Evangelist Acton Bowen Faces Additional Sex Abuse Charges

ETOWAH COUNTY, AL - Youth pastor and evangelist Acton Bowen, who was arrested last week in Pelham and charged by the Hoover Police Department with child sexual abuse charges, is facing new child sex charges in Etowah County where he operates his ministry.

Hoover Police already charged Bowen with sodomy, enticing a child to enter a vehicle or house for immoral purposes, and second-degree sex abuse relating to a child who was a family acquaintance of Bowen's. He was released on bond.

Today, Bowen was booked into the Etowah County jail shortly after 10 a.m. on felony charges of sodomy and enticing a child for immoral purposes. He's also charged with three counts of second-degree sexual abuse. Bowen is accused of sexually abusing four juveniles between the ages of 12 and 17 over a "period of many years," according to the Etowah County Sheriff's Office. Reports from the Erowah County Sheriff's Office said many of the alleged victims are now adults. His bond was set at $500,000.

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A resident of Etowah County, Bowen served as a chaplain in the Summer Olympic Games in London and is the author of "Escape the Noise," which reached the New York Times Best Sellers List and the Amazon Top 100 list. He has also appeared as a guest on Fox News. Bowen;s wife filed for divorce last week upon learning of the allegations against him, and two of the members of the board for his ministry have resigned. Bowen denies all of the charges against him.

Photo from Hoover Police Department

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