Local

Prosecutors say controversial Jacksonville-area pastor watched teens have sex

RELATED: Pastor asks for help with attorneys' fees | Adkins speaks from jail: 'I never had an inappropriate relationship with this young man'

Prosecutors allege controversial pastor Ken Adkins was sexually involved with teenagers years ago when he met minors through church.

Jurors were seated for Adkins' trial in Brunswick. The panel was seated made up of 11 women and three men.

In her opening statement, Prosecutor Katie Gropper said that three teenagers trusted Adkins and considered him a father figure.

Allegations of sexual molestation surfaced after one of the teenage boys joined the military. The state says the young man, now in his 20s, told police he had been molested by Adkins.

“He would let them use his locations his office, his house, his cars, places where they could have sex, where he could watch," Gropper told the jury.

Adkins had been held without bail in a Georgia jail since August 2016.

The judge dismissed the influencing a witness charge in the case.

Action News Jax reporter Bridgette Matter was in the courtroom and filed updates on Twitter: 

0