Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
azcentral.com | Phoenix Arizona News - Arizona Local News
A former Gilbert volunteer church youth leader accused of molesting a 13-year-old girl was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Thursday.
James Ward Chapman, 40, was found guilty on two charges of child molestation and sexual abuse on March 28, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
The trial lasted three days.
Chapman, who could have faced up to 22 years in prison, will also serve lifetime probation and will have to register as a sex offender.
Gilbert Police arrested him in July after the girl, who is deaf and suffers from a slight mental disability, told a school counselor Chapman had molested her in his home.
Chapman initially told officers that he didn't molest the girl. But after a lie-detector test, records show he confessed to touching her.
Chapman was a volunteer at First United Methodist Church of Gilbert.
A former Gilbert volunteer church youth leader accused of molesting a 13-year-old girl was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Thursday.
James Ward Chapman, 40, was found guilty on two charges of child molestation and sexual abuse on March 28, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.
The trial lasted three days.
Chapman, who could have faced up to 22 years in prison, will also serve lifetime probation and will have to register as a sex offender.
Gilbert Police arrested him in July after the girl, who is deaf and suffers from a slight mental disability, told a school counselor Chapman had molested her in his home.
Chapman initially told officers that he didn't molest the girl. But after a lie-detector test, records show he confessed to touching her.
Chapman was a volunteer at First United Methodist Church of Gilbert.