Community leader sentenced to prison for sex with teenage girl

Judge David Odekirk sentenced Jamodd Amaul Sallis, 44, to 15 years in prison on June 10 for third-degree sexual abuse.

The sentence was increased due to Sallis' previous convictions for theft, forgery and carrying firearms.

During the trial, the teen testified that she was 15 when Sallis had sex with her at his home and in hotel rooms in Davenport while they traveled for his choir practice at churches in the Quad Cities.

She later became pregnant and DNA tests showed a 99.999 percent probability – the highest probability allowed – that he was the father, prosecutors said.

Sallis denied any sexual contact when questioned by police, but at trial he took the stand in his own defense and admitted to having sex with the teenager, but said it only happened in Davenport and not Waterloo.

Sallis is also awaiting trial for allegedly having sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl at his home in fall 2021. And he is awaiting sentencing on a misdemeanor charge of lascivious conduct with a minor conviction for a 2019 incident where he allegedly showed his penis to a 15-year-old girl, records show.