anti-gay georgia pastor convicted on eight charges related to child molestation

Well, would you look at that! An anti-gay pastor who claimed the 49 people massacred last year at the gay Orlando nightclub Pulse “got what they deserved” has been convicted on eight charges related to child molestation. The Florida Times Union reports that the charges stem from seven-year-old sexual relationships Georgia pastor Kenneth Adkins had with an underage girl and an underage boy who attended his church. Prosecutors claim the homophobe groomed the minors–who looked to him as a mentor–to have sex with him when they were both only 15.

Five of the charges relate to the woman involved, who lived with Adkins and his wife until a month after his arrest and denies anything happened. However, damning photos and texts convinced the jury who came back with their verdict in only an hour, with even Adkins admitting, “Those were bad decisions. I cannot justify any of that.”

The male accuser explained that he came forward to prevent Adkins doing anything like this to any other children.

Adkins joins dozens of other anti-gay leaders exposed as hypocrites and manipulators in the recent past. Although the narrative that anti-gay sentiments stem from repressed feelings is a dangerous one that ultimately paints queer people as the reason for its own abuse, the ease with which society makes LGBTQ people a punching bag makes such duplicity an unfortunately ever-prevalent phenomenon.

Adkins will be sentenced April 25.

*Hari Ziyad is a New York based storyteller and writer for AFROPUNK. They are also the editor-in-chief of RaceBaitR, deputy editor of Black Youth Project, and assistant editor of Vinyl Poetry & Prose. You can follow them on Twitter @hariziyad.