Home Birmingham Press Releases 2009 Former Youth Pastor Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges Involving Sexual Activity with a Minor
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Former Youth Pastor Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges Involving Sexual Activity with a Minor

U.S. Attorney’s Office May 05, 2009
  • Northern District of Alabama (205) 244-2001

BIRMINGHAM, AL—WILLIAM DAVID WEBB, 35, of Birmingham, plead guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. United States Attorney Alice H. Martin of the Northern District of Alabama, Charles E. Regan, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Mike Hale, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department announce that WEBB plead guilty today for transporting a minor across state lines for sexual activity. WEBB remains on bond pending sentencing.

WEBB was arrested on these charges in California on January 14, 2009, and indicted by a federal grand jury. According to court documents, WEBB took a minor from the State of Alabama to the State of Oklahoma with the intent that the minor engage in sexual activity. At the time of the offense, WEBB was the youth pastor for Word of Life Church in Jefferson County, Alabama.

The mandatory minimum sentence for this charge is five years, and a fine of up to $250,000.

“It is deeply saddening for the victim, their family and the congregation of a church to have a youth minister, who is placed in a position of trust with children, violate that trust,” stated United States Attorney Alice H. Martin.  

“I want to extend my thanks to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department for their invaluable assistance in the investigation of this matter. Parents must ensure their children are made aware that sexual abuse can happen anywhere—schools, churches, or even their own homes. Any victim of sexual abuse is urged to report it to the FBI or local police department,” stated Charles E. Regan, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Special Agents of the FBI and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department worked together in the investigation of this case. Assistant United States Attorney Laura D. Hodge is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

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