Jimmy Orick (pictured above)  has a better idea of his consequences following a hearing on Friday.

Although, he pleaded guilty to a multitude of charges involving a teen girl that he took into his home, the 70- year-old, won’t know his exact fate until spring.

Initially, Orick was to be sentenced on Friday, but an error in the original indictment sent the case back a step. One of Orick’s eight offenses was given the wrong classification, prompting Judge Don Elledge to delay the case to allow the correction.

Elledge is the Circuit Court Judge in Anderson County appointed to hear Orick’s case.

The postponement will also allow additional time for a psychosexual evaluation on Orick. A psychosexual exam is an assessment of person’s sexual development, sexual history and at times, additional psychological testing. These evaluations are often used to determine a suggested course of treatment and/or to assess the likelihood the person may offend again.

The one-time pastor has agreed he is guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl he and his wife allowed to live them after learning she lacked a guardian.  She also attended his church. The child had no father to speak of and a terminally ill mother, court records said. For two months, she lived in the Orick home.

This case dates back to Dec. 2016 when police first interviewed Orick about the allegations.

In his initial interview, Orick denied any responsibility telling Campbell County Detective Ricky Jeffers the young girl had been overtly sexual with him on many occasions, according to court records. While the former preacher admitted to the detective there had been sexual contact with the adolescent, he was adamant in his denial he was to blame for any of it.

However, the heart wrenching victim impact statement submitted by the girl does paint Orick as the aggressor, if not predator in the situation.

In the statement, she mentions how “vulnerable” she was when she moved into the Orick’s Jacksboro home and how he “took advantage” of her weakened state.

“All I wanted was someone I could feel safe around, to know that I was wanted; to know I had a place to call home. You took all of that away from me,” she wrote. As the nearly two-page statement continues, the heartbreak and betrayal she endured at the hands of the man she wanted to see as a father figure is apparent in her words.

The young girl told the court that because of the abuse Orick subjected her to fear, distrust and self-esteem issues are daily struggles for her. She also references the intimidation Orick used in an effort to keep her quiet about the abuse. “You told me that since you were a preacher that no one would believe me if I told them what you did to me,” the statement said.

For his part, Orick sat in court Friday stone faced as Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Cadle described his offenses.

As Cadle described the numerous times Orick sexually assaulted the girl, a pattern of abuse emerged.

In closing, Cadle noted Orick had eventually given a statement admitting the facts she had just outlined.

Elledge called Orick back to the podium and as he stood flanked by his attorney, Greg Isaacs, Orick entered his guilty plea into the record confessing he had in fact sexually abused the child he and his wife took in because she lacked a home.

“This is on your record from now on,” Elledge said.

In a sentencing memo submitted by Cadle, she underscored the reasons Orick’s sentence should be enhanced.

He had “no hesitation about committing this offense,” Orick violated a “position of private trust” with the victim because he was acting as a defacto parent and he knew of the particulars in her life that had already made her a victim, the memo said.

Orick pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated statutory rape, three counts of attempted statutory rape and two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure. While both sides have agreed to a three to four year sentencing range, how those years will be served will be up to Elledge.

Prosecutors are recommending Orick be jailed.

Due to the crimes he pleaded to, he will be placed on the sexual offender registry for the rest of his life.  (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 02/25/2019-6AM)