A 41-year-old man named David Richards was sentenced to 12 years in prison in Knox County, Tennessee, for raping his adopted teen daughter. However, the truly horrifying aspect of this story is that he received a lesser sentence because he is a pastor.
His sentence was lowered by 60 years, despite the fact that prosecutors requested 72 years in prison for the molester. Judge Steve Sword recognised the pastor’s efforts and the Bible study he started in jail as the rationale for the low punishment. The priest was found guilty on nine felony counts, including rape, incest, and sexual battery by a public official. For two years, he assaulted his daughter, Amber Richards. It started when she was 14 years old.
It is rare for victims of sexual assault to be publicly named. Amber, on the other hand, opted to come out openly. Amber spoke about the impact of the assault on her in a heartfelt message. She expressed she wanted to get rid of her body. There isn’t a day that goes by that she does not think about what he did to her in some manner. David, on the other hand, insisted on his innocence. He further said that his accuser was a belligerent adolescent who made early charges of sexual assault while he was attempting to enforce harsh regulations on his kids.
While his religious activities did not prevent him from carrying out the horrible crime, they did keep him from receiving the penalty he merited. However, when forensic testing was performed, traces of David’s sperm were discovered on the girl’s bed frame. David has failed to move from his position. When he took the witness stand in his own defence, he maintained his innocence. He stated that he is guilty of crimes he didn’t do. In this scenario, he feels the system just erred. He is not sure why he is here but assumes its God’s plan. One of David’s colleagues pastors, David Thomspon, who imparted ministry duties with him, also defended him. He stated, that it’s difficult for him to think David Richard’s guilty of this. His company need him. His family relies on him. The congregation needs him. In any event, Amber clearly confirmed throughout her confession that if given the chance, Richards would not hesitate to repeat what he did. Amber stated in a video following the trial that she is simply happy that she can finally go on with my life. And she didn’t do it for herself. She did it so that it wouldn’t happen to anyone else. As a result, no one else, especially great children, is in the same circumstances as she is. They don’t deserve to go through things like that, and if she could be the one to ensure it never occurs again, she would.
It is heartening for her to pick up the pieces and stand up for herself, and for the system to at least believe in her. However, the fact that the culprit’s past resulted in such a mild punishment indicates that much more work still to be done. Watch the video and share this story to encourage others to speak up if suffering from any kind of abuse.
