LEESBURG, Va. | A one-time top lieutenant to Martin Luther King was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for having sex more than a decade ago with his then-teenage daughter.
The Rev. James L. Bevel, 71, an architect of the 1963 Children’s Crusade in Birmingham, Ala., and other pivotal moments of the civil rights movement, was convicted earlier this year of a single count of incest.
The assault occurred in the early 1990s in Loudoun County, when Bevel was working closely with the Virginia-based organization led by political extremist Lyndon LaRouche.
The 15-year sentence imposed by Circuit Judge Burke McCahill was the most severe allowed. Sentencing guidelines called for probation only.
Bevel had hoped for probation so he could enter hospice care. But prosecutors said his illness should not temper his sentence.
“We know that the defendant is dying,” said prosecutor Gigi Lawless. “Everyone dies. This defendant should die in jail.”
Prosecutors estimated that Bevel, who is eligible for parole, would serve no more than five years if he were to live that long. He is said to be terminally ill with pancreatic cancer.
They also revealed that at least four other daughters Bevel had with various women have made similar allegations against him. At the sentencing hearing, his daughters said they were hoping that Bevel would apologize for his actions and seek forgiveness and reconciliation.
That didn’t happen. Instead, Bevel mocked the notion of an apology.
“Saying ’I’m sorry’ is a game we play. That’s a playboy talking to a prostitute,” Bevel said on the witness stand shortly before he was sentenced.
Bevel then launched into an extended explanation of his philosophy, which includes applying the teachings of the New Testament to the “science of constitutionality.” During his trial, testimony indicated that Bevel considered it parents’ duty to “sexually orient” their children.
Bevel’s daughter, Aaralyn Mills, testified about the conflicting feelings she has had as she pursued justice against her father, a man that she said she still loves and respects in many respects.
“It’s fading, but I still have a strong feeling that my father was doing something, that he was working on some truth,” said Ms. Mills, who agreed to be identified publicly. “My hope was for him to apologize in a Christian way, to repent. … I’ve never known him to be a liar. He’s been violent, mean and abusive, but he’s always been honest.”
But when Lawless asked Bevel later in the hearing if he takes responsibility for what he did to his daughter, Bevel said no, and again launched into an explanation on his beliefs about the “science of marriage.”
Ms. Mills said after the hearing that her father’s testimony was no different than the denials and rationalizations she has heard since childhood.
Another daughter who also accuses Bevel of sexually assaulting her as a child said after the hearing that she was disappointed that, even as her father approaches his death, he continues to deny wrongdoing.
“He had an opportunity to stand here today and say, ’As a father I failed,’ ” said Chevara Orrin of Winston-Salem, N.C. “But he stood there in complete denial.”
Both Ms. Mills and Ms. Orrin said they hope the case will help push the issue of incest out of the shadows.
Bevel’s attorney, Bonnie Hoffman, said she plans to appeal the conviction.
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