Former church youth leader Kenneth Scott Marshall, 37, of Marsh Hawk Road in Mathews was convicted by a jury last Thursday of one felony count of forceful sodomy by intimidation against a 15-year-old boy with an intellectual disability. Sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of five years to life in prison; the jury recommended that Marshall serve 15 years for the crime.

The verdict came at the end of a two-day trial held in Williamsburg/James City County Circuit Court at the request of the defendant. Marshall had said he wouldn’t be afforded a fair trial in Mathews County, where the crime occurred, because of pretrial publicity. All of the jurors stated they had no prior knowledge of the case and knew none of the people involved.

Marshall will be sentenced by the presiding judge, Jeffrey W. Shaw, at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2020 in Mathews County Circuit Court. Shaw ordered that Marshall undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation as part of his pre-sentence report.

Testimony by bo...