A Georgia pastor who made headlines for a hateful tweet in the wake of June’s mass shooting at Orlando, Florida, queer nightclub Pulse has been arrested on child molestation charges.
Ken Adkins turned himself in Friday morning, according to a news release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations published by WJCT. The 56-year-old was booked on one charge of child molestation and one charge of aggravated child molestation and is currently at Georgia’s Glynn County Jail. Adkins leads congregations in the Georgia cities of Atlanta and Brunswick as well as in Jacksonville, Florida.
Adkins ignited controversy two days after the Orlando shooting with a tweet that many interpreted as condemning the victims.
“Been through so much with these Jacksonville homosexuals that I don’t see none of them as victims,” wrote Adkins, whose tweets are now private. “I see them as getting what they deserve!!”
He told The Florida Times-Union that the tweet had nothing to do with the Orlando shooting, and that he was was referring to people in Jacksonville, Florida, who were fighting for anti-discrimination laws. However, the outlet noted that the tweet came directly after a string of tweets about the Pulse shooting.
His Friday arrest was in connection with involved incidents from 2010, which allegedly occurred at Adkins’ church, inside a vehicle and at the victim’s residence, the GBI told News 4 Jax.
His lawyer said at a news conference that the accusations are years old and that he believed his client would be cleared.
“Warrants say that these events took place in 2010 and that’s a long time,” said attorney Kenneth Glough to WJCT. “We don’t know why they’re coming up now.”
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