“Rape away the gay” pastor Brent Girouex, a 31-year-old Iowa man, will not serve jail time for confessing to police that he had sex with at least four youths, according to a recent report from KRMG.

Since that confession, eight additional young men have admitted to being violated by the now-former pastor of Victory Fellowship Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

If you don’t want to be appalled, fair warning: you may want to skip over this next section.

Apparently, Girouex thought he could rape away the gay by “praying while he had sexual contact” with his victims in an effort to keep them “sexually pure” for God.

He then allegedly told police that “when they would ejaculate, they would be getting rid of the evil thoughts in their mind.”

Girouex is a married father of four. Since the disturbing revelations have hit the Internet, his wife Erin has spoken out against him and the reduced sentence that he received after initially getting 17 years in prison.

Instead of upholding to that initial ruling, a judge decided to sentence Girouex to five years probation and mandatory sexual offender treatment.

Provided he doesn’t violate the terms of his probation — in other words, victimize someone else — he will not serve a day in jail.

In comments to KCCI, Erin Girouex had this to say about the idea of sending her husband to prison: “If that’s what it takes to get him away from people, then yes … I don’t want (my children) anywhere near him.”

She added that what she wants is for other victims of sexual misconduct to speak out before it’s too late.

Erin plans to file for divorce, but according to KCCI “the hang-up is that her husband wants to see their children.”

Currently, Brent Girouex has a court-ordered, twice-per-month visitation schedule, where he must be supervised by his own mother.

Here’s a mugshot:

The sentence in this case has many Americans understandably perplexed at the lax attitudes toward sexual violence.

Following on the heels of a Montana judge, who only sentenced a convicted rapist to 30 days in jail after his 14-year-old victim committed suicide, it definitely establishes a horrible precedent.

Do you think the case of the “rape away the gay” pastor is proof the US does not take sexual crimes against minors seriously?

[Image via ShutterStock]