August 9, 2024 • 40 mins
On social media, Pastor Jonathon Elwing calls himself a husband, father, child of God, and serving Christ as a minister of his Gospel. So, when the Manatee County Sheriff's office gets a tip from cryptocurrency company "coin base" that the 43-year-old Senior Pastor of Palm View Baptist Church may have used cryptocurrency to buy child pornography, investigators know you can't judge a book by its cover. The Manatee County Sheriff's office secures a search warrant for Jonathon Elwing's home and Palm View Baptist Church.
Elwing gives investigators the passcode for his personal phone. And as the investigator begins to look, Jonathon Elwing admits he sometimes purchases adult pornography from a "third party." He adds it is possible that child pornography would be a part the purchase without his knowledge. Elwing says when he sees the child pornography images or videos, he deletes them.
Still, cops find four of the items located on Elwing's personal cellphone depict Child Sexual Abuse Material while still at the home. Infact, the forensic search of Jonathon Elwing's cell phone reveals images of him sexually battering a child, along with production and possession of 12 images child sexual abuse material. Then, investigators are able to extract hidden files from Elwing's personal cellphone and deputies say he is using a private photo vault app to hide at least 14 pictures of him sexually abusing a two-year-old child.
JOINING NANCY GRACE TODAY:
- Stacey Honowitz - Assistant State Attorney, Sex Crimes & Child Abuse Unit, Author: "My Private Parts are Private", "Genius with a Penis - Don't Touch!" and “The Bully at School is Really Uncool”, staceyhonowitz.com, Instagram: @staceybhonowitz
- Caryn Stark - Psychologist, renowned TV and Radio trauma expert and consultant, www.carynstark.com, Instagram: carynpsych, FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice
- John Pizzuro - Raven’s CEO, Fmr. New Jersey State Police Commander of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, Fmr. New Jersey State Police --https://raven.us/team/
- Anna Sonoda - Child sex abuse/grooming expert/Clinical Social Worker/Counsels convicted sex offenders- Author, Duck Duck Groom
- Jordan Litwiller - Reporter/Anchor, Reporter -WWSB - ABC 7 News, IG: @jordanlitwiller
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
He's a monster, A claim of a hidden side emerging
of a Palmetto child porn pastor suspect. You heard me right,
a Palmetto pastor accused of child porn and more a
(00:28):
Nancy Grace. This is crime stories. Thank you for being with.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Us, Florida detective So receive a tip that Pastor Jonathan
Elwing used cryptocurrency to buy child sexual abuse material on
the dark web.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Those are words you don't want in the same sentence together,
A so called Christian pastor and child porn all in
the same sentence. A former Palmetto emphasis on former pastor
arrested for child pornography is now facing over a dozen
(01:07):
new charges stemming from the child porn Who is this
guy listen.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Preaching the gospel in several areas of Florida with his
wife and four children, And so Pastor Jonathan Elwing is
the picture of what a conservative Christian leader looks like.
So when the Manatee County Sheriff's Office gets a tip
from cryptocurrency company Coinbase that the forty three year old
senior pastor of Palm View Baptist Church may have used
cryptocurrency to buy child pornography. Investigators know you can't judge
(01:37):
a book by its cover, but Ewing has a pretty
good cover?
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Is he? Is he a quote? Pretty good cover?
Speaker 5 (01:45):
You know what?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
I could talk about this Palmetto pastor all day long.
TI line blue in the face. But let's take a
listen from the horse's mouth. And this became from the
Palm View First Baptist Church YouTube channel.
Speaker 6 (02:01):
Is if you spend all your time searching for the
truth and you haven't found it, and you're tired of
trying to live a life that is pleasing to God
because you realize that you can't do it, and He says,
I want you to come to me. And when a
person sincerely comes to Jesus Christ admitting that they need
(02:23):
to be saved from their sin, then they are aware
that they can no longer. They could never have saved themselves.
You know, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I'm not a biblical scholar, although I try my best
and fail spectacularly.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Somewhere in there.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
There's got to be something about you know what's the
worst A hypocrite.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
A hypocrite.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Remember how Christ would make a point of referring to
the scribes and the pharisees and how.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Hate was in their hearts.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Just think about that for just one moment, and yet
he's taking he This guy, Jonathan Edward Elwing, seems to
be taking Christ towards and totally like twisting them around
because we know he's charged not only with child pornography
(03:18):
but actually attacking children. Jordan Littwiller joining US investigative reporter
and anchor WWSB.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
That's ABC seven.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
He's also at my Soncoast dot com. Jordan, tell me
about the charges on this pastor.
Speaker 7 (03:40):
Yeah, So, forty three year old Jonathan Elwing is facing
eighteen separate charges two different cases. In the first case,
he's facing four charges of possessing child pornography, and then
in the separate case, he's facing six additional counts of
possessing child pornography, as well as six counts of using
a child to engage in sex, one count of capital
(04:00):
sexual battery by somewhat above the age of eighteen committed
against somebody under the age of twelve, and also one
count of leud Elasivius molestation. He was initially facing two
counts of that capital sexual battery, but those charges have
since change, dropping one of those charges and changing it
into that molestation charge in Jordan.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
He got me drink from the fire hydrant. Again.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
You've just rattled all that off before I could even
take it in. Okay, Hold on, what kind of a
pastor is this guy? Baptist? Is he a Catholic? Is
he a Unitarian?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
What is he?
Speaker 7 (04:35):
Yeah, so he's a Baptist pastor. He graduated from a university,
a Florida Baptist University in two thousand and four. He
was then an associate pastor at a couple of different
churches here in the area in Florida, and then he
became a lead pastor here at the first Baptist in
Palmetto back in twenty nineteen. So he's been a pastor
for over two decades. He was actually replacing a pastor
(04:55):
at this church who was there for over forty years. Obviously,
the congregation and the members of that church we're hoping
he would be the next long term pastor. But obviously
that didn't end up being the case.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Wait a minute, Wait a minute.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Usually I say to the guests, you're talking too slowly.
You're talking I can't drink in everything you're saying. And
in my world Jordan, Every fact is important.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Okay, did you say he's Baptist? Is that what you said?
Speaker 8 (05:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Yep, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Okay, thank you Lord for him not being Methodist. Okay,
I'm a United Methodist. And after the United Methodist pastor
that killed not one but two wives, I mean, okay,
I'm sure that the Baptists are spinning like tops right now.
So this guy, Jordan Littwiller has how many charges against him?
(05:44):
How many charges have been leveled at Jonathan Edward owing?
Speaker 1 (05:48):
How many? Eighteen? Now?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Does that include the child porn and the offenses on children?
Speaker 1 (05:55):
The sex attacks on children?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (05:56):
So that includes everything. There's the initial charges, which were
the four cases of possessing child pornography that ultimately led
to fourteen additional charges which actually he was found pictured
of abusing children on his phone.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Oh on this a moment he videos himself molesting children.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Did I get that right, Jordan?
Speaker 7 (06:16):
So, according to the probable cause affidavit, after the initial
photos were found, the forensic scientist did another deep dive
off his phone a couple days later, I believe it
was four days later where they found six additional pictures,
and then he was actually pictured in those images. Yeah,
allegedly abusing sexually abusing a two year old.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Okay, Jordan, again, you're just like rattling this off. Did
you hear what you just said? Allegations he sex abused
a two year old? What is exactly the charge on
the abuse of the two year old? Is it sodomy?
