December 18, 2008
Idaho Pastor Steven Bicknell Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
SANDPOINT, ID -- A northern Idaho district judge has rejected a plea agreement and sentenced a former pastor who pleaded guilty to fondling a Priest Lake girl to two to five years in prison. First District Judge Steve Verby cited Steven D. Bicknell's betrayal of the trust placed in him as a spiritual leader as an aggravating factor when he sentenced Bicknell on Tuesday. "The violation of trust when you're in a position as a minister or pastor is even more damaging because those individuals are individuals that we need to be able to trust," the Bonner County Daily Bee quoted Verby as saying. "We, as a society, must be able to have faith in people who are placed in trust of dealing with our souls, our development."Click Here For The Full Story......