Allison Black-Cornelius

Allison Black-Cornelius (born 1965 in Birmingham) is a development trainer for non-profit organizations, and a mentor and advocate for child victims of sexual abuse.

Black-Cornelius was raped in 1972 at the age of seven by Leon Albert Prince, her Sunday School teacher.

Prince was convicted in 1991 and sentenced to 30 years in prison for the crime of "carnal knowledge of a child under the age of 12". Dozens of others came forward after his conviction claiming to have been assaulted by Prince as children, but none would testify. He was released in November 2006 after serving 15 years. In December 2007 Black-Cornelius discovered that Prince was working as volunteer with Montgomery's Frazer Memorial Baptist Church, making visits to the state's Mount Meigs Youth Center. A required background check was never conducted and Prince had not been required to register as a sex offender under a loophole in the law.

Black-Cornelius has served as Director of Development for Prescott House and Family and Child Services, and as Deputy Director of the Children's Trust Fund in Montgomery. She assisted in creating the language and lobbying for the passage of versions of "Megan's Law", protecting child victims of sexual abuse, in six states. She also helped win passage of Alabama's Victim's Rights Amendment and the creation of the Alabama Department of Children's Affairs.

In 1997 her efforts on behalf of the United Way of Central Alabama earned her the honor of becoming the youngest recipient of the Mervyn H. Sterne Award for "the individual having the most significant impact" on the campaign's success. In 2001 she started her own company, BlackBOARD, which trains public, private and faith-based organizations in governance, board development, funding and strategy.

Black-Cornelius and her husband Jeff have five children; Lauren, Robin, Anne Campbell, Ross and Roman.

References

• Kennedy, Joey (December 16, 2007) "Allison Black Cornelius finds herself confronting child sexual predator Leon Albert Prince yet again." Birmingham News
• Diel, Stan (February 14, 2008) "Leon Albert Prince objects to sex offender list." Birmingham News