Rev. James L. Bevel Convicted of Incest

UPDATE, October 15, 2008: Rights leader sentenced to 15 years for incest

A top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. was sentenced Wednesday in a Virginia court to 15 years in prison for incest for having sex with his teenage daughter.

The Rev. James L. Bevel was a key architect of the 1963 Children's Crusade in Birmingham, Ala., and other pivotal moments of the civil rights movement. He was convicted after a four-day trial earlier this year in Loudoun County Circuit Court.

The prison sentence was the most severe the judge could impose. Sentencing guidelines called for a term of probation and the jury that convicted Bevel recommended the 15-year sentence.

Bevel, 71, took the stand during the sentencing hearing and revealed that he was recently diagnosed with end-stage pancreatic cancer and that doctors estimate he has six weeks to six months to live. A prosecutor said that was unfortunate but that Bevel deserved the sentence.

During the trial, Bevel's daughter testified that she was repeatedly molested by Bevel beginning when she was just 6 years old, culminating in sexual intercourse in 1993 or 1994 that formed the basis of the incest charge.

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Is Rev. James L. Bevel a good man who did bad things?

Is Rev. James L. Bevel a bad man who did good things?

LEESBURG, Va. -- A jury convicted an iconic civil-rights figure of incest Thursday after concluding that he had sex with his teenage daughter 15 years ago.

The Rev. James L. Bevel, 71, a top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. who also helped organize the Million Man March, faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced.

The four-day trial in Loudoun County Circuit Court included bizarre testimony about Bevel's philosophies for eradicating lust, and parents' duty to "sexually orient" their children.

Bevel's daughter testified that she was repeatedly molested by Bevel beginning when she was just 6 years old, culminating in an act of sexual intercourse in 1993 or 1994 that formed the basis of the incest charge.

The jury reached its verdict after about three hours of deliberations.

Before the verdict, the jury had heard only passing reference to Bevel's role in the civil rights movement. But during the sentencing phase of the trial Thursday afternoon, the jury saw a documentary that spelled out Bevel's key role in organizing the 1963 Birmingham Children's Crusade. Bevel and King were leading organizers of the marches, in which police turned fire hoses and dogs on child protesters, drawing international attention to the brutality that was keeping segregation in place in the South.

Bevel was also a leading organizer at other iconic events in the civil rights movement, including the 1965 march at Selma, Ala.

Prosecutor Nicole Wittmann acknowledged Bevel's accomplishments but said the jury shouldn't be swayed by them.

"There's nothing I can say to take away what this man has accomplished, but there are two Jim Bevels," Wittmann told the jury. "We're talking about the one who had sex with his child."

Jurors heard a phone call between Bevel and his daughter in which he never explicitly admits to sexual intercourse but seems to take for granted that it occurred. During the call he explains the importance of teaching his daughter "the science of marriage" and admits that he did not want her to get pregnant after the incident.

...The jury must recommend a prison term ranging between five and 20 years. The judge will then have the option to accept the recommendation or lower it, but he cannot increase it.

In the 1960s, Bevel was a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), two of the stalwart organizations that led efforts to desegregate the South.