Sex offender: Saved by Christ, but still addicted
By Brandon Shulleeta
He’s an army veteran. A regular church-goer. A father and a grandfather.
He’s also a convicted child molester who sodomized a six-year-old girl and had sexual contact with a toddler.
Eight years after committing the crimes, he confessed, and was sentenced in 1999.
After serving five years and six months in a state prison, he agreed to an anonymous interview on June 29 from his Milford home.
The 55-year-old man said that he confessed to his sins because he found Christ. And while he's still sexually addicted to children, God has helped him to stop acting on those desires, he said.
Sitting in a den recliner, with his wife of 19 years in a chair to his left, he began his story by recalling Nov. 19, 1998.
" I applied for a job as a security guard up at Peumansend Creek [Regional Jail], and it required that you do a lie detector test," he said.
When asked a question about sexual abuse, "I felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me. It said, 'Now, what are you going to do?'" the Baptist recalled. "'Are you going to be truthful and worship me, or are you going to continue living a lie?'"
At that time, he admitted to sodomizing a child when she was six to seven years old, beginning in 1990.
" I don't think you ever get over an addiction. It's always there," he said. "I can't really describe it…. All I can say is that it's not the driving force that it used to be, and it's all because of Christ."
The Milford man, who had three children with his ex-wife, all of whom are adults now, said that he doesn't act on his addiction anymore.
Though she encouraged her husband to stop the interview several times, he said that, though he regrets committing the crimes, he can't hide from what he did.
The prison sentence he served wasn't a severe punishment compared to having to wake up every morning and live with his crime, he said.
" It allowed me to witness to people," he said.
At 10 years old, he was sexually abused in a movie theater, according to his statement, which was filed in court records. He didn't indicate if the abuse led him to abuse others.
Since being released from prison, he attends church services regularly on Sundays, he said, and tries to attend Wednesday services as often as he can.
He said that he was saved when he was about 40 years old. The offender had been saved once before in his mid-20s, but it wasn't until the second time that he made the true committment to Christ, he said.
He said he'll continue to serve Christ and focus on the positive things that he can do with his life.

In Virginia, about 87 percent of sex crime victims know their offenders.
In Caroline, the percentage is about 90 percent.
Less than 10 percent of all sexual assaults are reported to law enforcement.
The youngest reported rape victim: 2 months old.
The oldest reported rape victim: 97 years old.
One in four college women have been the victim of an attempted or completed rape.
According to the FBI, some form of sexual assault occurs every 45 seconds.
57 percent of sexual assault victims were sexually assaulted on a date.
In a college survey, 27 percent of men interviewed admitted to using emotional coercion or physical force when a woman was unwilling to engage in sexual relations.
(source: Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault)Statement from Lisa Biever, Director of the Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault:
" I have reviewed our records looking at the adjudication of sexual assault crimes against youth under 13, since January 1, 2006 in the five localities we serve…. In our recent experience, Caroline County has been prosecuting a high number of sexual assault cases where the victim is 13 or younger, compared to other counties. Also, in Caroline, there is a high percentage of cases where the charges are nolle prosequi at the victims' request. We believe that putting victims' wishes first is a best practice for prosecutors. RCASA supports the idea that if more victims believe that their choices will be respected in the court process, then more victims will seek justice instead of living in silence, which means more perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted. We also believe that when prosecutions are victim-focused, then overall outcomes improve. This is because victims are able to provide better testimony when they feel supported by the criminal justice system.”
In dealing with your own sexual assault, or the sexual assault of a friend or loved one, RCASA Crisis/Support assistants can be contacted 24 hours a day, at 540-371-1666.