HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A former pastor who admitted to sexually assaulting a child at his church in north Harris County has been sentenced to 17 years in prison, according to the district attorney's office.
Stephen Bratton, 46, pled guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child in February. Prosecutors said a judge determined his sentence Friday.
They said Bratton started molesting the girl when she 13 years old. Prosecutors said the abuse lasted nearly five years, from 2013 to 2018.
According to the DA, he was exposed after confessing what was going on to several other pastors at the church. They said Bratton would molest the child multiple times a day or several times a week.
“This man, who had risen to a position of authority in the church, turned a child into a victim and violated his community’s trust," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. "The victim and his community deserved, and got, justice.”
