Local minister pleads guilty to attempted assault charge
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JACKSON, Tenn. — A local minister pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempted assault on a 9-year-old boy during a church trip. The pastor at Unity Temple Church said members are ready to move on. Pastor Eddie Whitelaw said William Hood, accused of attacking the boy during a church trip to Chickasaw State Park last summer, is a minister at the church. Hood’s attorney spoke about the hearing. “He wants us to know that there were two sides to this story, that there were witnesses on both sides who saw this, who saw this incident different ways,” attorney Bradley Owens said. Hood pleaded guilty but will have a clean record again if he stays out of trouble during his yearlong probation. “Mr. Hood accepted judicial diversion so that these charges would come off his record after a year.” Owens said since there were conflicting statements of what happened on the church trip, they felt it was best to resolve it before going to trial. “He thought it was in his best interest to do this instead of continue to go forward, for his family and the other family.” The pastor and church members declined to comment any further about the incident or whether Hood will continue to minister through their church. The judge also ordered Hood to have no contact with the victim.
