Florida pastor charged with child sexual abuse and child pornography

A Florida pastor who was arrested last week for possession of child pornography has been charged with new child sexual abuse and child pornography charges, and now faces 18 felony counts.

Jonathan Elwing, 43, of Palmetto, was charged with two counts of sexual assault, six counts of production of child sexual abuse material and six counts of possession of child pornography, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

These charges come in addition to four counts of possession of child sexual abuse images he was charged with earlier this month after police received information that the pastor had purchased the images online using cryptocurrency.

Get our latest news for FREE

Subscribe to receive The Christian Post’s top stories (plus special offers!) delivered daily/weekly to your email address. Be the first to know.

A forensic search of Elwing’s cellphone found images showing him sexually abusing a child and producing and possessing 12 images of child pornography, reports Sarasota-based WWSB ABC 7.

The authorities expect further charges in the near future, the media reports.

“I can’t stress this enough, this is a monster,” Sheriff Rick Wells said during a press conference. “He went into that church and claimed to be a man of God. But in reality, he is nothing more than a liar and a sexual predator.”

“He would abuse anyone at any time,” Wells added. “There seems to be no limit to what he is capable of.”

According to WSSB, one of the photos shows Elwing abusing a two-year-old. Authorities also said they found eight to 10 hidden cameras in his home and church office.

Elwing resigned from his position as pastor of Palm View Baptist Church before he was arrested by detectives from the Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit.

Palm View Baptist Church confirmed Elwing’s arrest on social media and said it would “make a statement in due course.” The church has not posted on Facebook since June 20 and did not respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.

Palm View Baptist Church describes itself as a “close-knit community and loving family” and a “diverse group of people committed to following Jesus” and is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

According to WWSB, the congregation has a total of nearly 200 members. The church leadership informed the church of Elwing’s arrest and the charges in a brief statement.

“We had a pastor who served for 41 years and was replaced by Jonathan. From all accounts, he was the right person and seemed to be doing a good job,” Deaconry President Larry Bianchi said, according to the outlet.

“The crimes he is accused of are just about the worst in the world. He could have been dealing fentanyl and it wouldn’t have been so bad,” another church member said, according to WWSB.