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<p><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13663339/florida-pastor-jonathan-elwing-faces-death-child-sex-charges.html#comments"></a></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-447dec849717287a05b7e1afb957a500" style="color:#130101;font-size:14px"><strong>Detectives in Manatee County, Florida, reveal how they uncovered and arrested a &#8216;monster&#8217; father-of-four clergyman on June 21 </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-22f72035bd35e74c5f65f0c1262b752e" style="color:#130101;font-size:14px"><strong>Reverend Jonathan Elwing, a 43-year-old Baptist minister from Palmetto, Florida, faces the death penalty over sickening child rape allegations </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7cbc5f696d17657063b923e9a725a2b7" style="color:#130101;font-size:14px"><strong>Elwing was initially charged with four counts of possessing sickening child porn photos after cops were tipped off by a crypto-currency company whose services he&#8217;d used for purchases off the dark web </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1bd9238cdba662359cc4047dc45e1172" style="color:#130101;font-size:14px"><strong>Forensic examination of his cellphone later unearthed a private photo vault app hiding at least 14 photos of the pastor himself horrifically sexually abusing a two-year-old girl </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b5c7fa3c95bc9e3bb232e93dd4e89594" style="color:#130101;font-size:14px"><strong>Elwing faces up to 25 counts of child sex abuse, 18 of them felonies, including two capital felony charges for sexual battery of a minor </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-be7c49c28da62a575636aa4c53903c22" style="color:#130101;font-size:14px"><strong>The Baptist minister was indicted by a grand jury on July 10 on sexual battery of a child </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-257f0ae0136438b59caa0dcbc7e75c42" style="color:#130101;font-size:14px"><strong>If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of life without parole if convicted </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ca0db1b865f07125357adbc4ee44438c" style="color:#130101;font-size:14px"><strong>Prosecutors could also press for the death penalty under a 2023 Florida law which allows for the ultimate sentence for sexual battery of a child under the age of 12. </strong></p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3e2c37ce215b7e69512117908e842c42" style="color:#130101;font-size:14px"><strong>He is currently being held without bond at Manatee County Jail in Palmetto</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jonathan-Elwing-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465424" style="width:841px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Pastor Jonathan Elwing [photo], of Palmetto, Florida, could face the death penalty after prosecutors charged him with a slew of horrific child sex charges, including two capital felony raps for sexual battery of a minor</strong></p>



<p>An esteemed clergyman pastor could face the death penalty after his sensational arrest for allegedly abusing a minor child.<br>Authorities allege pastor Jonathan Elwing photographed himself raping a two-year-old girl. <br>The 43-year-old Baptist preacher is facing multiple counts of horrific child sex crimes, 18 of them felonies, including two capital felony charges for the sexual battery of a minor.<br>The minister who wears a distinct beard has been senior pastor at Palm View First Baptist Church Islamorada, Florida, for the past five years. He was previously an associate pastor at a congregation within the celebrity-favorite Hillsong Church according to his LinkedIn page.<br>His outing and arrest has shocked both congregation and fellow clergy.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Palm-View-First-Baptist-Church-in-Palmetto-Florida-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465450"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Elwing has resigned his appointment as senior pastor at the Palm View First Baptist Church in Palmetto, Florida</strong></p>



<p>On June 20, detectives received information that Elwing used cryptocurrency to make an online purchase of child sexual abuse material. A search warrant was executed on June 21 at the church and Elwing’s home. <br>After detectives found four sexually explicit images of children on his cell phone, probable cause was developed to charge Elwing. <br>The married father-of-four initially was charged with four counts of possessing sickening child porn photos after cops were tipped off by a crypto-currency company that he had purchased them off the dark web.<br>However, later forensic examination of his cellphone uncovered a private photo vault app hiding at least 14 horrific photos of Elwing sexually abusing the minor girl, according to his arrest report.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jonathan-Elwing-with-his-wife-and-children-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465427" style="width:750px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Baptist preacher Jonathan Elwing, [right], who shares four children with his wife, Krystal [left], has been charged with multiple child sex crimes after allegedly photographing himself raping a child</strong></p>



