A Florida pastor is facing more than 10 felony charges after police say they found highly offensive material on his phone.
On June 21, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Jonathan Elwing (43), senior pastor of Palmview Baptist Church in Palmetto, Florida.
“He joined the church claiming to be a man of God, but in reality he’s just a liar and a sex offender.”
Police said they had received information that Elwing was using cryptocurrency to purchase child sexual abuse material over the internet. According to the Bradenton HeraldBased on that information, authorities obtained a search warrant and allegedly found sexually explicit images of children on his cell phone. Elwing was subsequently arrested and charged with four counts of possession of child sexual abuse images.
But the disturbing story doesn’t end there.
Police continued their investigation, including a forensic search of Elwing’s mobile phone, and found images which appeared to show Elwing sexually abusing a two-year-old child.
Researcher Accused Elwing claimed he used a photo storage app on his phone to hide the shocking material.
As a result, police charged Elwing with 14 additional charges, including two counts of sexual assault punishable by death, six counts of submitting child sexual abuse material, and six counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.
“It is sickening for all of us to learn his true intentions and what he was up to behind the scenes when he professed to be a man of God and a pastor and earned the trust of his congregations,” Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said. Said Last Thursday.
Authorities also said they found 10 “hidden” cameras in Elwing’s possession — two in his home and one at the church where he works — and police said they feared he may have hidden cameras inside the church.
The investigation is ongoing, and police said additional criminal charges may be filed against Elwing.
“I can’t emphasize this enough: this man is a monster,” Sheriff Wells said. “This man did everything he could to hide his true identity and he did everything he could to facilitate his aberrant behavior.”
“My heart goes out to his family and my heart goes out to the members of Palmview Baptist Church,” the sheriff added. “He claimed to be a man of God and attended the church, but in reality he is nothing more than a liar and a sex offender.”
Elwing is being held in the Manatee County Jail without bail.
Elwing Resigned He resigned as senior pastor at Palmview Baptist Church shortly before his arrest, and his nearly 200-member congregation has vowed to move forward through the difficult times.
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