Is it child rape? Is it some sort of a
lester molestation? What is he accused of doing to a
(06:56):
two year old child?
Speaker 7 (06:57):
So that's the charge of capital sexual of someone above
the age of eighteen on someone who is less than twelve?
Speaker 2 (07:03):
And what is capital sex battery in the state of Florida?
I can only assume that's full on rape or sodomy?
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Which one is it?
Speaker 7 (07:13):
Yes, he is accused of fully raping a two year old.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I'm not often left speechless, but right now I am.
John Bizarro is a raven CEO, former New Jersey State
Police Commander, Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, and so
much more.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
John, Do you ever, I mean, you and I have seen.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
It all, but every time I hear about a new case,
I feel sick all over again. Do you ever just
want to quit because it's too much? I think about it?
But then I hear about somebody like Jonathan Edward Ewing,
and I feel that I've got to keep going.
Speaker 9 (07:57):
You know, I'm not surprised Nancy anymore. I mean, really,
the amount of people that we do this and look
two year olds. Unfortunately, tour or the dark Web, that's
where he was. There's so many platforms on actually how
to really rape children on these platforms. So these are
(08:17):
the places that he played at, right, that's where he learned,
and generally, in my experience, there's going to be a
lot more victims. It just did he just didn't wake
up last week and decided to start this right, So,
I think this has been going on for a while.
So from an investigation standpoint, they're going to have to
look at his whole career as a pastor and how
(08:40):
many opportunities he had to be around children.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
You know, Karen Stark joining me, renowned psychologist, TV radio
trauma expert.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
She's at Karenstark dot com as Karen with a C.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
I always say in case you're trying to find her,
you know, Karen Stark, when you first met me, I
was getting my What was I getting at that point?
An m a Masters of Law in criminal and Constitutional
law at NYU, New York University. But prior to that,
I was at Mercer University, a small Baptist university, which
(09:16):
was all about love.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
But you know, this type of.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
A crime can brand a religion, or does it, because
this guy's a Baptist preacher. But we really see it
across the board. We see Catholic priests who molested choir
boys and others. I told you about the United Methodist
pastor that killed two wives. Hello, you couldn't catch him
(09:42):
the first time. He had to kill another wife before
you can catch him. And it goes.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
On and on and on.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
So no religion is immune to its leaders committing crimes,
but it seems more shocking, and it shouldn't. It shouldn't,
but it seems we're shocking because it's truly a wolf clothed,
It cheeps clothing.
Speaker 8 (10:07):
That's a great way to put it.
Speaker 10 (10:08):
An empty because the truth is, we think about religious
leaders and we think that they're immune to this kind
and it's just the opposite of what we think. Because
someone in this position has access to children. They're usually
a good standing in the community, that's not unusual at all,
and they have access because they want to be around children,
(10:32):
and they want people not to suspect them. So, just
like you said, that's a great way for them to
hide and get away with doing what they're doing. And
I'm not the least bit shocked. Nobody should be, because
that is the way that they operate.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
A search of the church and Elwing's home reveals several
hidden cameras. Oh dear Lord in heaven.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
First, I've got this Baptist pastor out of Palmettow with
alleged child porn on his phone. He idiot paid for
it with crypto, and they reported him. And thank goodness,
I've got Jordan Littwiller here, investigative reporter in anchor at
WWSB that's ABC seven. You can also find him at
(11:26):
Mysouncoast dot com. Thank goodness, I've got him to give
me all the facts. But what I'm understanding from him
right now and from the documents that I've read, is
this all started with Crypto calling and reporting this pastor
allegendly is buying child porn with Crypto.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
That leads to a search warrant and they get him.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
He hands over his phone, thank you very much, and
they start searching it and they find the alleged child
porn and it's actually him storing in a child porn video,
so that leads me to the alleged rape of a
(12:12):
two year old, not just the alleged rape of a
two year old.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
He videoed it.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Okay, Jordan willerd thank goodness that you are fair and impartial.
Could you please give me these facts in a nutshell
one more time and don't go so fast.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I have to dissect it. Okay, go ahead, Jordan, thank you.
Speaker 7 (12:33):
Sould you want me to start from very beginning.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
The beginning.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Absolutely, I'm one of those people that need repetition, repetition,
And did I mention repetition?
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Okay, go ahead? What happened? Yep?
Speaker 7 (12:45):
So I talked to Coinbas's Global intelligence office. They said
that Jonathan Elwing made a purchase around ten dollars worth
of cryptocurrency. He sent that money to an address who
was flagged by the compliance team at coinbase. Once that
purchase was verified, they knew that it was a purchase
(13:05):
from an account who is known to have sold child
pornography in the past. They flagged that purchase went to
the Florida Department of Homeland Security, who then connected coinbase
with local law enforcement. Local law enforcement was then able
to carry out the search warrant and talk to Jonathan
Elwing and one thing to include. Jonathan Elwing actually prefaced
(13:25):
things by saying too local detectives that he would buy
adult pornography. So he admitted to that before handing over
his phone, and he said that sometimes the seller would
include pictures of child pornography, but that there shouldn't be
any on his phone at that time. He said he
would always delete those images. Ultimately, that didn't end up
being the case apparently, as the local law enforcement agencies
(13:47):
did find images of child pornography on his phone. They
then took him in for an interview.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Okay, Jordan, I need to understand what you just said.
I remember when I wrote my first book, Ejection, and
one of the chapters was about, as I called it,
blood money, where people they're ghules they sell. For instance,
some I remember on Helera Sindez I believe that was
(14:13):
his name, would sell his hair and his toenails and
his fingernails, scrapings from behind bars and actually make money.
He is a serial killer. Okay, let's see. Maybe it's
on Helen Sendez Ramirez. Anyway, and I started writing about
people that sell ghoulish content from money, and I called
(14:34):
it blood money. And I had like a two hundred
and fifty believe it or not dollar little laptop and
it was about the size of a spiral notebook that
I would write used to research and write the book.
At the end of the book, I destroyed the computer.
You know why, because it had looked up so much
horrible content. I felt the computer was cursed. I know, crazy, right.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
But.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I never had something like what he's saying happened. I've
gone to certain websites and something else popped up, and
I immediately closed down the website because it's totally infecting
your computer with malware. But I've never heard of child
(15:21):
porn just popping up.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Is that what he's saying happened.
Speaker 7 (15:27):
So he's saying that the seller included it in the
batch that he bought of adult pornography without his knowledge.
He says that he would always delete those images whenever
they were accidentally or however you want to put it
included in that batch that he would purchase intentionally of
adult pornography. So he says he never intentionally bought any
child pornography or had any intentions of having that on
(15:50):
his phone, but they would sometimes end up being on
his phone because of something that happened on the seller's end.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Okay, Stacey Hana is joining me. Assistant State's Attorney out
of Florida, specialty sex crimes and child abuse. Author of
My Privates Are Private, Author of Genius with a Penis
Don't touch. Author of the Bully at School is really
uncul and you can find her. It's Stacy Hanowitz dot com. Stacy,
(16:19):
I think this would be the perfect moment for you.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Specifically to hear this.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Listen this day from the Palm of You First Baptist
Church YouTube channel.
