Ex-church volunteer makes deal in sex case

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, March 16, 2004 | 9:04 a.m.

A former church volunteer charged with molesting young boys at his Las Vegas home pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault and other charges as the result of a deal he struck with prosecutors on Monday.

Darin Franklin, 40, a youth group volunteer at First Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, pleaded guilty to four felony charges and a gross misdemeanor charge before District Judge Joseph Bonaventure.

The charges included attempted sexual assault with a minor under the age of 16, lewdness with a child under the age of 14 and indecent exposure, a gross misdemeanor.

Franklin will face a sentence of 10 to 50 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 14, his attorney, Michael Villani, said.

"Before he is even eligible for parole, he will have to have a psychosexual assessment to determine that he's not a high risk to reoffend," Villani said.

In exchange for Franklin's guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop eight additional counts, including sexual assault of a minor under 16.

Franklin's guilty plea related to his fondling of at least two boys, an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old, between June 2002 and January 2004.

Authorities say Franklin invited the boys from the church to his home near Rainbow Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue, where he gave them alcohol and assaulted them.

According to court documents, Franklin admitted that what he did was wrong, but said "he was teaching the boys about sex" so they would know what to do with women when they get older.