Evangelical youth pastor stuck with 1,000-year sentence for sex crimes after Alabama Supreme Court rejects his appeal

A former evangelical youth pastor was sentenced to 1,000 years in prison for sex crimes will not have his case reviewed by a judge, AL.com reports.

The Alabama Supreme Court has refused to review the case of Paul Edward "Acton" Bowen who has been serving time since 2019 after pleading guilty to 28 counts of sexual abuse involving victims as young as 13.

In a separate county, Bowen pleaded guilty to traveling to meet a child for sexual purposes, second-degree sodomy, enticing a child for immoral purposes and second-degree sexual abuse, and was sentenced to 20 years on the first two charges, 10 years on third and a year on the fourth, all to run concurrently.

The judge who denied his appeal offered no written opinion.

According to accounts from Bowen's victims, his sexual abusive behavior lasted from 2006 all the way to 2018.

Bowen co-founded Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries. Before his arrest, he described himself as a speaker, best-selling author and visionary.