Speaker 6 (16:31):
But Jesus doesn't say that forgiveness is found. Forgiveness of
God is found by going to church. It's not found
by following any living human. It's not found by following
a certain but it is found by forgiveness of sin.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Now, I would never be accused of being a saint.
That's not going to happen. But I try, I really
try every day to do the right thing. And I
do know this as a failing Christian talking about Christ's forgiveness,
You're not gonna get it.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
I'm pretty sure.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
By buying child porn. Pretty sure that's not the road
to heaven. But that said, the video you just saw
is from the Palm View Baptist's first YouTube channel. Stacy Honowitz,
I love that this guy there's.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Anything to love about this case.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I love that this guy says, oh, I was buying
adult porn red flag and child porn just popped up. Okay,
I hear you, But where did the porn come from?
That's of you raping a two year old child? Did
that just pop up on your adult porn site? Help
(17:51):
me out, Stacy Honowitz.
Speaker 8 (17:52):
Well, I don't think anybody would be. I'm certainly I'm
not shocked. Thirty six years of doing this type of work,
we see this all the time, and we do hear
the defense of.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
The just popped up.
Speaker 8 (18:01):
Now when you're on video raping a child?
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Wait, whit white?
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Stacey Honowitz, you are a fountain of information. This is
her specialty. I just wanted to see your face when
you said this. Did you say this is a common defense?
Speaker 1 (18:17):
It just popped up?
Speaker 8 (18:18):
Yes, it's a common defense. I mean what else could
they possibly say? They say it got sent to me accidentally.
It just popped up. It came up on my computer.
You know, when you couple it with what he's charged with,
raping his own child, raping a child and then videotaping it, well,
the likelihood is that he's swapping and trading his own tapes.
(18:38):
And you know, the other guests that you had on
could tell you that in these types of situations, that's
what we see. When they are videotaping themselves, they're doing
it for a reason. Number one, they're sick, and number
two is they are involved in some kind of corno
ring where they are trading their own porn for a
certain amount of money. So that's what we're seeing here.
(18:59):
And when we're talking about a capital case for your
viewers and your listeners, we're talking about somebody that's raping
someone orally, digitally or with his sexual organ and he's
looking at life in prison. The victim is under the
age of twelve and he's over the age of eighteen.
That is a capital case in Florida. And so that's
(19:20):
what you're seeing here. You're seeing a myriad of child
porn coupled with what he's doing himself. So those charges
and I can bet you dollars to donuts that once
this investigation really gets cracking. You are going to see
other victims come forward, or they're going to be able
to try to identify other victims in the child.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Porn forensic cell phone search finds photos of Elwing sexually
battering a child, in all, a total of sixteen child
pornography photos.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Okay, how did we get access to his phone?
Speaker 5 (19:59):
Listen search warrants and having been properly mirandized, Jonathan Elwing
agrees to speak with the investigator. Elwing gives the passcode
for his personal phone he took out of his pocket,
and as the investigator unlocks the phone and begins to look,
Jonathan Elwing says he sometimes purchases adult pornography from a
quote third party, and it's possible that child pornography would
(20:21):
be a part of the purchase without his knowledge. Elwing
says when he sees the child pornography images or videos,
he deletes them. Elwing says he doesn't want to talk
about the adult material they looks at, So I guess.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
He's climbing a cell phone malfunction because they did not delete.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Okay, there's more. Listen.
Speaker 5 (20:37):
The forensic search of Jonathan Elwing's cell phone reveals image
of him sexually battering a child, along with production and
possession of twelve images of child sexual abuse material. Elwing
admitted to purchasing adult pornography and claims he deletes any
child's sexual abuse material. That quote may get mixed in. However,
investigators are able to extract hidden files from Elwing's personal
(21:00):
cell phone, and deputies say he's using a private photo
vault app to hide at least fourteen pictures of him
sexually abusing a two year old child.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Okay, see, you know you can go to law school.
You can then get a fancy degree from.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Not just law school at Mercer, but NYU.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
But you don't know anything about private photo vault apps.
Joining me in addition to Jordan Littwiller joining us from WWSB.
Stacy Honowitz, veteran prosecutor of child sex crimes and child abuse,
Karen Start renounced psychologist John Pizerou, former New Jersey State
(21:42):
Police commander of Crimes on Children. Now Anna Sonoda, child
sex abuse and grooming expert, author of Duck Duck Groom.
You focus very often on online grooming. What can you
tell me about a private photo vault app?
Speaker 11 (22:06):
Well, Nancy, I'm having a hard time keeping my breakfast down.
This is such a devastating case because it highlights everything
we know to be true about grooming, which is that
predators are serial liars and they seek out environments where
they can access children. So in his role as a pastor,
(22:26):
he had hands on access to children, and he used
his personal cell phone to be a sleuth on the
dark web. These are not websites that normal, healthy, well
adjusted individuals are going to. This is the dark web.
These are places that we rely on IP addresses and
(22:49):
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to be
scrolling to find predators like Jonathan so that we can
take them down. And we need to mend not only
coinbase in this case, but also the local law enforcement
in Florida. They have done an outstanding job getting the
tip and then following up and doing their job so
(23:12):
that we can put this predator away.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
I agree with everything you just said. I wish I
could hear it all over again.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Hey, Karen, start with me, You know Karen Stark or
now on TV radio trauma expert and psychologist Karen. I
would like to tell myself, well, this child was two.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Years old when this happened. They're not going to remember.
They are. They are going to remember.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
And even if they lock that memory away and suppress it,
it will re emerge, maybe not on their a conscious level,
but in the way they raise their children, if they
can even have a normal relationship with another human, if
they can and love and be loved normally, if they
(24:04):
you know how you raise your children like I raise
my children.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
As a victim of violent crime.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
I suspect everybody I see a molester or a killer
behind every tree. You know what I went through when
the children just try to go to Scout camp.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Right that said two years old.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
We think the.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Victim, one of them, anyway, was two years old. Will
they have a memory of getting raped by this earth?
Speaker 10 (24:34):
Allegedly, it won't be a clear memory the way it
would be if they were older and anty, but you're right,
it will definitely affect them. It will be there and
they're unconscious if they don't actually have images, and it
will affect them for the rest of their life.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
And I want to add that the.
Speaker 10 (24:51):
Reason that this man is taking these pictures of himself
of using this little girl is not just because he
wants to change it. But there is no doubt in
my mind that he keeps looking at it over and
over again because he enjoys it. This is the only
way that he could get real sexual pleasure.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
He won't stop.
Speaker 10 (25:12):
There's no doubt he has done this before that other
children have suffered, and he would have continued if he
didn't think that he was getting away with something and
got caught on the dark web.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
You know, to John Pizzorro about this vault this, how
does he say it a private photo vault app to
hide the photos? That shows me he didn't delete them.
(25:45):
He actually downloaded and got this app the same way
a lot of us would get various apps, you know,
like Prime video app, Netflix app, you name it app.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
He had to download this.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
I have a vault app for photos and then hide
the child point in it. And I just want to
think about this, Karen Start. I have memories at age two,
for sure. I have distinct memories that can date back
to age two, and they're very clear. I remember them
very well. So and that was just a nondescript image
(26:25):
a memory. So I find it difficult to believe that
this child, and I'm sure there are others allegedly. I
believe the child will have a distinct memory of being.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Raped by the preacher John Pisorro. What is this app?
