A Mahwah pastor has been sentenced to eight years in prison following his conviction for having sex with an underage member of his church.

Reverend Curtis Franklin (Bergen County Prosecutor's Office)
Reverend Curtis Franklin (Bergen County Prosecutor's Office)
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A Bergen County jury sentenced the Rev. Curtis Franklin Thursday in State Superior court in Hackensack.

Authorities told jurors during a trial that lasted three weeks that Franklin, who was then the pastor at Mahwah Full Gospel Church, began a sexual relationship with a parishioner in 2002 when she was 15 and the relationship lasted until she was 19.

Franklin is 22 years older than the victim. Franklin was charged after the victim contacted authorities in 2009.

Franklin, a married father of two, was convicted in May.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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