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VIDEO [CC] Deaf News: Deaf church treasurer, sex offender, charged with molesting disabled churchgoer in Kansas.
OVERLAND PARK, KS (KCTV) -- A Deaf church treasurer, who is a convicted sex offender, is in jail after he was accused of molesting a church goer who has disabilities.
Rodney Sexton is charged with aggravated sexual battery. He is accused of molesting a 31-year-old man, who is Deaf and functions like an 8 year old.
Sexton made his first court appearance on Monday. A judge set his bond at $100,000 cash only.
Sexton is treasurer at Deaf Liberty Baptist Church in Overland Park, Kansas. It's unclear if his convictions from the mid-1980s for sex crimes were known.
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Sexton is on the roster to teach sign language at Maple Woods Community College in January and he has apparently taught at the Metropolitan Community College in the past, according to online records.
Because of the Christmas holiday, KCTV5 could not reach community college representatives for comment.
The mother of the 31-year-old victim is heartbroken and angry. She wants to know whether church leaders knew about Sexton's background.
"I think people knew," the mother said. "This should never happen to another family."
In the mid-1980s, Sexton faced six felony sex charges involving a child. He was convicted on two counts and served time in a Kansas prison. He is not listed on the Kansas Sex Offender Registry because his convictions occurred before 1994.
He was released from prison in 1989 and released from probation four years later.
The victim's mother said her son loves his church and trusted Sexton. She said Sexton pressured her son to keep the molestation secret.
"This shouldn't happen to anybody sitting in a church or at school. This needs to be stopped," the mother told KCTV5. "My boy deserves to be protected."
People with special needs are four times more likely to be abused because they often don't realize they are being abused or they cannot articulate about the abuse. Source
Related: @Sexual Assault