Jackson youth pastor pleads guilty to sexual crimes against a minor, sentencing date scheduled

[Artaxerxes II]

https://eu.jacksonsun.com/story/news/cr ... 183021007/

Ryan McElrath, a former Fellowship Bible Church youth pastor in Jackson, pled guilty to sexual crimes against a minor in court on Monday.

Appearing in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in the U.S. District Court for the Western Division of Tennessee, McElrath, 40, entered a plea agreement on Count 1 of his indictment on charges of Statutory Rape by an Authority Figure, Sexual Battery by an Authority Figure, and Aggravated Statutory Rape.

The plea agreement stipulates that he faces a minimum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life, a maximum fine of $250,000, and supervised release for not less than five years and up to life.

He will be sentenced on May 9.

In pleading guilty, McElrath waives his right to a jury trial as well as his right to file a direct appeal or collaterally attack his conviction. Judge Thomas Anderson noted that though some exceptions could apply that would allow McElrath to appeal to a higher court, it would likely not stand.

McElrath will be required to register as a sex offender in any location where he resides, is employed, or is a student.

His charges were according to violations between the dates of April 12 and June 10, 2024.

On June 11, 2024, the father of a minor teenager, referred to in court documents as "Minor A," reported the assault against his daughter to the Jackson Police Department, according to the state warrant.

The warrant states that McElrath had met with the minor on May 31, 2024, "in the high school area" of Fellowship Bible Church for approximately 30 minutes, where he allegedly engaged in various sexual activities with her.

When reading the facts of the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Morrow read from a written statement provided by McElrath when interviewed on June 11 by JPD investigators.

McElrath, who had known the victim since she was 14, described her in his statement as being "part of the family."

Morrow noted that over the course of three years, McElrath and the victim exchanged more than 39,000 text messages, many of which were sexually explicit in nature, including the scheduling and various locations for sexual activity.

Before accepting his plea of guilt, Anderson asked McElrath to admit or deny that he knowingly persuaded, induced, enticed, or coerced the victim to engage in sexual activity knowing she was underage, to which McElrath replied, "I admit it."

Fellowship Bible Church shared a statement on June 12 following McElrath's charges on June 11 that he had been terminated.

This is a developing story.