Speaker 2 (26:44):
I'm very intrigued by a private photo vault app.
Speaker 9 (26:48):
So all these offenders never get rid of their photos.
They hold on to them against the sexual gratification, over
and over again to relive that experience. So a vault
app basically will look like calculator. So you know, if
you see two calculators on someone's phone, it's not because
they love math. It's because that there's another way for
(27:09):
them to hold that information. So that's where people will
download that because again they're hiding it. So every activity
he's taken, from going to the dark web to actually
looking at ways to hold that information, I'm sure you'll
find even more digital devices that he stored it and
(27:31):
held it from SD cards, anything he can do to
hold that information so he can access it anytime he wants.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
A deacon for the church says I keep thinking this
is a really bad dream, and adding we are no
longer associated with it.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Well, I guess they're not. Guys.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
We are talking about a Baptist minister now charged with
child pornography and child sex offenses. To Jordan Littweller, joining
US reporter anchor WWSB, that's ABC seven News. He's also
at Mysncoast dot com. Jordan, if you know the answer,
(28:17):
don't say it, But do you know who the alleged
victims are?
Speaker 7 (28:24):
So we haven't been able to confirm who the alleged
victims are given the age and the nature of the crimes.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
The witness list.
Speaker 7 (28:32):
On the Manatee County Clerk's office is completely redacted, so
none of that information is out there. The probable cause
after David as well, redacts all of the names and
anybody else who has been interviewed regarding this case.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Okay, good, I'm just thinking that through because isn't it true?
Of course he has minor children. I don't know if
they're the victims or not. But when you look at
the background of these child porn images and videos he
shot off himself, raping children allegedly and other acts, you
can tell from the background where the incident took place,
(29:05):
like isn't at his home which would indicate as one
of his own children?
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Maybe, but we.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
Also know and correct me if I'm wrong, you're the expert.
Weren't there multiple cameras found in and around the church
and isn't the church where he preached associated with a
Christian school for children.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Yeah, that's correct.
Speaker 7 (29:27):
That was one of the concerns that the Manatee County
Sheriff's Office voiced in their initial press conference.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
There is a school right.
Speaker 7 (29:33):
By the church, and at the time of the arrest,
the school, or at the time of the press conference rather,
school wasn't in sessions. So all of the cameras were
just found in his church office and at his residence.
And going back to what you said about the alleged
abuse happening in his house, the probable cause affidavit did
confirm that the pictures they cross referenced the pictures and
(29:56):
the bed sheets in the pictures with the bed sheets
in his master bedroom and addition, firm where they were
the same blue bed sheets. So that does lead you
to believe that the abuse did happen in his master bedroom.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Guys, I've got to hand it to Coenbase, who has
just helped the Manatee County Sheriff's Office take an alleged
child predator from behind the pulpit and off the streets.
That's a whole another can of worms. Let me throw
this out there to Stacy Honowitz, veteran States Crimes and
(30:30):
Child abuse prosecutor and author of My Privates Are Private
genius with the penis. Don't touch the bully at school
is really uncool. She's as Stacyhonowitz dot com Stacy, this
is a whole plethora peddor's box, so to speak, of
potential victims, because we now know that there are multiple
(30:51):
secret cameras placed in and around the church and I
guess the school.
Speaker 8 (30:56):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean, you know quite often in these
types of cases, that's what you see. We've got the cameras,
We've got many victims, and now you have to go
through the arduous task of trying to figure out who
those victims are. I mean, just because it happened in
his bedroom that that's a great thing that they're able
to narrow that down the bed sheets and everything like that.
But now we have to figure out if it's not
his own kids, who was brought to his house as
(31:18):
a pastor, did he have people over, did he have groups?
But you are starting to narrow it down, but this
becomes a very large task for law enforcement to try
to figure out how many victims and who the victims are.
It's not a surprise, Nancy. I wish I could tell
you that this is a one time offshoot happening. We
see this more and more, and yes, we have to
(31:42):
give a big shout out to coinbase for turning this.
And in the old days it was Walgreens in any
place you tip your film to be developed. If they
saw photographs, then they reported it to law enforcement. Now
we're so advanced with technology, I'm with all of these
horrific websites and the dark web that we have to
try to figure out ways to be able to get
these guys off. This is definitely a great start and
(32:04):
we do have to give them kudos for turning in
this information because now you're going to see just what
this person was all about. Again, to all of your
other guests that have been talking, you know, in prosecuting
these cases, these guys are master manipulators. So putting aside
the looking and viewing child porn in an effort to
get kids ones that are older the age of two,
(32:26):
because at too they can't speak, they're not going to
be able to fight back, They're not going to be
able to say leave me alone.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
The constant.
Speaker 8 (32:33):
Education of trying to educate kids older about grooming tactics
and getting too close. And just because it's a priest
or just because it's someone who you trust, doesn't mean
that you actually can trust them, because in most cases,
the likelihood of seeing the suspect.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Is the person that you did trust the most. John
Bizerro joining us raven Ceo. John, I've got pre meditation up.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
The tail pipe.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
I think you know what that means, because not only
do we have him downloading a super secret photo vault app,
he tried to smart everyone by paying for child porn
via crypto currency. I wouldn't even as if I have
time to look at my husband's bank account.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
Never how I.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Wouldn't even think it would dawn on me to try
to find out if David is making secret purchases on
a cryptocurrency account. That would not Okay, now that I
thought about it, I'm going to go look for cryptocurrency.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
But that said, this is pre meditation out the ying Yang.
Speaker 9 (33:44):
Yeah, consciousness of guilt. He knew what he was doing
to start with. I mean he was taking every parameter. Look,
anytime you go on the dark web and you're trying
to hide your IP address, you're doing cryptocurrency you're trying
to hide your bank information, so everything d vault app
he's trying to hide what he actually has, so he's
taking steps to make sure that he doesn't get caught.
(34:07):
And generally speaking, I mean lucky. I know he had said, like,
unquote it was because I had adult porn. There's three
porn sites, so why that doesn't make sense? Right? So
and most likely if you are on tour and you're
using cryptocurrency to purchase something, it's illegal.
Speaker 12 (34:24):
Investigators are still working the case against Jonathan ell Wing,
and prosecutors say they could go for the death penalty
under a Florida law which allows the death penalty sentence
for sexual battery of a child under the age of twelve.
In Florida, juries only need eight of twelve jurors to
agree on the death penalty, as opposed to unanimous juries
in other parts of the country.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Jordan Littwell are joining US investigative reporter and anchor WWSBABC seven. Jordan,
have you ever been to the zoo? I have, yes, Okay,
have you been to the snake house?
Speaker 7 (34:58):
I have a lot a big better snake I've been there.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
I hate them, but you notice that they're always behind
glass so some idiot doesn't try to like reach out
and grab one. That's how I feel every time I
look at this guy at the pulpit preaching.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
It's like the snake house. I am looking.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
At it, but it also makes me sick looking at him.
The sound we're playing the video of him preaching gives
all Christians, all of us struggling Christians, a black eye.
But what about his family? What are they enduring?
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Listen?
Speaker 12 (35:42):
The former pastor's wife, Crystal, has been devastated by the charges.
