47° P/CLOUDY, Humboldt pastor convicted of child molestation
Last Modified: Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 10:34 a.m.
EUREKA — A former youth pastor and teacher's aide is facing four life sentences after he was convicted in a Humboldt County court of child molestation and possession of child pornography.
Twenty-six-year-old Andrew Belant was found guilty Monday of more than a dozen charges. Authorities say he abused four boys, aged nine through 13, between January 2007 and March 2008.
At the trial, the boys testified the abuse began with inappropriate touching.
Belant denied abusing at least one of the boys and said he did not recall taking pornographic photos of boys found on hard drives in his possession.
Belant was a teacher's aide at Jacoby Creek Elementary School and a middle school ministry director at a Eureka church when he was arrested in March 2008.
___
Information from: Times-Standard, http://www.times-standard.com
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
Next Article in Top
-
Petaluma's former police chief DeWitt dies at age 65
Former Petaluma Police Chief Dennis DeWitt, 65, died Saturday of cancer.
The Petaluma Police Department was notified Saturday of his death, a police official said Sunday.
DeWitt, who retired in 1997, had been living in San Diego. He was...
Add a Comment
Only moderator-approved comments are shown on this page. To see all comments, please visit the forum. We at PressDemocrat.com created these forums as a place where our community can exchange ideas on news issues and express their thoughts. Please be courteous and respectful. Avoid expletives, false statements, veiled or overt threats and personal attacks. Stay on topic. (View full Terms of Service.)Post a comment | View all comments on this topic.