Blount County man passes out in court during sentencing hearing for sexually abusing two young girls
A Blount County man has been sentenced to prison for sex-related crimes involving two girls under the age of 16.
Adam Kenneth Sherrell, 44, was set to be sentenced on Tuesday but moments into the hearing, he passed out in the courtroom, said District Attorney Pamela Casey.
Sherrell was returned to the courtroom on Wednesday morning where Circuit Court Judge Greg Reid sentenced him to the maximum allowed under the law.
A jury in April convicted Sherrell of enticing a child into a place in order to perform or propose a sex act, first-degree sexual abuse and child abuse.
The judge sentenced him to 10 years on one count of enticing a child into a place to perform or propose a sex act, sexual abuse in the first degree, and child abuse.
He was also sentenced to the maximum for the misdemeanors: one year on one count of sexual abuse in the second degree, four counts of indecent exposure and 6 months on one count of stalking.
Prosecutors asked for the sentences to run consecutively, but the court ordered them to run concurrently.
Casey presented evidence during the trial that Sherrell lured a child into his bedroom for the purpose of engaging in sexual contact with the child and subjected a child to sexual contact by forcible compulsion.
He also subjected a child between the ages of 12 and 16 to sexual contact and exposed his genitals to another person on at least four occasions with intent to satisfy his sexual desire under circumstances he knew was likely to cause alarm, Casey said.
Sherrell caused emotional harm to a child by means of abuse and continued to follow and harass a child after being told to stop, the district attorney said.
“The hardest cases I work are those cases where children are harmed by those who are supposed to love and care for them,” Casey said. “Many times, in these cases, the greatest betrayal comes from those who are the closest to the children.”
Casey commended the jury for listening to the evidence, the judge for considering that evidence when sentencing, and law enforcement for working with prosectors to investigate and fight child abuse.
“I am committed to the stiff prosecution of the sexual exploitation of our children and tirelessly working to make Alabama safe,” Casey said. “I have been doing that for almost two decades. I will never stop fighting for our children and our families.”