Manatee County Sheriff's Office information officer Randy Warren tells The
Daily Mail. I don't know how much she may be
suspected something was wrong, but everyone involved here has said
how much she was surprised and devastated. Warren also says,
with everything we've collected in the search for additional images,
we're going to have a final number of up to
(36:04):
twenty five charges. We've got production of child pornography, capital
sexual battery, and lout and lascivious molestation.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
I mean, the reality is Stacy Hanos very briefly, every
time you transmit or send a child porn image, that's
another felony. Every time you transmit it, every time you
download it. Much let's create it as this guy's accused
of doing. So, it could very well be more than
twenty five charges if they want to parse it that
(36:33):
way correct.
Speaker 8 (36:34):
Each one is its own count anytime, any If you
have fifteen pictures and you're possessing fifteen pictures of child porn,
it could be fifteen counts if you're transmitting it transmitted
fifteen times. Just like you said, each one is its
own individual count.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
And a Sonoda joining us child sex Whob's grooming expert
and author of dut Groom. You can't let your guard
down as a parent. You can't let your guard down.
If it's the pastor, or the youth minister, or the
guy selling doughnuts at Krispy Krame or the grocery store
(37:10):
check out guy that gives your children a set of
crayons every time you come there. You can't let your
guard down. And this guy proves it well.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Nancy.
Speaker 11 (37:19):
It's easy to get caught up in our fear and
are worry about everybody, because, let's be honest, sexual predators
are everywhere. I recommend that we show up and that
we look up and we're observing the individuals who are
coming in contact with our kids. That churches who talk
and denominations who talk about the potential for child sexual
(37:39):
abuse are less likely to have instances of child sexual abuse.
Are there programs to train the leadership within your church?
Are there programs to educate parents? What about educating kids
on an age appropriate level about what grooming and child
sexual abuse might look like Every individual, then a church
(38:01):
setting should be co teaching and co leading. There is
no reason for individuals to be alone with a minor
within a religious context.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
Karen start very quickly, a lot of speculation. Did the
wife know? I don't know if she knew or not,
or suspected if she did, suspect or did know?
Speaker 1 (38:22):
Rot in hell woman. If she didn't know, it.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Could be because he so masterfully hid his acts. He
hid it from a whole congregation. So you know, when
you love someone, you very often have on blinders. You
don't see tell tale signs.
Speaker 10 (38:39):
And that happens to a lot, and you hear a
lot where the wife is saying I would never have known,
and all of it is intentional. This monster made sure
that he had this kind of job. Nancy, this is
what he wanted so he could hide behind it. He
had a family.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
I'm not surprised.
Speaker 10 (38:57):
I'm sure none of your guests are, priest that he
looked like he was somebody trustworthy and a great character
because he was hiding Masterfleet a monster.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
And Jordan Littweller, I got so many more questions for you.
Jordan joining us from WWSB, did you tell me earlier
that this guy came from Hill's Song the Very Troubled Congregation?
Speaker 7 (39:24):
Yeah, it did look like that was in his history.
I think as an associate pastor there, I believe maybe
that was his second church that he was at after
graduating from a Baptist University in two thousand and four.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
I believe there will be more charges and we will
all meet again as it relates to former pastor now
child porn defendant Jonathan Edward Elwing. But if you have
had contact with this guy's very important. If you know
or think you know any information regarding this case, even
(39:58):
a potential whichness or victim, please call Mantatee County Crime
Stoppers eight six six six three four eight four seven seven.
We can only stop child predators if we can catch them.
Thank you to our guest, for being with us, Nancy
(40:18):
Grace signing off goodbye friend,
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
He's a monster, A claim of a hidden side emerging
of a Palmetto child porn pastor suspect. You heard me right,
a Palmetto pastor accused of child porn and more a
(00:28):
Nancy Grace. This is crime stories. Thank you for being with.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Us, Florida detective So receive a tip that Pastor Jonathan
Elwing used cryptocurrency to buy child sexual abuse material on
the dark web.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Those are words you don't want in the same sentence together,
A so called Christian pastor and child porn all in
the same sentence. A former Palmetto emphasis on former pastor
arrested for child pornography is now facing over a dozen
(01:07):
new charges stemming from the child porn Who is this
guy listen.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Preaching the gospel in several areas of Florida with his
wife and four children, And so Pastor Jonathan Elwing is
the picture of what a conservative Christian leader looks like.
So when the Manatee County Sheriff's Office gets a tip
from cryptocurrency company Coinbase that the forty three year old
senior pastor of Palm View Baptist Church may have used
cryptocurrency to buy child pornography. Investigators know you can't judge
(01:37):
a book by its cover, but Ewing has a pretty
good cover?
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Is he? Is he a quote? Pretty good cover?
Speaker 5 (01:45):
You know what?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
I could talk about this Palmetto pastor all day long.
TI line blue in the face. But let's take a
listen from the horse's mouth. And this became from the
Palm View First Baptist Church YouTube channel.
Speaker 6 (02:01):
Is if you spend all your time searching for the
truth and you haven't found it, and you're tired of
trying to live a life that is pleasing to God
because you realize that you can't do it, and He says,
I want you to come to me. And when a
person sincerely comes to Jesus Christ admitting that they need
(02:23):
to be saved from their sin, then they are aware
that they can no longer. They could never have saved themselves.
You know, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I'm not a biblical scholar, although I try my best
and fail spectacularly.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Somewhere in there.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
There's got to be something about you know what's the
worst A hypocrite.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
A hypocrite.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Remember how Christ would make a point of referring to
the scribes and the pharisees and how.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Hate was in their hearts.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Just think about that for just one moment, and yet
he's taking he This guy, Jonathan Edward Elwing, seems to
be taking Christ towards and totally like twisting them around
because we know he's charged not only with child pornography
(03:18):
but actually attacking children. Jordan Littwiller joining US investigative reporter
and anchor WWSB.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
That's ABC seven.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
He's also at my Soncoast dot com. Jordan, tell me
about the charges on this pastor.
Speaker 7 (03:40):
Yeah, So, forty three year old Jonathan Elwing is facing
eighteen separate charges two different cases. In the first case,
he's facing four charges of possessing child pornography, and then
in the separate case, he's facing six additional counts of
possessing child pornography, as well as six counts of using
a child to engage in sex, one count of capital
(04:00):
sexual battery by somewhat above the age of eighteen committed
against somebody under the age of twelve, and also one
count of leud Elasivius molestation. He was initially facing two
counts of that capital sexual battery, but those charges have
since change, dropping one of those charges and changing it
into that molestation charge in Jordan.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
He got me drink from the fire hydrant. Again.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
You've just rattled all that off before I could even
take it in. Okay, Hold on, what kind of a
pastor is this guy? Baptist? Is he a Catholic? Is
he a Unitarian?
Speaker 1 (04:34):
What is he?
Speaker 7 (04:35):
Yeah, so he's a Baptist pastor. He graduated from a university,
a Florida Baptist University in two thousand and four. He
was then an associate pastor at a couple of different
churches here in the area in Florida, and then he
became a lead pastor here at the first Baptist in
Palmetto back in twenty nineteen. So he's been a pastor
for over two decades. He was actually replacing a pastor
(04:55):
at this church who was there for over forty years. Obviously,
the congregation and the members of that church we're hoping
he would be the next long term pastor. But obviously
that didn't end up being the case.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Wait a minute, Wait a minute.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Usually I say to the guests, you're talking too slowly.
