Attorney for pastor convicted of child molestation files motion for new trial

Ken Adkins’ new appeals lawyer has filed a motion for a new trial.

In 2017, the Glynn County pastor was tried and convicted of molesting two teenagers and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

In the motion for a new trial, attorney Robert Persse says the trial judge erred by allowing into evidence photos of Adkins’ anatomy that were sent by one of the teens years after the molestations. Persse says the photos were unduly prejudicial toward Adkins.

The motion says three of the counts should have been dismissed after one of the teens took the stand in the trial to say she never had sex with Adkins.

And Adkins’ new lawyer says a new trial is warranted because Adkins got ineffective counsel in the first trial. Specifically, the motion argues Adkins’ trial lawyer failed to contact witnesses who could have given Adkins an alibi for the times the sexual encounters took place.

Adkins “denied the allegations that he engaged in sexual contact … when they were under the legal age of 16 years.” The legal age of consent in Georgia is 16.

A hearing on the motion for a new trial is set for Aug. 14 in Glynn County Superior Court.