Noel Anderson, a 23-year-old former Sunday school teacher with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in McKinney, Texas, was sentenced to 50 years in prison without the possibility of parole for molesting multiple children who were left in his care starting in his teenage years.
While Anderson taught 7- and 8-year-olds, authorities say his five victims ranged in age from 1 ½ to 6 years old, CBS reported.
In his confession, Anderson said he targeted children he thought would not disclose his abuse — infants he babysat for fellow parishioners.
“We’re grateful for these brave children, as their courage helped lock up a serial child predator,” Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis announced Thursday, according to the McKinney Courier Gazette.
Before authorities began investigating Anderson for abuse just over a year ago, he enjoyed a good reputation among his church community.
“He was an outstanding youth in our church,” a concerned parent with knowledge of the case told CBSDFW in 2018, “the gold standard for what you would want your son to grow up to be.”
McKinney police said it was a young child who rang the alarm on Anderson’s abuse. The child reportedly saw a picture of Anderson and said “I don’t like him.” A parent eventually asked the child why and what the child revealed shattered the trust of many in the church community.
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Leonardo Blair
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