Georgia pastor sentenced to 5 years for child molestation

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (AP) — A longtime pastor with metro Atlanta churches was sentenced to five years in prison and another 15 years of probation on child molestation charges.

On Thursday, the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office said 81-year-old Benjamin August Harter pleaded guilty to three counts of child molestation last month.

Harter was arrested Aug. 30, 2019, five days after the Forsyth sheriff’s office learned of the molestation accusations. Harter must register as a sex offender when he is released from prison.

Harter served as pastor at Ebenezer Primitive Baptist Church in Sandy Springs, beginning in 2014.

He was also the pastor at Bethany Primitive Baptist Church for nearly three decades beginning in November 1971.