You're talking I can't drink in everything you're saying. And
in my world Jordan, Every fact is important.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Okay, did you say he's Baptist? Is that what you said?
Speaker 8 (05:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Yep, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Okay, thank you Lord for him not being Methodist. Okay,
I'm a United Methodist. And after the United Methodist pastor
that killed not one but two wives, I mean, okay,
I'm sure that the Baptists are spinning like tops right now.
So this guy, Jordan Littwiller has how many charges against him?
(05:44):
How many charges have been leveled at Jonathan Edward owing?
Speaker 1 (05:48):
How many? Eighteen? Now?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Does that include the child porn and the offenses on children?
Speaker 1 (05:55):
The sex attacks on children?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (05:56):
So that includes everything. There's the initial charges, which were
the four cases of possessing child pornography that ultimately led
to fourteen additional charges which actually he was found pictured
of abusing children on his phone.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Oh on this a moment he videos himself molesting children.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Did I get that right, Jordan?
Speaker 7 (06:16):
So, according to the probable cause affidavit, after the initial
photos were found, the forensic scientist did another deep dive
off his phone a couple days later, I believe it
was four days later where they found six additional pictures,
and then he was actually pictured in those images. Yeah,
allegedly abusing sexually abusing a two year old.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Okay, Jordan, again, you're just like rattling this off. Did
you hear what you just said? Allegations he sex abused
a two year old? What is exactly the charge on
the abuse of the two year old? Is it sodomy?
Is it child rape? Is it some sort of a
lester molestation? What is he accused of doing to a
(06:56):
two year old child?
Speaker 7 (06:57):
So that's the charge of capital sexual of someone above
the age of eighteen on someone who is less than twelve?
Speaker 2 (07:03):
And what is capital sex battery in the state of Florida?
I can only assume that's full on rape or sodomy?
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Which one is it?
Speaker 7 (07:13):
Yes, he is accused of fully raping a two year old.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
I'm not often left speechless, but right now I am.
John Bizarro is a raven CEO, former New Jersey State
Police Commander, Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, and so
much more.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
John, Do you ever, I mean, you and I have seen.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
It all, but every time I hear about a new case,
I feel sick all over again. Do you ever just
want to quit because it's too much? I think about it?
But then I hear about somebody like Jonathan Edward Ewing,
and I feel that I've got to keep going.
Speaker 9 (07:57):
You know, I'm not surprised Nancy anymore. I mean, really,
the amount of people that we do this and look
two year olds. Unfortunately, tour or the dark Web, that's
where he was. There's so many platforms on actually how
to really rape children on these platforms. So these are
(08:17):
the places that he played at, right, that's where he learned,
and generally, in my experience, there's going to be a
lot more victims. It just did he just didn't wake
up last week and decided to start this right, So,
I think this has been going on for a while.
So from an investigation standpoint, they're going to have to
look at his whole career as a pastor and how
(08:40):
many opportunities he had to be around children.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
You know, Karen Stark joining me, renowned psychologist, TV radio
trauma expert.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
She's at Karenstark dot com as Karen with a C.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
I always say in case you're trying to find her,
you know, Karen Stark, when you first met me, I
was getting my What was I getting at that point?
An m a Masters of Law in criminal and Constitutional
law at NYU, New York University. But prior to that,
I was at Mercer University, a small Baptist university, which
(09:16):
was all about love.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
But you know, this type of.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
A crime can brand a religion, or does it, because
this guy's a Baptist preacher. But we really see it
across the board. We see Catholic priests who molested choir
boys and others. I told you about the United Methodist
pastor that killed two wives. Hello, you couldn't catch him
(09:42):
the first time. He had to kill another wife before
you can catch him. And it goes.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
On and on and on.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
So no religion is immune to its leaders committing crimes,
but it seems more shocking, and it shouldn't. It shouldn't,
but it seems we're shocking because it's truly a wolf clothed,
It cheeps clothing.
Speaker 8 (10:07):
That's a great way to put it.
Speaker 10 (10:08):
An empty because the truth is, we think about religious
leaders and we think that they're immune to this kind
and it's just the opposite of what we think. Because
someone in this position has access to children. They're usually
a good standing in the community, that's not unusual at all,
and they have access because they want to be around children,
(10:32):
and they want people not to suspect them. So, just
like you said, that's a great way for them to
hide and get away with doing what they're doing. And
I'm not the least bit shocked. Nobody should be, because
that is the way that they operate.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
A search of the church and Elwing's home reveals several
hidden cameras. Oh dear Lord in heaven.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
First, I've got this Baptist pastor out of Palmettow with
alleged child porn on his phone. He idiot paid for
it with crypto, and they reported him. And thank goodness,
I've got Jordan Littwiller here, investigative reporter in anchor at
WWSB that's ABC seven. You can also find him at
(11:26):
Mysouncoast dot com. Thank goodness, I've got him to give
me all the facts. But what I'm understanding from him
right now and from the documents that I've read, is
this all started with Crypto calling and reporting this pastor
allegendly is buying child porn with Crypto.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
That leads to a search warrant and they get him.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
He hands over his phone, thank you very much, and
they start searching it and they find the alleged child
porn and it's actually him storing in a child porn video,
so that leads me to the alleged rape of a
(12:12):
two year old, not just the alleged rape of a
two year old.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
He videoed it.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Okay, Jordan willerd thank goodness that you are fair and impartial.
Could you please give me these facts in a nutshell
one more time and don't go so fast.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I have to dissect it. Okay, go ahead, Jordan, thank you.
Speaker 7 (12:33):
Sould you want me to start from very beginning.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
The beginning.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Absolutely, I'm one of those people that need repetition, repetition,
And did I mention repetition?
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Okay, go ahead? What happened? Yep?
Speaker 7 (12:45):
So I talked to Coinbas's Global intelligence office. They said
that Jonathan Elwing made a purchase around ten dollars worth
of cryptocurrency. He sent that money to an address who
was flagged by the compliance team at coinbase. Once that
purchase was verified, they knew that it was a purchase
(13:05):
from an account who is known to have sold child
pornography in the past. They flagged that purchase went to
the Florida Department of Homeland Security, who then connected coinbase
with local law enforcement. Local law enforcement was then able
to carry out the search warrant and talk to Jonathan
Elwing and one thing to include. Jonathan Elwing actually prefaced
(13:25):
things by saying too local detectives that he would buy
adult pornography. So he admitted to that before handing over
his phone, and he said that sometimes the seller would
include pictures of child pornography, but that there shouldn't be
any on his phone at that time. He said he
would always delete those images. Ultimately, that didn't end up
being the case apparently, as the local law enforcement agencies
(13:47):
did find images of child pornography on his phone. They
then took him in for an interview.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Okay, Jordan, I need to understand what you just said.
I remember when I wrote my first book, Ejection, and
one of the chapters was about, as I called it,
blood money, where people they're ghules they sell. For instance,
some I remember on Helera Sindez I believe that was
(14:13):
his name, would sell his hair and his toenails and
his fingernails, scrapings from behind bars and actually make money.
He is a serial killer. Okay, let's see. Maybe it's
on Helen Sendez Ramirez. Anyway, and I started writing about
people that sell ghoulish content from money, and I called
(14:34):
it blood money. And I had like a two hundred
and fifty believe it or not dollar little laptop and
it was about the size of a spiral notebook that
I would write used to research and write the book.
