LA Youth Pastor Pleads Guilty To Sex Assault Of Teen

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:

A former youth program minister at First Baptist Church in Covington pleaded guilty in 22nd Judicial District Court on Monday to felony second-degree battery and a misdemeanor count of sexual battery, both stemming from the abuse of a girl who belonged to the church youth group in the early 2000s.

Darrell Jay English, 50, could have faced eight years in jail for the felony charge and six months for the misdemeanor but under the terms of the plea agreement won’t serve any jail time. He will be required to register as a sex offender for five years.

Nicole Marshall, who agreed to be identified for this story, said that she was 15 at the time and dealing with her parents’ separation when English began grooming her under the guise of counseling.

Read the full article. The parents are furious.

Darrell Jay English was arrested after a Sheriff’s Office investigation into juvenile sexual abuse. English once worked in the youth ministry program at the First Baptist Church of Covington. https://t.co/py6ceElVKD via @nolanews

— SNAP Network (@SNAPNetwork) February 25, 2021