A jury on Thursday acquitted a Fairland pastor of charges that he sexually abused an 11-year-old congregant in 2014, a defense attorney said.
Jeankite Joseph, 49, of the Fairland area of Silver Spring, was charged last summer with abusing the girl on Dec. 31, 2014.
Montgomery County police said the girl and her mother were attending a service at the Church of Messengers of God, which is in Joseph’s home. The abuse, police said, happened after the service, when the victim’s mother went to work and left the girl in Joseph’s care.
Police issued a warrant for Joseph’s arrest on June 25. He was arrested in Atlanta, Ga., on June 28 and extradited to Montgomery County on July 12. He was charged with third-degree sex offense and sexual abuse of a minor.
Defense attorney Thomas A. Pavlinic told Bethesda Beat Thursday afternoon that the jury acquitted Joseph on both counts.
Pavlinic said he wasn’t surprised at the verdict. He said jurors told him afterward that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict the pastor.
“We felt all along that he would be found not guilty. Quite frankly, I was surprised that the state prosecuted the case,” he said.
State’s Attorney spokesman Ramon Korionoff, wrote in an email Thursday morning that he respects the jury’s decision despite the outcome.
“We fight for justice for victims every day. Sometimes juries agree with our prosecutions and sometimes, like yesterday, they don’t. Either way we have to respect the jury’s decision,” he wrote.
Joseph’s trial started Monday with jury selection.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media