At the end of the book, I destroyed the computer.
You know why, because it had looked up so much
horrible content. I felt the computer was cursed. I know, crazy, right.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
But.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
I never had something like what he's saying happened. I've
gone to certain websites and something else popped up, and
I immediately closed down the website because it's totally infecting
your computer with malware. But I've never heard of child
(15:21):
porn just popping up.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Is that what he's saying happened.
Speaker 7 (15:27):
So he's saying that the seller included it in the
batch that he bought of adult pornography without his knowledge.
He says that he would always delete those images whenever
they were accidentally or however you want to put it
included in that batch that he would purchase intentionally of
adult pornography. So he says he never intentionally bought any
child pornography or had any intentions of having that on
(15:50):
his phone, but they would sometimes end up being on
his phone because of something that happened on the seller's end.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Okay, Stacey Hana is joining me. Assistant State's Attorney out
of Florida, specialty sex crimes and child abuse. Author of
My Privates Are Private, Author of Genius with a Penis
Don't touch. Author of the Bully at School is really
uncul and you can find her. It's Stacy Hanowitz dot com. Stacy,
(16:19):
I think this would be the perfect moment for you.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Specifically to hear this.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Listen this day from the Palm of You First Baptist
Church YouTube channel.
Speaker 6 (16:31):
But Jesus doesn't say that forgiveness is found. Forgiveness of
God is found by going to church. It's not found
by following any living human. It's not found by following
a certain but it is found by forgiveness of sin.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Now, I would never be accused of being a saint.
That's not going to happen. But I try, I really
try every day to do the right thing. And I
do know this as a failing Christian talking about Christ's forgiveness,
You're not gonna get it.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
I'm pretty sure.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
By buying child porn. Pretty sure that's not the road
to heaven. But that said, the video you just saw
is from the Palm View Baptist's first YouTube channel. Stacy Honowitz,
I love that this guy there's.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Anything to love about this case.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I love that this guy says, oh, I was buying
adult porn red flag and child porn just popped up. Okay,
I hear you, But where did the porn come from?
That's of you raping a two year old child? Did
that just pop up on your adult porn site? Help
(17:51):
me out, Stacy Honowitz.
Speaker 8 (17:52):
Well, I don't think anybody would be. I'm certainly I'm
not shocked. Thirty six years of doing this type of work,
we see this all the time, and we do hear
the defense of.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
The just popped up.
Speaker 8 (18:01):
Now when you're on video raping a child?
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Wait, whit white?
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Stacey Honowitz, you are a fountain of information. This is
her specialty. I just wanted to see your face when
you said this. Did you say this is a common defense?
Speaker 1 (18:17):
It just popped up?
Speaker 8 (18:18):
Yes, it's a common defense. I mean what else could
they possibly say? They say it got sent to me accidentally.
It just popped up. It came up on my computer.
You know, when you couple it with what he's charged with,
raping his own child, raping a child and then videotaping it, well,
the likelihood is that he's swapping and trading his own tapes.
(18:38):
And you know, the other guests that you had on
could tell you that in these types of situations, that's
what we see. When they are videotaping themselves, they're doing
it for a reason. Number one, they're sick, and number
two is they are involved in some kind of corno
ring where they are trading their own porn for a
certain amount of money. So that's what we're seeing here.
(18:59):
And when we're talking about a capital case for your
viewers and your listeners, we're talking about somebody that's raping
someone orally, digitally or with his sexual organ and he's
looking at life in prison. The victim is under the
age of twelve and he's over the age of eighteen.
That is a capital case in Florida. And so that's
(19:20):
what you're seeing here. You're seeing a myriad of child
porn coupled with what he's doing himself. So those charges
and I can bet you dollars to donuts that once
this investigation really gets cracking. You are going to see
other victims come forward, or they're going to be able
to try to identify other victims in the child.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Porn forensic cell phone search finds photos of Elwing sexually
battering a child, in all, a total of sixteen child
pornography photos.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Okay, how did we get access to his phone?
Speaker 5 (19:59):
Listen search warrants and having been properly mirandized, Jonathan Elwing
agrees to speak with the investigator. Elwing gives the passcode
for his personal phone he took out of his pocket,
and as the investigator unlocks the phone and begins to look,
Jonathan Elwing says he sometimes purchases adult pornography from a
quote third party, and it's possible that child pornography would
(20:21):
be a part of the purchase without his knowledge. Elwing
says when he sees the child pornography images or videos,
he deletes them. Elwing says he doesn't want to talk
about the adult material they looks at, So I guess.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
He's climbing a cell phone malfunction because they did not delete.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Okay, there's more. Listen.
Speaker 5 (20:37):
The forensic search of Jonathan Elwing's cell phone reveals image
of him sexually battering a child, along with production and
possession of twelve images of child sexual abuse material. Elwing
admitted to purchasing adult pornography and claims he deletes any
child's sexual abuse material. That quote may get mixed in. However,
investigators are able to extract hidden files from Elwing's personal
(21:00):
cell phone, and deputies say he's using a private photo
vault app to hide at least fourteen pictures of him
sexually abusing a two year old child.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Okay, see, you know you can go to law school.
You can then get a fancy degree from.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Not just law school at Mercer, but NYU.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
But you don't know anything about private photo vault apps.
Joining me in addition to Jordan Littwiller joining us from WWSB.
Stacy Honowitz, veteran prosecutor of child sex crimes and child abuse,
Karen Start renounced psychologist John Pizerou, former New Jersey State
(21:42):
Police commander of Crimes on Children. Now Anna Sonoda, child
sex abuse and grooming expert, author of Duck Duck Groom.
You focus very often on online grooming. What can you
tell me about a private photo vault app?
Speaker 11 (22:06):
Well, Nancy, I'm having a hard time keeping my breakfast down.
This is such a devastating case because it highlights everything
we know to be true about grooming, which is that
predators are serial liars and they seek out environments where
they can access children. So in his role as a pastor,
(22:26):
he had hands on access to children, and he used
his personal cell phone to be a sleuth on the
dark web. These are not websites that normal, healthy, well
adjusted individuals are going to. This is the dark web.
These are places that we rely on IP addresses and
(22:49):
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to be
scrolling to find predators like Jonathan so that we can
take them down. And we need to mend not only
coinbase in this case, but also the local law enforcement
in Florida. They have done an outstanding job getting the
tip and then following up and doing their job so
(23:12):
that we can put this predator away.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
I agree with everything you just said. I wish I
could hear it all over again.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Hey, Karen, start with me, You know Karen Stark or
now on TV radio trauma expert and psychologist Karen. I
would like to tell myself, well, this child was two.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Years old when this happened. They're not going to remember.
They are. They are going to remember.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
And even if they lock that memory away and suppress it,
it will re emerge, maybe not on their a conscious level,
but in the way they raise their children, if they
can even have a normal relationship with another human, if
they can and love and be loved normally, if they
(24:04):
you know how you raise your children like I raise
my children.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
As a victim of violent crime.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
I suspect everybody I see a molester or a killer
behind every tree. You know what I went through when
the children just try to go to Scout camp.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Right that said two years old.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
We think the.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Victim, one of them, anyway, was two years old. Will
they have a memory of getting raped by this earth?
