty to the rape and sexual abuse of five girls who attended his church.
Fulton, 28, who also served as the associate director of the church’s after-school and summer camp programs, pled guilty to first degree rape and is expected to be sentenced on May 20 to 22 years in prison, followed by 20 years of post-release supervision.
“This defendant used his position of authority and respect to win the trust of parents and gain unfettered access to children for the purpose of sexually abusing these girls,” said District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. “Children who survive sexual abuse often face a lifetime of recovery, and prosecutions like this bring justice to those victims and their families. Putting an offender like this in prison also saves other victims he might have preyed upon.”
In all, the defendant admitted to sexually abusing five children, four of whom he had met through church-related programs. This abuse consisted of repeated sexual intercourse with three of the young victims and repeated sexual touching of all the children.
The victims ranged in age from 10 to 16 years old, and with at least two of the girls the abuse lasted for a period of several years. Fulton committed some of the abuse on church property, and solicited sexually explicit photographs from one victim, which he kept his computer. 4-5-11
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