Former pastor gets max prison sentence for sodomy
For the Enquirer
The former pastor of GracePoint Church in Decatur, convicted of sodomizing an underage boy, was ordered at an emotional sentencing hearing Wednesday morning to serve 20 years in prison.
“In my humble opinion, 20 years is not enough, but it’s the maximum I can give you,” Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott told Danny Duane Pitts, who appeared for the first time in stripes and shackles. 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.
At trial in late October, the pros ecution argued that Pitts “groomed” a member of his church – a boy around 12-13 years old at the time – and began a years-long criminal sexual relationship with him.
A jury found Pitts guilty of second-degree sodomy on Oct. 24. 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.
Pitts’ sentencing was the first order of business Wednesday morning in a packed courtroom. Several supporters of the now-adult victim sat in the gallery. The victim stood next to Chief Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery before Elliott’s bench. Next to them, Pitts stood alongside his defense attorneys, John Berry and Brandon Little. Each side was offered the opportunity to speak.
Vickery said he only just started working for the DA’s Office when the case against Pitts began. “Now, here I stand feeling old,” he said. “This case lasted for years.” He asked Elliott to give Pitts the maximum sentence and alluded to other potential victims. Pitts faces charges for a similar offense in Tennessee, according to Vickery.
The victim spoke next and said the case’s verdict showed him that his voice matters. “Justice has brought me a sense of peace I never thought possible,” he said. “I’m here to reclaim the narrative and tell my own story. Enough is enough. Just because you are made a victim doesn’t mean you need to stay one.” He, too, asked for the maximum sentence for Pitts.
Pitts and his attorneys declined to speak.
“I have wrestled with the facts of this case since trial,” Elliott said. “Having been on the bench for almost six years now, I have seen some pretty gruesome stuff when it comes to physical abuse and sexual abuse.” Pitts showed little emotion as Elliott spoke of the “ripple effects” of such abuse, deeming Pitts’ crime a form of “spiritual abuse.” Attorneys on both sides stood with their hands folded behind their backs. Berry and Little looked at the floor or, occasionally, the ceiling. “That has caused me to wrestle more with my own faith than anything else,” Elliott continued. “I have struggled with trying to find the right words to say to you today. I have spent a lot of time studying my Bible.” Elliott then spoke directly to the victim and said he was sorry for what had happened to him. Court officials brought boxes of tissues to supporters of the victim, some of whom lightly sobbed as Elliott spoke.
“It is my prayer that you know in your soul what he did was evil,” he said. “It was not God’s will what happened to you. It is my sincere hope that your relationship with God is made whole again.” Elliott said the case reminded him of a bible verse: “Beware of false prophets.” He then sen-tenced Pitts to 20 years imprisonment with the Alabama Department of Corrections, with a $30,000 fine and a $10,000 victim compensation fee.
Elliott told Pitts he had 42 days to appeal the sentence.
He said he would make the Department of Corrections aware of Pitts’ pending charges in Tennessee.
Afterward, Berry and Little declined to comment.
