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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Ramon Antonio Vargas

Louisiana pastor convicted of abusing teenage congregant

Empty Wooden Church Pews
Milton Otto Martin III, who has been accused by several alleged victims of assault, convicted of indecent behavior.
Photograph: Stefania Pelfini la Waziya/Getty Images

A Pentecostal pastor in Louisiana charged with sexually molesting a teenage girl in his church has been convicted of indecent behavior with a juvenile – but was acquitted of the more serious crime of statutory rape.

Milton Otto Martin III, 58, faces up to seven years in prison and must register as a sex offender after a three-day trial in Chalmette, Louisiana, resulted in a guilty – if split – verdict against him Thursday. His sentencing hearing is tentatively set for 15 January in the latest high-profile instance of religious abuse in the New Orleans area.

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