Judge gives max sentence to pastor convicted of sodomy
By David Gambino
For the Enquirer
The former pastor of GracePoint Church in Decatur, convicted in October of second-degree sodomy, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday morning.
Danny Duane Pitts, 61, of Hartselle, was arrested in 2021 and charged with first- and second-degree sodomy after the case against him — first reported to police in 2007 — sat cold for years.
A Morgan County jury found Pitts guilty of second-degree sodomy on Oct. 24 after Chief Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery proved that Pitts had a long-term sexual relationship with an underage member of his church.
Pitts was found not guilty of first-degree sodomy, which entails forcible compulsion, and not guilty of lesser included offenses of first- and second-degree sexual abuse.
Circuit Judge Charles Elliott, in his sermon-like sentencing, said the case caused him to wrestle with his own faith. The pitch of light sobbing in the gallery as Elliott spoke increased in volume when the maximum punishment was handed down.
Pitts faces charges for a similar offense in Tennessee.
