Elmore jury takes just four minutes to convict former youth minister on child sex charge

WETUMPKA —  An Elmore County jury deliberated about four minutes Tuesday afternoon before convicting a former youth minister and Sunday school teacher on child sex charges.

Leon Albert Prince, 79, of Deatsville, was convicted of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12, said Chief Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson. Prince had a previous child sex conviction on his record.

The trial kicked off Tuesday and was anticipated to take two days.

"The jury left the courtroom to begin deliberations, and we were getting ready to walk out of the courtroom when we heard the knock on the door," Robinson said. "They had a verdict that quickly. This has to be a record in getting a verdict in less than five minutes."

Prince was convicted in 1991 of carnal knowledge of a child in a Jefferson County case, records show. He served 15 years on a 30-year sentence.

In the Elmore County case, the victim came forward in late 2021, telling the Elmore County Sheriff's Office that Prince allegedly touched her inappropriately over a period of months at his home in 2010 and 2011.

More:Judge raises bond on convicted offender facing new child-sex charge in Elmore County

Prince was convicted in Jefferson County of sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl in Tarrant.

At the time, he was youth minister of Tarrant Baptist Church, and the girl attended the church, court records show.

He will be sentenced Tuesday by Circuit Judge Bill Lewis. Prince faces 10 to 99 years in prison, given his previous conviction, Robinson said. It is a faster-than-normal sentencing.

Prince is receiving cancer treatments, Robinson said. He was released from the Elmore County Jail on bond about three weeks before his trial to save the county from paying expensive medical bills for his treatment, Robinson said.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.