Ex-Regent official given 16 years for sex crimes

By Shawn Day
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 17, 2009

CHESAPEAKE

Stephen L. McPherson, the former Regent University law school assistant
dean convicted of sex acts with underage girls, has been ordered to
serve 16 years in prison.

McPherson, 40, of Chesapeake was formally sentenced Monday in Chesapeake
Circuit Court to 80 years, with 64 suspended. McPherson pleaded guilty
in January to charges of forcible sodomy and object sexual penetration.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped nine other charges and
recommended capping his prison sentence at 18 years, six months.

In court Monday, McPherson apologized to his victims, whom he and his
wife, Melina, had adopted from Hope Haven Children’s Home in Virginia
Beach, prosecutor Karen Brown said.

“They never wanted to destroy his life,” Brown said, referring to the
girls. “They just wanted him to acknowledge his guilt.”

McPherson and his wife were indicted by a Virginia Beach grand jury in
January on charges of indecent liberties stemming from allegations of
illegal sexual acts with three girls while the couple served as house
parents at Hope Haven between August 1996 and August 2000. Both were
scheduled for trial Tuesday in Virginia Beach Circuit Court, but the
cases were continued to Sept. 2.

Stephen McPherson was in the Chesapeake City Jail on Tuesday; Melina
McPherson remained free pending trial.
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Unfamiliar with Regent University? From the website:

Regent University is the nation's academic center for Christian thought
and action, with a multitude of on-campus and online programs available
worldwide. Our academic standards for both our graduate and
undergraduate programs are high and our programs rigorous. But what sets
Regent apart is our mission to prepare capable men and women to excel
both in mind and spirit. Our students, faculty and administrators share
a calling, founded on biblical principles, to make a significant
difference in our communities, our cities, our nation and our world.
Leadership & Influence

When Dr. M.G. “Pat” Robertson, Regent president and chancellor,
established the university in 1978, he envisioned a high-caliber
institution that would attract a leadership team brimming with superior
professional experience and extraordinary academic credentials.