MA Youth Pastor Sentenced To 3-4 Years For Child Rape

The Salem News reports:

The vulnerable teens were steered toward a local United Methodist Church — and into the path of a lay pastor, a man who, though not ordained, had been given a type of license by the church to work as a youth minister.

On Thursday, Russell Woodman Davis, 70, pleaded guilty to raping and attempting to rape the three boys at various times between 1988 and 2006, in Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury.

Davis was sentenced to three to four years in state prison, a sentence that Salem Superior Court Judge Thomas Drechsler had offered if Davis opted to plead guilty before his trial, which had been scheduled for next week.

Read the full article.

Prosecutors had sought a much longer sentence prior to the plea deal agreement and some other charges were dropped due to the statute of limitations. A lawyer for one of the victims noted that while the sentence seems short, Davis will do hard time at a Supermax prison “where they send the really bad people.” 

New: A former United Methodist Church youth minister has been sentenced to 3-4 years in state prison for the sexual abuse of three boys starting in the 1980s. https://t.co/2JLFpZv1zU

— Julie Manganis (@SNJulieManganis) February 23, 2023