This story is courtesy of the Cherokee Tribune
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A pastor pleaded guilty to two counts of child molestation in Cherokee County Superior Court on Friday.
Derek Gillett, 38, of southeast Cherokee County, was arrested in March for molesting two juveniles “for some time,” according to police reports. He was a pastor at Cornerstone Community Church in Forsyth County.
After hearing the plea, Judge Jackson Harris sentenced Gillett to 30 years. He will serve 10 years in jail and the remainder on probation.
During his plea, Gillett said he was “forever sorry” and that he had dishonored his family and “put them through a world of hurt.”
Prior to forming Cornerstone last year, Gillett served as a volunteer youth director at Midway United Methodist Church in Alpharetta.
The victims were not members of the congregation, sheriff’s office Public Information Officer Sgt. Jay Baker said, but their relationship to Gillett was not released to protect their identities.
He originally was charged in March by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office with two counts of aggravated child molestation and two counts of sodomy.
Gillett was released later that month from the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center on $50,000 bond, but with conditions including that he wear a GPS monitoring device at all times and not have unsupervised contact with juveniles.
Filed under: In the News - Abuse & the Church | Tagged: abuse in the church, abuse of power, child molestation, church abuse, Clergy Abuse, clergy sex abuse, sexual assault, spiritual abuse |
BECAUSE IT MATTERS ~ Freedom from Abuse in Christianity 
Hmm… I did not read all 230 some comments on the original post for this case. But I read enough to get a feel for the vehement defense of this man… and read one that said if they were proved wrong they would stand up and acknowledge it. I have no problem with defending someone if you truly believe them to be innocent. But when they confess… Hmm…. I came to this post, expecting (hoping, actually) to see some comments… the silence is deafening…
The victims are re-victimized when they are accused of ‘making it up.’ And when the truth comes out, the apologies to the victims are rare indeed…
Hi Katherine!
Actually the latter comments on the original post are showing what you’re looking for. Once the details of his confession came out, everything changed. A few people are waiting to read the transcript, I think. It would be great if every person who stood in defense of Derek would also take the time to post an apology to the girls, but several have done so. I know a whole lot of people are reeling right now.
— Danni