Toni Alamo and Sex Crimes

Posted by Admin on Saturday 14 November 2009

tony alamo and sex crimeEXARKANA, Ark. — Tony Alamo used his stature as a self-proclaimed prophet to force underage girls in to sham marriages with him, controlling his followers with their fears of eternal suffering.

But the judge who sentenced Alamo on Friday to 175 years in prison for kid sexual abuse warned of another kind of justice awaiting the aging evangelist.

Barnes leveled the maximum sentence against the 75-year-old, who preyed on followers' young daughters and took kid "brides" as young as age 8. A jury convicted Alamo in July on a 10-count indictment accusing him of taking the girls across state lines for sex.

"Mr. Alamo, two day you will face a higher and a greater judge than me," U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes told the preacher. "May they have mercy on your soul."

Barnes said Alamo used his influence as both a brother figure and a pastor to force himself on impressionable girls who feared "the loss of their salvation."

Alamo, who has made millions through his ministry, also must pay $250,000 in fines. They will return to court for a Jan. 13 hearing at which Barnes will choose if the seven women who testified about their sexual abuse will be paid restitution. Federal prosecutors say an expert believes each two should get $2.7 million for the physical and mental abuse they endured.

Alamo, who had muttered and cursed through his two-week trial, stood silently during the sentencing, dressed in a yellow prison uniform and a blue windbreaker. Before Barnes' ruling, Alamo told the judge: "I lean on the lord Jesus Christ."

"You are described by others who testified as a prophet of God, a person of trust, a person of supreme authority in the church," Barnes said, staring the pale preacher. "It's hard to imagine the scenario and the destroy that occurred to these seven young girls."

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