The co-founder of one America's largest Christian music festivals has said he deserves to be "cast into the sea" after pleading guilty to several sexual assault
Harry Thomas, who helped start Creation Fest, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing young children.
During his sentencing in late July he referenced Luke 17:2, agreeing that his punishment was just.
He said: "I agree with the scriptures. It would be better for a millstone to be hung around my neck and be cast into the sea. That's what I deserve."
According to Associated Press, as part of a plea agreement earlier this year, the 75 year old acknowledged sexually assaulting a nine-year-old in 2005, having sexual contact with three girls ages seven to nine in 2000 and 2010 and exposing himself to a girl between 2008 and 2010.
He said he was "very sorry for the pain" he's caused.
Thomas was senior pastor of Come Alive New Testament Church in Medford, New Jersey.
The church said in a statement in December 2017, soon after Thomas' arrest, that he was "indefinitely suspended... from all leadership positions with the church, festival, and all associated ministries".
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Article by Tola Mbakwe
Tola Mbakwe is a multimedia journalist for Premier.
