Pastor sentenced to 75 years in prison for sexually abusing 15-year-old church member
MAGNOLIA, Texas -- A Texas pastor has been found guilty of sexual assault of a child.
Ronald Mitchell, 59, sexually abused an underage female church member from 2015 - 2016 while serving as pastor at the Body of Christ Ministry.
During a hearing on Tuesday, Mitchell was sentenced to 75 years in prison.
Apostle Mitchell, as he was known to church members, led the church from various locations.
Many of the members, including the 15-year-old he abused, had moved in with Mitchell. She was then home schooled at his property.
The teen never told anyone about the abuse because she says Mitchell told her that if she did, she would be killed by God and it would be her fault that "the movement" was destroyed.
In October 2016, the victim told her mother, who reported the abuse to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
During the investigation, the sheriff's office found that six to seven families were living at Mitchell's home.
One former member said she she had been judged by Mitchell and was then put out of the church for being rebellious.
She said that since she had nowhere to go, she slept outside of his home in a truck for months before she was allowed back inside.
Mitchell's trial lasted two weeks.
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