<p>Elwing now faces up to 25 charges relating to child pornography and child sex as Manatee County Sheriff’s Office detectives continue to dig through through his electronic devices. Earlier in the week Krystal Elwing, 40, who was speaking from the couple&#8217;s home this week, who reportedly is devastated by the revelations of her husband&#8217;s indiscretions said: ‘I’ve been through too much.’<br>Elwing faces a minimum sentence of life without parole if convicted, but prosecutors could also press for the death penalty under a 2023 Florida law which allows for the ultimate sentence for sexual battery of a child under the age of 12. Juries in Florida need just eight of the panel of 12 to agree to execution.<br></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jonathan-Elwing-with-his-wife-and-children-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465432" style="width:839px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Elwing&#8217;s wife who is a school teacher, is left &#8216;devastated&#8217; by the charges brought against him, police said </strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jonathan-Elwing-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465433" style="width:837px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Elwing&#8217;s pose of a god-fearing family man is permanently destroyed as further charges of producing and processing child sexual abuse material were brought after probes of his devices, piled on the two initially charges to capital sexual battery</strong></p>



<p>Detectives found eight covert-style cameras in Elwing’s office at the church, whose building links with Educational Harbor private Christian school – where Krystal is a teacher. <br>Another two were at the couple’s home. None of them were in position.<br>Elwing, dubbed ‘a monster’ by Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells, is currently held without bond at Manatee County Jail in Palmetto. He was indicted by a grand jury on July 10 on sexual battery of a child.<br>Pastor&#8217;s wife Krystal Elwing reportedly, was &#8216;surprised and devastated&#8217; when she was made aware of his horrendous extracurricular past time.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Krystal-Elwing-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465437" style="width:831px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Mother-of-four Krystal Elwing, [photo], reportedly, was &#8216;surprised and devastated&#8217; when she was made aware of her husband&#8217;s horrendous extracurricular past time</strong></p>



<p>The pastor was facing two capital sexual battery charges and six counts each of producing and processing child sexual abuse material after the second trawl of his devices was made.<br>‘With everything we’ve collected in the search for additional images, we’re going to have a final number of up to 25 charges. We’ve got production of child pornography, capital sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation,’ authorities in the county have said.<br>‘Elwing was living a double life in not being the person people thought he was. It’s been devastating also for that church, for that community, for family, for friends.<br>‘It creates a lot of anger when people they realize they put a lot of trust in, who they respected, turn out to be someone completely different.’<br> ‘We are thankful that we are looking at just one victim of capital sexual battery, although of course what happened to that victim is a tragedy.’<br>Of the covert cameras, police said: ‘We know that he was using devices to capture images and video, but we didn’t find any of these actually inside the church or elsewhere, apart from in his office and home – not in any common areas such as bathrooms.’</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Krystal-Elwing-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465436" style="width:839px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Elwing&#8217;s wife Krystal is a teacher, and ;detectives said they found eight covert-style cameras in Elwing’s office, which links with the school where Krystal works ;</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Krystal-and-Jonathan-Elwing-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465434" style="width:837px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Elwing describes himself on the profile on X, formerly Twitter, as: ‘Husband, Father, Child of God. Serving Christ as a Minister of His Gospel only for his wife Krystal to be ‘devastated when she was made aware of what was going on’</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Anouncement-by-Palm-View-First-Baptist-Church-on-Pastor-Jonathan-Elwing-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465444" style="width:781px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>In response to the scandal involving pastor Elwing, the church in a message posted on its website stated that they are cooperating in the investigation</strong></p>



<p>Elwing describes himself on the profile on X, formerly Twitter, as: ‘Husband, Father, Child of God. Serving Christ as a Minister of His Gospel,’ allegedly committed the alleged offenses from April 26 this year. <br>The suspect initially told detectives there was no porn on his devices, but his denials began to unravel as under intense questioning by detectives.<br>He then proffered that he ‘would sometimes purchase adult pornography from a third-party,’ but then claimed that ‘it was possible that child pornography would be part of the purchase, without his knowledge’.<br>Elwing maintained he didn’t look at child porn and ‘would delete anything he considered to be child porn when he was looking at adult material’.<br>However at a second interview, he was confronted by four purchased images on his Google Pixel 7 Pro phone showing different children aged between four and seven being seriously sexually abused.<br>Four days later detectives uncovered six child sex images involving Elwing, according to the report.<br>The first ‘showed Jonathan’s face’ and the child was wearing ‘a distinct shirt that had a picture of a cartoon giraffe and writing on the side of the giraffe’.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jonathan-Elwing-with-his-wife-and-children-4.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465443" style="width:842px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>When detectives confronted Elwing with images from his phone showing him sexually abusing a child, his initial denials melted. Admitting he ‘would sometimes purchase adult porn from a third-party,’ that ‘it was possible that child porn would be part of the purchase, without his knowledge’</strong></p>



