No Contest Plea in Youth Minister Sex Case

Man pleads no contest to sex with 14-year-old

A Coral Springs youth minister accused in the sexual molestation of a teen girl changed his plea to “no contest” before a Broward County judge Tuesday.

Russell Dion Lewis, 30, was originally charged with one count of custodial sexual battery and ten counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a minor, and he was held on $20,000 bond.

Police say Lewis was assistant music and youth minister at Church by the Glades when he was arrested in November 2009 for the relationship with the 14-year-old girl.

The relationship, which police said was consensual, reportedly lasted five months, but due to the girl’s age the court deemed it illegal.
 

Lewis’ fate now rests in the hands of a Broward County judge, who will revisit the case late next month.

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