By BO BOLTON
Monroe Journal Publisher
Minister Garyl Jermaine Gibbs, 50, who pled guilty in Monroe County Circuit Court to two counts of “deviant sexual intercourse” with minors, was sentenced to 60 months of supervised probation to run concurrently in a plea bargain agreement reached Monday, May 1.
Gibbs, the minister of A Call to Life Apostolic Church, located across the street from the former outlet mall in Monroeville and near Wind Creek Casino in Atmore, was indicted by a Monroe County Grand Jury in 2020 on two separate counts of first-degree sodomy.
One of the two victims, Eric McCaskill of Atmore, now 23, gave an emotional impact statement following Gibbs’ sentencing by Monroe County Circuit Judge Jack Weaver in the small courtroom at the courthouse.
“It has been a long journey for me,” McCaskill said of the incident which happened in 2015, when he was 15. “He (Gibbs) has squandered the name of God and the church. He lied on me. He said that I did it for the money.
“All I asked from you was an apology that I never received. I know now I must learn how to love God, the church and life again. Both of us are going to have to live with what you did to me.”
District Attorney Todd Watson said cases like these are difficult for everyone involved.
“The plea required Gibbs to admit to being a sexual predator,” Watson said. “As a sex offender Gibbs is subject to lifelong registration. His guilty plea will keep the victims from having to relive these terrible events.”
The preacher must register as a sex offender, cannot come within 2,000 feet of a day-care center or a school and must report to a probation officer on a monthly basis. He also must pay about $6,000 in fines which includes victims’ compensation, bail bond fees and court costs. Beginning July 1, he will be required to pay $100 per month for each count until the balance is paid in full.
Judge Weaver said the sentence is in accordance with the plea agreement.
Bo Bolton is publisher of the Monroe Journal.