A 22-year-old Colorado youth pastor has been charged with a sex offense against a 14-year-old girl. After a two month investigation, the young man was fired from Gateway Christian Church in Colorado Springs, because of the alleged sexual assault.

Over the course of the last three months, the man purportedly had "constant contact" with the teen that he is accused of assaulting. The pair apparently exchanged thousands of text messages and phone calls. However, text messaging in and of itself isn't completely unusual in an age ripe with technology and a generation of teens who do not communicate otherwise. Adults who work with youth often become fluent in text messaging in order to stay connected with the young people they mentor.

The church that the pastor was working for at the time of the incident stated that they felt after they received the reports of the allegations against the young pastor, they had to relieve him of his duty. They stated that they could not and would not be able to tolerate misconduct of one of their ministers in the service of their community. The man was ultimately sentenced to two months in jail, sex offender intensive supervised probation for the next 10 years-to-life and is unable to have any leading duties in any religious organization unless and until a court determines it appropriate.

Although this man was charged for his alleged sex offenses and ultimately sentenced, it is important for anyone in our state facing similar criminal charges to take advantage of their rights to an attorney and the right that they are innocent until proven guilty. Sex offenses and other types of criminal charges can have some very steep consequences. Seeking out an experienced attorney may be the best avenue to take in order to protect inherent rights and to assist in reaching an amiable ending to the court proceedings that are sure to follow.

Source: The KKTV News, "Youth Pastor Sentenced For Sexual Assault," Sept. 9, 2011