<p>The report said Elwing photographed himself penetrating the child and the images were taken on April 26 this year between 4.17pm and 4.21pm local time.<br>Another image showed the same child wearing a white shirt ‘and no other clothing. The child is only visible from the shoulders to her knees as she is lying down on her stomach on a blue colored blanket’.<br>Elwing is ‘observed attempting to penetrate the child’s vagina and (his penis) is pressing against her buttock and vagina’.<br>In other pictures, Elwing positions the child so as to obscenely display and photograph her intimate areas, according to the report. In one picture she is seen just from her waist to her knees.<br>Sheriff Wells said after Elwing’s arrest: ‘I can’t stress this enough. This is a monster.<br>‘This is a man who went to great lengths to hide his true identity. To use whatever resources he could to feed the deviant behavior that he has.<br>‘I feel really bad for his family. I feel bad for the congregation at Palm View Baptist Church. He went into that church professing to be a man of God, but he’s really nothing more than a liar and a sex predator.’</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Krystal-and-Jonathan-Elwing-2-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465441" style="width:836px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>‘I can’t stress this enough. This is a monster.&#8217; After charges were brought against Elwing, the sheriff&#8217;s office branded him a &#8216;monster&#8217; and said he &#8216;went to great lengths to hide his true identity&#8217; </strong></p>



<p>Wells said he was concerned there may be more victims who have not been identified.<br>‘If anyone has had close contact with this monster, if anyone knows if their kids have been around him, I’m just requesting that they talk to their children,’ he said.<br>Elwing resigned from his position immediately before he was arrested, according to the sheriff’s office.<br>Palm View Baptist Church has called on its members to help the investigation.<br>A statement on its website says: ‘These allegations are serious. We are committed to reporting any suspicion of abuse and criminal activity to the appropriate authorities immediately upon discovery.<br>‘If you are aware of any information relevant to the investigation, we encourage you to contact the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.<br>‘Considering the gravity of these allegations, we cannot make further comments regarding the investigation other than that we have been and will continue cooperating fully in the hopes that justice is accomplished.’<br>The church is affiliated to the Southern Baptist Convention, which has come under fire for allegedly covering up child sex abuse in Texas. Ironically, pastor Elwing reportedly, is a vocal critic of reforms against sexual abuse. <br>In one social media post from February 2023, he states that &#8216;such moves would undermine the organization. It would be ‘the end of the SBC,&#8217; he said.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jonathan-Elwing-with-his-wife-and-children-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465438" style="width:847px;height:auto"/></figure>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><strong>Elwing whose profile on X describes him as: ‘Husband, Father, Child of God. Serving Christ as a Minister of His Gospel,’ allegedly abused the toddler from April 26 this year </strong></p>



<p> Ryan Akers, current pastor at Palm View Baptist Church, along with the other pastors said: ‘We are sickened and horrified at the nature of the allegations and the charges that have been brought.<br>‘Knowing a little bit about the shape of the investigation, it&#8217;s looking not very good on his part. It&#8217;s just horrific that there seems to be a victim that has been endangered, been harmed. <br>&#8216;It&#8217;s a nightmare type scenario to have someone in our midst accused of this kind of crime.<br>‘I cannot speak for all the community, but I know there is anger in some, plain disgust in others. I’ve gone through all those emotions myself.<br>‘We are doing everything we can to support Krystal. A lot of our discussions as a church have been how we can minister to his family as they deal with the shock of these allegations. It is a major concern of ours to make sure we don’t forget them.’<br></p>

It’s either life without parole or death penalty, if convicted, for married Florida pastor, 43, accused of photographing himself during horrific child rape
