MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) A youth mentor charged with sexually abusing children has been sentenced to 8 and a half years in prison.
Sherman Tate was found guilty January 18, on two counts of sodomy. He was acquitted on a rape charge.
Tate was in court Thursday morning, joined by many family members as well as the families of his two accusers.
Tate was a counselor through Strickland Youth Center and worked with hundreds of kids over the last 10 years.
Assistant District Attorney Nicki Patterson said she would have liked a longer sentence to prevent Tate from having access to children again in the future.
"He and his supporters were saying that if he were out of jail, he would be right back to mentoring," Patterson said.
His supporters did, in fact, argue in favor of Tate's strong mentoring skills. According to their side of the story, one of his accusers isn't so innocent.
"I know the little girl and she has always lied," said family friend Aquanetta Mixon. "In our family, we don't even allow her at the house because she has stolen from our grandmother, she's stolen from me."
Mixon said Tate has a troubled past himself, but had turned his life around.
"A man that could have helped so many youth that are in trouble, they took his name and they smeared it because of a lie," she said.
One of Tate's accusers took the stand to speak to the court, saying she was "glad it was over" and that she had "closed this chapter of {her} life."
