December 1983: Jerry Sidell Sentenced to Concurrent 10-Year Prison Terms
Original publication: December 8, 1983. Original headline: “Former Clayton minister gets term.” Byline: John Brady.
Content note: This archival report discusses child sexual abuse. Some passages describe alleged abuse and its effects on victims.
Editorial transcription note: Newspaper wording is preserved as closely as legible; line-break hyphenation and paragraph layout are normalized. Square brackets identify unreadable print, not original article words.
From the archive
Original newspaper headline: Former Clayton minister gets term
Jerry A. Sidell, the former youth minister of the First Christian Church of Jonesboro, was sentenced to 10 years Wednesday on charges of child molestation and enticing a minor to commit indecent acts.
Clayton County Superior Court Judge Joe C. Crumbley sentenced Sidell to 10 years each on five different charges, with the sentences to run concurrently.
Sidell also was sentenced in Carroll County recently to 10 years to serve and 10 years probation on a single charge of enticing a minor to commit indecent acts.
Under state law, since Crumbley’s order did not specify otherwise, the Clayton sentences will run concurrently with the Carroll sentences.
The Clayton charges stem from five incidents involving two 12-year-old boys between Feb. 13, 1982, and May 11, 1983, according to Ronnie Clackum, chief administrator for the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office.
Sidell pleaded guilty to the Clayton charges in September and to the Carroll County charge a few weeks ago.
Four of the incidents allegedly occurred at Sidell’s home in Jonesboro, and the other allegedly happened inside the church, Clackum said.
The Carroll County case stemmed from an incident in which Sidell allegedly made advances to a boy at a church camp, Clackum said.
Sidell is also the target of three separate civil suits filed by the parents of three of the children involved.
Each of the suits seeks $250,000 in actual damages and $750,000 in punitive and exemplary damages.
Source attribution: Historical Atlanta newspaper clipping, December 8, 1983; article by John Brady; supplied through the Atlanta Journal-Constitution archival research collection. Original newspaper edition not independently confirmed from these cropped scans. Transcription prepared from provided microfilm reproductions; newspaper text and images remain the property of their respective rights holders.
