Sidebar --The Rev. James L. Bevel, 70, was arrested late last month in Alabama, where he has been living, after being indicted on one count of unlawfully committing fornication. A plea and bail hearing is set for June 14.
According to the grand jury indictment, the crime occurred in northern Virginia between Oct. 14, 1992, and Oct. 14, 1994, when the accuser was 13 to 17 years old. Virginia has no statue of limitations on this type of criminal offense.
Reverend Bevel, who worked with King and witnessed his assassination in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968, has played a key role in some of the country's major civil rights protests.
At a time when African-Americans were suffering a battery of injustices, Bevel organized the 1963 Children's Crusade in Birmingham, Ala., and was a leader of the Freedom Rides to desegregate public accommodations throughout the South.
And he was an architect of the March on Washington in 1963 and the Selma-to-Montgomery march in Alabama in 1965. He also helped organize the Million Man March in Washington in 1995.
Bevel appeared briefly in court Friday but did not speak. While everyone starts with a presumption of innocence, these types of cases are tough for all involved. Facing up to 20 years in prison if found guilty, if Reverend Bevel abuse a child, he deserves to get slammed.
This ain't a Black thing family, it's about protecting our children.
COURT'S ADJOURNED!