Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 20, 1993 TAG: 9301200302
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LON WAGNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
CHARGE FOR PASTOR: SEDUCTION
An infrequently used Virginia law was dusted off Tuesday as authorities charged Martinsville-area preacher Elwood Gallimore with seducing a Floyd County High School junior.Gallimore, 44, has been married for 26 years, but recently announced to his congregation that he and 16-year-old Sabrina Simpkins had been married "in the eyes of God."
Gallimore also has been charged with taking indecent liberties with a minor. And Simpkins' parents have been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Floyd County prosecutor Gino Williams said.
Williams said he had never before used the seduction statute. He acknowledged that prosecutions under the statute are "fairly rare anymore."
"It fits the facts and circumstances of the case, and that's why I feel I can charge him with this," he said.
Gallimore was not available for comment. Brenda Simpkins, Sabrina's mother, said she was too busy to talk about the charges.
Gallimore, the minister at Evangelistic Tabernacle in Henry County, preaches that if a man wants to marry a woman, he just has to ask. If the woman consents, the couple is married.
The charges Gallimore faces are both felonies, each of which could put him in prison for 10 years.
The charge filed against the parents is a misdemeanor. Williams said the parents could be charged because they allegedly allowed another misdemeanor - fornication - to happen in their house.
"They consented to that part of it, as best I can tell," he said.
The charge against Simpkins' parents stems from several incidents that Williams alleges occurred between mid- and late November at the Simpkins' house. Gallimore has said he "married" Simpkins "sometime last month," though he couldn't remember the date.
The seduction statute - its full title is "Seduction of a female of previous chaste character" - essentially involves a man promising to marry a woman if she has sex with him.
The law has remained unchanged in Virginia since 1887.
After the "sexual revolution," many states began removing seduction laws from their books, according to American Jurisprudence, a legal reference book.
Authorities searched a house next to Gallimore's church earlier this month after they suspected Gallimore was practicing bigamy. They seized 426 videotapes, which Gallimore said were merely recordings of sermons.
Since Gallimore and Simpkins are not legally married, Henry County prosecutor Bob Bushnell said he will not pursue bigamy charges.
Bushnell said he won't file any charges against Gallimore.
"All he's done in Henry County is preach," he said, "and it's not illegal to preach. Period."