Rights Leader Sentenced To 15 Years For Incest

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) - A top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for incest.

The Rev. James L. Bevel was a key architect of the 1963 Children’s Crusade in Birmingham, Ala., and other pivotal moments of the civil rights movement. He was convicted earlier this year of having sex 15 years ago with his then-teenage daughter in Virginia.

The prison sentence was the most severe the Virginia circuit judge could impose. Sentencing guidelines called for a term of probation.

The 71-year-old Bevel revealed during his testimony Wednesday that he was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He says doctors estimate he has six weeks to six months to live.