| 114th Year, 21st Issue | Thursday, January 2, 2003 | Sparta, North Carolina |
INDEPENDENCE,Va. — A man with ties to Alleghany County was sentenced to five years in prison Dec. 20 in Grayson County Circuit Court. Eugene Junior "Lee" White was in court following a guilty plea to one count of forcible sodomy of a child under age 13 in November, 2002, according to media reports.
White, 39, was a member and the piano player at a local church, United Faith Church of Sparta, media reports said. James Worrell, the church's pastor, spoke on White's behalf in court as a character witness. Judge J. Colin Campbell, who also affirmed a personal knowledge of White and his church and community activities, allowed White (at the request of his lawyer, Byron R. Shankman of Pulaski) to report to the New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin, Va. after Christmas.
In addition to the five-year active sentence, White also received a 10-year suspended sentence, which the judge said he would have to serve if he did not report to the jail by noon Tuesday (Dec. 31).
White was convicted of performing oral sex on a 12-year-old boy, whose family he befriended at a Providence, Va. church. The act was prosecuted as forcible sodomy under Virginia law. Two other sodomy charges were dropped. White was released earlier under a $15,000 bond. State guidelines suggested sentencing run from six years to a maximum of 13 years, seven months. Life in prison is the maximum allowable sentence for the crime.
White had one prior felony conviction for grand larceny but had been released from probation before the sodomy offense.
Shankman said that White had a good work history with Job Finders and before that with Canteen. He was also the former owner of Shekinia Glory, an Independence restaurant located in the former Food Bonanza location that has been out of business for some time.
The alleged victim in the case was charged with sexual offenses seven days prior to bringing charges against White, more than a year after the crime, Shankman pointed out in court.
During the sentencing hearing, Worrell testified that he has known White since he was a teenager and that he is a leader in the church and in the Alleghany County community. Furthermore, the pastor said that White has not been 'out of the way' with any church member or child, noting that he is well-liked and thought of, even after being charged. Campbell said he considered White's work ethic and community activities in pronouncing the short active sentence.
In addition to jail time and probation, White must register as a sex offender in Virginia, undergo sex offender screening, counseling and treatment and make restitution to the victim and his family for their counseling and treatment.
|
Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back |