Vernon ex-pastor sentenced for raping 15-year-old
A former Vernon pastor pleaded guilty Wednesday to raping a 15-year-old girl who told officers he sexually assaulted her at church and in a hotel room.
Brian Pounds, 46, pleaded guilty to a July 1 aggravated sexual assault of a child and was sentenced to 45 years in prison Wednesday afternoon in the 46th District Court of Wilbarger County, according to a media release.
“Brian Pounds abused his position of trust as a pastor in the most horrific way,” said 46th District Attorney Staley Heatly in the media release.
“Our community and our children are much safer with him in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice," Heatly said.
More: Vernon minister indicted on drug, child sex crimes charges
Aggravated sexual assault of a child is punishable by up to life in prison.
Under Texas law, a person is not eligible for parole for a sex offense until he has served at least half of the sentence, according to the media release.
But sex offenders generally serve much more than half of a sentence and often serve the entire sentence, Heatly said in the media release.
“I have to acknowledged the incredible amount of time and effort put into this case by the Vernon Police Department, the Texas Rangers, and by DA Investigator Jeff Case,” Heatly said.
“This case would not have resolved this way without their very thorough investigation," he said.
Pounds was a pastor in the Vernon community for over a decade. His LinkedIn profile still lists him as lead pastor at Vernon First Assembly of God.
More: Vernon minister indicted on drug, child sex crimes charges
He became the target of a criminal investigation July 1 when a woman told police she believed her daughter was at a local hotel room in Vernon and needed assistance, according to the media release.
When officers arrived at the hotel, Pounds was sitting in his vehicle in the hotel parking lot, according to the media release.
He told police he had gotten a hotel room for a person in need, according to a media release.
Later, at the Vernon Police Department, the 15-year-old victim told police Pounds had given her methamphetamine and sexually assaulted her in the hotel room, according to the media release.
During a search of the hotel room, officers found a small amount of meth on the comforter, according to the media release.
According to the child’s mother, Pounds had been assisting the family and had offered to provide counseling to the victim, the media release stated.
The girl told police that Pounds sexually assaulted her at his church and at the hotel over a period of weeks, according to the media release.
During a search of church facilities, officers found a small baggie containing methamphetamine in an area where the teen described smoking meth with Pounds, according to the media release.
More: Vernon minister arrested for sexual assault of a child
Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news, politics and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Pounds sentenced for sexual assault
