GOLDEN, Colo.—A 65-year-old man has been sentenced to 24 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting four teenage boys, including three brothers, whom he had met through church.
James Craig Bird received the maximum sentence he faced Friday in Jefferson County.
Prosecutors say Bird was a pilot for a church leader when he met the boys. He was accused of getting close to them by buying gifts including cars, tickets to sporting events, college tuition, trips, and drugs and alcohol.
Bird left the country after an accuser talked to police. He was returned to the U.S. after his arrest in London in November.
He pleaded guilty in December to sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust as part of a pattern of abuse.
