Former Pastor Sentenced To Life In Prison For ‘Evil’ Acts In Child Sex Abuse Case
A Bradenton County, Florida, jury has thrown the book at a former Southern Baptist pastor for sexually abusing a 2-year-old and recording the abuse on his cellphone, according to the Bradenton Herald.
Jonathan Edward Elwing received three consecutive life sentences on April 21, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office announced.
Elwing, 45, was found guilty of 12 charges, including capital sexual battery, lewd or lascivious molestation, and crimes tied to the production and possession of child sexual abuse material, the Herald reported. His conviction and sentencing followed a one-day trial at the Manatee County Judicial Center.
Circuit Judge D. Ryan Felix sentenced Elwing immediately after the verdict, which came after about an hour of jury deliberation at the downtown Bradenton facility.
“This was a short trial. It’s a trial that’s short because the evidence was overwhelming. It was strong,” Felix said.
“I don’t have a lot to say preceding my sentence other than these acts were evil,” he told Elwing. “The appropriate sentences will be life in prison. You don’t belong anywhere in a civilized society.”
Elwing had served as senior pastor at Palm View First Baptist Church in Palmetto before his arrest, and he resigned shortly before police apprehended him on June 21, 2024. The Roys Report (TRR) reported shortly thereafter on that arrest and the array of covert cameras found at the pastor’s office and home.
Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells at the time said Elwing “went into that church professing to be a man of God, but he’s really nothing more than a liar and sexual predator.”
In an online statement, the church lamented Elwing’s crimes.
“The trial of former pastor Jonathan Elwing on charges related to child sexual abuse concluded with guilty verdicts on all counts,” the statement said. “We pray for the continued healing of those directly and indirectly involved in this case, especially the victim and the victim’s family. The details presented in court are horrific and cry out for justice. As the window for appeal is still open, we will not make further comments regarding the verdict. We thank those involved in the legal process, especially law enforcement, court officials, witnesses, and jury members.”
The Herald reported that much of the trial centered on digital evidence, including censored photographs and other findings investigators said they recovered from a password-protected app on Elwing’s phone.
Assistant State Attorney Ashley Dusnik argued that Elwin’s guilt could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt based on photographic evidence alone, according to the newspaper.
Defense attorney Kati Trese argued during closing arguments that “after all the testimony, all the exhibits, all the arguments” jurors heard, “the law does not permit a conviction on possibility or suspicion,” the Herald reported.
The investigation began in June 2024 after the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office received a tip about a purchase of child sexual abuse material using cryptocurrency, according to the Herald.
Investigators executing a search warrant seized a Google Pixel 7 Pro cellphone from Elwing. Jurors heard testimony that neither Elwing’s wife nor his children used the password-protected device, the Herald reported.
Krystal Larkin, Elwing’s ex-wife, testified Elwing was the only person who used the phone and that no one else, including her, knew the password.
Investigators said they found five images in the phone’s KeepSafe app after unlocking the device. The app hides and protects media behind a PIN passcode.
Detectives testified that the photos were taken within a four-minute span on April 26, 2024, and showed Elwing sexually abusing a 2-year-old child.
A digital forensic analyst testified that the pictures originated from the phone’s built‑in camera, a conclusion prosecutors said undermined any claim the images were obtained online.
The newspaper also reported that, according to an arrest report, Elwing told detectives he sometimes bought adult pornography and deleted any child sexual abuse material that “may get mixed in.”
Prosecutors argued the images showed Elwing and the child, citing one photo that captured his face, including his “distinctive black metal-frame glasses” and “gray, wiry beard,” the Herald reported.
Trese, the defense attorney, questioned whether metadata showing the files had been modified meant they could have been altered, according to the newspaper account. But Manatee County Sheriff’s Office detective Steven Luke testified that the modification date reflected the files being saved from the phone’s camera roll into the KeepSafe app.
Luke also told jurors that the files’ hash values, which he described as a “digital fingerprint,” showed the photos were unaltered, according to the Herald.
Although Elwing’s former congregation isn’t saying much after the conviction, one member told WFLA-8 TV, an NBC affiliate in Tampa, that he was dismayed.
“Personally, I keep thinking it is a really bad dream, and I am going to wake up from it, but unfortunately, this happens in society,” deacon Larry Bianchi said. “It happens more often than not in places where children can be seen. There’s a lot of children in church.”
This article was originally published by The Roys Report.
Mark A. Kellner is a reporter based in Mesquite, Nevada. He most recently covered statewide elections for the New York Post and was for three years the Faith & Family Reporter for The Washington Times. Mark is a graduate of the University of the Cumberlands and also attended Boston University’s College of Communication.