Pedophile Pastor Denied Appeal Of 1008-Year Sentence

The Birmingham News reports:

The Alabama Supreme Court has refused to review the case of a former youth pastor sentenced to more than 1,000 years in prison for sex crimes against young boys.

Paul Edward “Acton” Bowen is serving time in Kilby Correctional Facility where he was admitted in December 2019 after he entered guilty pleas in Etowah County to 28 counts of sexual abuse involving six male victims ages 13 to 16. His minimum release date is 2980.

The Gadsden native was the founder of Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries. At the time of his arrest, he was a self-described speaker, best-selling author and visionary.

Upon Bowen’s 2018 arrest, Roy Moore’s attorney, Trenton Garmon, resigned from the board of Bowen’s ministry. According to Garmon, Bowen had enrolled in a paid web filtering program called Covenant Eyes, which supposedly alerts an “accountability partner” when the allegedly godly Christian surrenders to his lust and views internet porn.

Additionally, Garmon claimed that Bowen was supposed to be abiding by the so-called “Billy Graham Rule” and never be alone with a female other than his wife or with a male under 16 years old. Garmon acknowledged that the second half of that rule “was not always honored.”

Heavy.com has published an extensive report on the criminal charges, Bowen’s ministry, his false claim of being a Fox News contributor, his best-selling books, and his ties to major evangelical figures including a GOP candidate for governor of Alabama.

Covenant Eyes, you may recall, was also reportedly used by accused pedophile Josh Duggar.