EUGENE, Oregon — A former ministry leader at an Oregon church was sentenced to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing a child.
Edward Samuel Thompson, 40, was sentenced to 125 years in prison after a jury unanimously found him guilty of four counts of first-degree rape, five counts of first-degree sex abuse and one count of first-degree sodomy, the Register-Guard reported.
He has been in custody since August 2018 when he was accused of abusing a young girl he babysat. Court documents said the abuse happened between 2012 and 2018.
At the time of his arrest, Thompson worked as a music ministry leader at Christ Fellowship Church and was a former member of Eugene Faith Center. Christ Fellowship Church put out a statement at the time saying Thompson had no duties that involved supervising children.
After Thompson’s arrest, the Christ Fellowship Church closed and its pastor retired.
Thompson had been held in a federal prison after his arrest related to charges in a federal child pornography case.
