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Former FUMC pastor takes deal

Mullikin walks with probation

By TERENCE CORRIGAN - Special to the T-G
Posted 9/3/22

The former pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Shelbyville entered into an agreement with prosecutors last week on a charge of sexual battery that will keep him out of jail, as long as he …

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Former FUMC pastor takes deal

Mullikin walks with probation

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The former pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Shelbyville entered into an agreement with prosecutors last week on a charge of sexual battery that will keep him out of jail, as long as he stays out of trouble for a year and writes a letter of apology to the victim.
Paul Hunter Mullikin, 65, was arrested March 8, charged with sexual battery/forcible fondling on a 16-year-old female, a Class E felony that could have resulted in just under a year behind bars. He would have had to serve at least 20 percent of the sentence or 2.4 months.
Mullikin and prosecutors established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Aug. 25 — an agreement that requires him to write a letter of apology to the victim. He will be on supervised probation for 11 months and 29 days and be required to pay court costs.
If the pastor successfully complies with the terms of the memorandum, he may apply to have the charge dismissed and have his criminal record expunged. According to the American Bar Association, “An expungement order directs the court to treat the criminal conviction as if it had never occurred, essentially removing it from a defendant’s criminal record as well as, ideally, the public record. It is important to clarify that expungement is not “forgiveness” for committing a crime . . . .”
Mullikin had been the pastor at the Shelbyville church since July 2019. He had previously served as pastor at Ripley First United Methodist Church and Arcadia United Methodist Church in Paducah, Ky.
The crime
On Feb. 22, “Paul Hunter Mullikin did commit unlawful sexual contact with female juvenile … by grabbing the female’s buttocks knowingly without her consent,” according to Shelbyville police in the affidavit of complaint filed on March 8.
The victim in the incident is a physical therapy technician at a clinic in Shelbyville. She told police, in a written statement, that while she was hooking Mullikin up to a traction table, she “felt his hand graze my butt.” She wrote that she moved and “he moved his hand when I moved and he squeezed my butt.” The girl immediately left the treatment room and told her supervisor what had happened.
On Feb. 27, two days after the incident, Mullikin wrote a letter to a supervisor at the physical therapy clinic, not admitting to or apologizing for the incident but expressing how “sorry I am that she felt this way.” Mullikin wrote, “It breaks my heart to think that something I inadvertently did would upset her in this way.” He also wrote “… I felt I needed to send you this note to let you know how sorry I have been feeling and hopefully convince you (and maybe in turn the victim) that I in no way intended to act inappropriately.”
In the course of the ensuing police investigation, a detective interviewed the physician connected with the clinic, who reported a similar incident involving Mullikin that occurred on Feb. 15. On that date, the female technician wrote in a statement to police, while she was hooking Mullikin up on the traction table, he lifted his arms to allow her to strap him in and then “he brushed his hand down my lower back and butt.”
After she reported the incident to the manager, the clinic physician wrote in an email to the detective,” ‘My first thought was he’s a preacher, of course it was an accident.’ “
According to the physician, the technician said she too thought it was an accident “but something about it still bothered her.”
The victim speaks
The victim in the case, a local teenager, sat with her parents outside the courtroom last week. She did not hesitate to talk about the incident. “I was very emotional for no reason immediately following the incident,” she said. “I just want to say that no matter about their reputation, this shows that anyone is capable of doing the wrong thing.”
The church is silent
United Methodist Church Bishop Bill McAlilly had just been involved in an auto accident on Aug. 26 but a voicemail was left with the Episcopal Area UMC office in Nashville and no one has responded.
First United Methodist Church in Shelbyville was contacted by email for a comment but no one replied.
The T-G contacted Mullikin by phone this week. When asked if he wished to comment on the case he said, ‘No’ and hung up.
While serving FUMC Shelbyville, Mullikin conducted a satellite program at Thomas Magnet of his DayShore camp — one which he had conducted for several years in other communities. Over 30 kids had attended the mobile summer camp here, which included arts and crafts, songs and faith-based small groups.

Mullikin was also very instrumental in the food ministry of Shelbyville Community Soup Kitchen in Shelbyville, which got its start in the basement of FUMC Shelbyville and is now located on South Cannon Boulevard.