Church of God senior pastor pleads guilty to possessing over 100 child porn images, gets 8-year sentence

Denomination revokes ministerial credentials

A former Church of God senior pastor in Tennessee has pleaded responsible and was sentenced to eight years in jail for possessing little one sexual abuse pictures on his laptop computer.

Richard Lee Sentell of the defunct Cornerstone Church of God in Cleveland entered a responsible plea Friday to sexual exploitation of a minor. He obtained an eight-year sentence with the Tennessee Division of Corrections, based on the Tenth Judicial District Lawyer Normal’s workplace. He’s not eligible for parole. 

Sentell was arrested in December 2023 and subsequently suspended from all ministerial actions by the Tennessee Church of God, pending the end result of his case. 

In an announcement to The Christian Submit, The Church of God Tennessee State Workplace said that Sentell’s ministerial credentials have been “completely revoked” because of this disposition. The denomination added that Cornerstone Church of God in Cleveland was “discontinued” on Sept. 18, 2023, and now not exists. 

“For quite a few months, Richard Lee Sentell has not been energetic as a Church of Godminister,” the assertion assured. “Our ideas and prayers exit to all concerned on this matter.”

In the summertime of 2023, the Cleveland Police Division obtained a tip from the Nationwide Middle for Lacking and Exploited Kids {that a} person within the space uploaded two pictures of kid intercourse abuse materials to an internet site known as Binglmage, an AI instrument that permits customers to add photographs to allow them to seek for comparable photographs. 

Investigating the case, Detective Matthew Landolt discovered that uploads originated from the house of Sentell and his spouse.

After detectives searched the property, they discovered “a suspicious laptop computer” that was “wedged between a mattress and a field spring in a downstairs bed room within the residence.” The investigators discovered 124 pictures of kid sexual abuse materials, most of which “depicted prepubescent youngsters being sexually assaulted.”

“Knowledge on the laptop computer indicated that Richard Lee Sentell was the proprietor and person of the laptop computer,” the assertion from the Tenth Judicial District said. “Moreover, information on the laptop computer indicated that Mr. Sentell had looked for and in any other case sought out little one sexual abuse materials for a lot of months, usually late at night time or early within the morning.”

T. Wayne Dority, the executive bishop of the Tennessee Church of God, advised WTVC after Sentell’s arrest that Cornerstone Church of God had been beforehand suspended. The church had rented area on the Church of God Jerusalem Acres for Sunday providers for 3 years after promoting the church constructing years prior.