Pastor of the Southern Baptist Church charged with 18 crimes related to child sexual abuse

A pastor of the Southern Baptist Church in Florida has been charged with 18 serious crimes after explicit photos were found on his phone, including some in which he repeatedly sexually abuses a toddler, police said.

Jonathan Elwing, 43, pastor of Palm View First Baptist Church in Palmetto, was arrested by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office on June 21 on four counts of possession of child sexual activity material. The same day, before his arrest, he resigned as pastor of his Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)-affiliated church.

Six days later, after a forensic examination of Elwing’s cell phone and computers, authorities filed 14 additional charges against him. Elwing was additionally charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12, six counts of production of child sexual abuse material and six counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.

According to a report in the Bradenton Herald, police say Elwing used a private photo vault app on his phone to hide at least 14 images showing him sexually abusing a two-year-old girl.

Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said 10 hidden cameras were also found in Elwing’s home and church office, Spectrum Bay News 9 reported.

“There is some concern that he may have hidden these cameras in the church,” Wells said. On weekdays during the school year, the church hosts Educational Harbor, an accredited Christian elementary school for grades 1 through 12.

The sheriff told media that a cryptocurrency company tipped off investigators that Elwing had been purchasing CSAM content on the dark web. Officers obtained a search warrant and raided Elwing’s home the next day.

“I cannot stress this enough: This is a monster,” Wells said. “This is a man who has gone to great lengths to conceal his true identity. He has used every means at his disposal to further his deviant behavior.”

Elwing had publicly opposed the SBC’s implementation of anti-sexual abuse reforms, declaring in a February 2023 post on X that this would be “the end of the SBC.”

In addition, as first reported by church leaders, Elwing was “involved in the denominational politics” of the SBC, including being a member of Founders Ministries under the leadership of Florida Baptist pastor Tom Ascol.

Palm View FBC was listed by Founders Ministries as one of its “gospel-preaching and Christ-glorifying” churches, but was removed from that list last week, church leaders reported.

The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to Palm View FBC and Founders Ministries but received no response.

Founders Ministries works with the Conservative Baptist Network, an advocacy group in which Elwing was also active and which is concerned about a “liberal bias” within the SBC. Both groups reject the need for abuse reform in Southern Baptist churches.

The sheriff’s office said in a statement that additional charges against Elwing are “pending” and provided a webpage for potential victims to provide more information.

Sheriff Wells said he “felt sorry” for Elwing’s family and community. “He went to church and claimed to be a man of God, but in reality he is nothing more than a liar and a sex offender.”

Elwing is currently being held without bail at the Manatee County Jail in West Bradenton. An initial hearing in his case is scheduled for July 3, according to court records.

Freelance journalist Josh Shepherd writes for various media outlets about faith, culture and public policy Outlets. He and his family live in the Washington, DC area.