Kenneth Adkins: Charges, Trial, Sentence, and Appeals

The Kenneth Adkins case ended in April 2017 with the former Brunswick, Georgia pastor convicted on eight counts of child molestation involving two 15-year-old members of his congregation and sentenced to 35 years in prison followed by life on probation. Adkins, who had drawn national attention a year earlier for anti-LGBT comments after the Pulse nightclub shooting, remains incarcerated at Autry State Prison and continues to maintain his innocence.

Who Kenneth Adkins Was Before His Arrest

Adkins served as pastor of Greater Dimensions Fellowship in Brunswick, Georgia, and ran a public relations firm that did political consulting work in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. For roughly a decade, he acted as a conduit between white Republican politicians and Black voters in the Jacksonville region. During a 2006 mayoral race, Jacksonville CFO Mike Weinstein introduced him as “part of the team.”¹

He became a prominent voice against expanding Jacksonville’s Human Rights Ordinance to protect LGBT residents and sat on official “community conversations” panels hosted by the office of Mayor Lenny Curry.¹ City Councilman Tommy Hazouri, a lead proponent of the ordinance, accused Adkins of “hate-mongering” on social media, including circulating doctored images.²

The Pulse Nightclub Tweets

The day after the June 12, 2016 attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, which killed 49 people, Adkins posted on Twitter: “Dear Gays, Go sit down somewhere. I know y’all want some special attention; yall are sinners who need Jesus. This was an attack on America.” In a separate tweet, he wrote that he had “been through so much with these Jacksonville homosexuals that I don’t see none of them as victims. I see them as getting what they deserve!!”³

Mayor Curry called the comments “appalling,” and his administration cut ties with Adkins. Curry later said his staff, rather than the mayor himself, had chosen Adkins for the panels.¹ Adkins said the tweet targeted Jacksonville ordinance supporters, not the Orlando victims, and on June 15, 2016 announced he would “withdraw completely” from the HRO and transgender bathroom debates.²

The Charges Against Him

Adkins was arrested in August 2016.⁴ A Glynn County grand jury indicted him on 11 counts: five counts of aggravated child molestation, three counts of simple child molestation, two counts of enticing a child for indecent purposes, and one count of influencing a witness.⁵

The allegations involved two 15-year-old members of his church, a boy and a girl. Prosecutors said Adkins pressured them to engage in sexual activity while he watched in his church office on G Street in Brunswick, and that he also touched the girl inappropriately. The conduct was alleged to have occurred between roughly August 2009 and late 2010.⁵⁶ The male accuser later said he had “offered up his girlfriend sexually” to Adkins.⁷ Bond was denied twice.⁸

The Trial

Two aggravated child molestation counts were dismissed before trial, and the influencing-a-witness charge was dropped just before opening statements, leaving eight counts. Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper prosecuted the case for the office of Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson.⁹¹⁰

Defense attorney Kevin Gough attacked the prosecution’s timeline. Because Georgia’s age of consent is 16, whether the alleged conduct happened before the accusers turned 16 was decisive. Gough argued that investigators had worked with the accusers to shift dates and told the jury the male accuser had told an Army sergeant in 2014 that the relationship began when he was 16. He described the case as driven by “a confused young man who wanted revenge.”¹⁰

The accusers testified in conflict with one another: the male victim testified against Adkins, and the female victim testified that the allegations were false.⁶ Prosecutors presented text communications showing sexual content between Adkins and the teenagers, along with explicit photographs of Adkins.¹¹ The jury found Adkins had exploited his role as a father figure and groomed the teenagers with gifts.¹²

On April 10, 2017, the jury convicted Adkins on all eight remaining counts: aggravated child molestation, child molestation, and enticing a child for indecent purposes.⁷ He had rejected a pretrial plea offer that would have carried a minimum 30-year sentence.¹⁰

The Sentence

On April 25, 2017, the court sentenced Adkins to 35 years in prison followed by life on probation.¹³ Adkins told the court: “Most certainly I did not do the things I am accused of.”⁶ Gough filed a motion for a new trial to preserve appeal rights and then withdrew, citing Adkins’s inability to keep paying private counsel.¹⁰

Appeals and Post-Conviction Efforts

In July 2020, new appellate counsel filed a motion for a new trial arguing Adkins had received ineffective assistance of counsel. The motion said Gough failed to contact witnesses who could have provided an alibi and pointed to contradictions between the two victims’ testimony about their ages.¹¹

Adkins’s supporters have also alleged prosecutorial misconduct by former District Attorney Jackie Johnson, who was later indicted on charges tied to her handling of the Ahmaud Arbery case. A group called The Kenneth Adkins Freedom Project has claimed Johnson “intentionally and knowingly” advanced a false timeline. Pastors and community leaders asked the Georgia Attorney General to investigate and urged Johnson’s successor, Keith Higgins, to agree to a new trial.¹⁴ No formal investigation into Johnson’s prosecution of Adkins has been publicly reported.

The central document in the post-conviction effort is a resignation letter from First Jordan Grove Baptist Church that Adkins’s team says undercuts the prosecution’s timeline. His lawyers argue the letter was in state custody before trial but never turned over, which would be a violation of Brady v. Maryland. As of September 2025, Adkins was awaiting a judge’s ruling on a motion to compel its release.¹⁵ In March 2026, the Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed a related discretionary application on procedural grounds without reaching its merits.¹⁶

Adkins remains at Autry State Prison serving his 35-year sentence. An advocacy website solicits donations to retain a Georgia appellate attorney for a state habeas corpus petition and identifies Adkins as a cancer survivor.¹⁷ None of his post-conviction motions have succeeded, and his conviction and sentence stand.

1
Florida Politics. How Hate Preacher Ken Adkins Became Jacksonville’s Problem
2
Jacksonville.com. Pastor Kenneth Adkins Pulls Back From LGBT Battle Frontlines
3
Jacksonville.com. Brunswick Pastor Kenneth Adkins Tweets Homosexuals Got What They Deserve
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WJCT News. Controversial Pastor Arrested on Child Molestation Charges
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Jacksonville.com. Former Preacher Kenneth Adkins Indicted on Counts of Child Molestation
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Federal News Network. Georgia Pastor Gets 35 Years in Prison for Child Molestation
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Controversial Georgia Pastor Convicted of Child Molestation
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The Brunswick News. Adkins Could See Trial in April, Bond Denied
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Jacksonville.com. Two of 11 Counts Dropped in Kenneth Adkins Child Molestation Trial
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Jacksonville.com. Lawyers State Their Cases in Opening Arguments of Kenneth Adkins Trial
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The Brunswick News. Hearing Set to Consider Request for New Trial for Adkins
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Jacksonville.com. Bishop Kenneth Adkins Found Guilty of Child Molestation
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1440 WGIG. Adkins Sentenced to 35 Years, Probation for Life
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News4Jax. Probe Sought Into Brunswick DA’s Conduct in Ken Adkins Case Following Arbery Indictment
15
Jacksonville Free Press. Kenneth Adkins Still Awaiting Judge’s Ruling as Fight for Withheld Evidence Continues
16
Leagle. Adkins v. State, A26D0424
17
KennethAdkins.org. About Me