Speaker 10 (24:34):
Allegedly, it won't be a clear memory the way it
would be if they were older and anty, but you're right,
it will definitely affect them. It will be there and
they're unconscious if they don't actually have images, and it
will affect them for the rest of their life.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
And I want to add that the.
Speaker 10 (24:51):
Reason that this man is taking these pictures of himself
of using this little girl is not just because he
wants to change it. But there is no doubt in
my mind that he keeps looking at it over and
over again because he enjoys it. This is the only
way that he could get real sexual pleasure.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
He won't stop.
Speaker 10 (25:12):
There's no doubt he has done this before that other
children have suffered, and he would have continued if he
didn't think that he was getting away with something and
got caught on the dark web.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
You know, to John Pizzorro about this vault this, how
does he say it a private photo vault app to
hide the photos? That shows me he didn't delete them.
(25:45):
He actually downloaded and got this app the same way
a lot of us would get various apps, you know,
like Prime video app, Netflix app, you name it app.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
He had to download this.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
I have a vault app for photos and then hide
the child point in it. And I just want to
think about this, Karen Start. I have memories at age two,
for sure. I have distinct memories that can date back
to age two, and they're very clear. I remember them
very well. So and that was just a nondescript image
(26:25):
a memory. So I find it difficult to believe that
this child, and I'm sure there are others allegedly. I
believe the child will have a distinct memory of being.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Raped by the preacher John Pisorro. What is this app?
Speaker 2 (26:44):
I'm very intrigued by a private photo vault app.
Speaker 9 (26:48):
So all these offenders never get rid of their photos.
They hold on to them against the sexual gratification, over
and over again to relive that experience. So a vault
app basically will look like calculator. So you know, if
you see two calculators on someone's phone, it's not because
they love math. It's because that there's another way for
(27:09):
them to hold that information. So that's where people will
download that because again they're hiding it. So every activity
he's taken, from going to the dark web to actually
looking at ways to hold that information, I'm sure you'll
find even more digital devices that he stored it and
(27:31):
held it from SD cards, anything he can do to
hold that information so he can access it anytime he wants.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
A deacon for the church says I keep thinking this
is a really bad dream, and adding we are no
longer associated with it.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Well, I guess they're not. Guys.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
We are talking about a Baptist minister now charged with
child pornography and child sex offenses. To Jordan Littweller, joining
US reporter anchor WWSB, that's ABC seven News. He's also
at Mysncoast dot com. Jordan, if you know the answer,
(28:17):
don't say it, But do you know who the alleged
victims are?
Speaker 7 (28:24):
So we haven't been able to confirm who the alleged
victims are given the age and the nature of the crimes.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
The witness list.
Speaker 7 (28:32):
On the Manatee County Clerk's office is completely redacted, so
none of that information is out there. The probable cause
after David as well, redacts all of the names and
anybody else who has been interviewed regarding this case.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Okay, good, I'm just thinking that through because isn't it true?
Of course he has minor children. I don't know if
they're the victims or not. But when you look at
the background of these child porn images and videos he
shot off himself, raping children allegedly and other acts, you
can tell from the background where the incident took place,
(29:05):
like isn't at his home which would indicate as one
of his own children?
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Maybe, but we.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
Also know and correct me if I'm wrong, you're the expert.
Weren't there multiple cameras found in and around the church
and isn't the church where he preached associated with a
Christian school for children.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Yeah, that's correct.
Speaker 7 (29:27):
That was one of the concerns that the Manatee County
Sheriff's Office voiced in their initial press conference.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
There is a school right.
Speaker 7 (29:33):
By the church, and at the time of the arrest,
the school, or at the time of the press conference rather,
school wasn't in sessions. So all of the cameras were
just found in his church office and at his residence.
And going back to what you said about the alleged
abuse happening in his house, the probable cause affidavit did
confirm that the pictures they cross referenced the pictures and
(29:56):
the bed sheets in the pictures with the bed sheets
in his master bedroom and addition, firm where they were
the same blue bed sheets. So that does lead you
to believe that the abuse did happen in his master bedroom.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Guys, I've got to hand it to Coenbase, who has
just helped the Manatee County Sheriff's Office take an alleged
child predator from behind the pulpit and off the streets.
That's a whole another can of worms. Let me throw
this out there to Stacy Honowitz, veteran States Crimes and
(30:30):
Child abuse prosecutor and author of My Privates Are Private
genius with the penis. Don't touch the bully at school
is really uncool. She's as Stacyhonowitz dot com Stacy, this
is a whole plethora peddor's box, so to speak, of
potential victims, because we now know that there are multiple
(30:51):
secret cameras placed in and around the church and I
guess the school.
Speaker 8 (30:56):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean, you know quite often in these
types of cases, that's what you see. We've got the cameras,
We've got many victims, and now you have to go
through the arduous task of trying to figure out who
those victims are. I mean, just because it happened in
his bedroom that that's a great thing that they're able
to narrow that down the bed sheets and everything like that.
But now we have to figure out if it's not
his own kids, who was brought to his house as
(31:18):
a pastor, did he have people over, did he have groups?
But you are starting to narrow it down, but this
becomes a very large task for law enforcement to try
to figure out how many victims and who the victims are.
It's not a surprise, Nancy. I wish I could tell
you that this is a one time offshoot happening. We
see this more and more, and yes, we have to
(31:42):
give a big shout out to coinbase for turning this.
And in the old days it was Walgreens in any
place you tip your film to be developed. If they
saw photographs, then they reported it to law enforcement. Now
we're so advanced with technology, I'm with all of these
horrific websites and the dark web that we have to
try to figure out ways to be able to get
these guys off. This is definitely a great start and
(32:04):
we do have to give them kudos for turning in
this information because now you're going to see just what
this person was all about. Again, to all of your
other guests that have been talking, you know, in prosecuting
these cases, these guys are master manipulators. So putting aside
the looking and viewing child porn in an effort to
get kids ones that are older the age of two,
(32:26):
because at too they can't speak, they're not going to
be able to fight back, They're not going to be
able to say leave me alone.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
The constant.
Speaker 8 (32:33):
Education of trying to educate kids older about grooming tactics
and getting too close. And just because it's a priest
or just because it's someone who you trust, doesn't mean
that you actually can trust them, because in most cases,
the likelihood of seeing the suspect.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Is the person that you did trust the most. John
Bizerro joining us raven Ceo. John, I've got pre meditation up.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
The tail pipe.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
I think you know what that means, because not only
do we have him downloading a super secret photo vault app,
he tried to smart everyone by paying for child porn
via crypto currency. I wouldn't even as if I have
time to look at my husband's bank account.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
Never how I.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Wouldn't even think it would dawn on me to try
to find out if David is making secret purchases on
a cryptocurrency account. That would not Okay, now that I
thought about it, I'm going to go look for cryptocurrency.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
But that said, this is pre meditation out the ying Yang.
Speaker 9 (33:44):
Yeah, consciousness of guilt. He knew what he was doing
to start with. I mean he was taking every parameter. Look,
anytime you go on the dark web and you're trying
to hide your IP address, you're doing cryptocurrency you're trying
to hide your bank information, so everything d vault app
he's trying to hide what he actually has, so he's
taking steps to make sure that he doesn't get caught.
(34:07):
And generally speaking, I mean lucky. I know he had said, like,
unquote it was because I had adult porn. There's three
porn sites, so why that doesn't make sense? Right? So
and most likely if you are on tour and you're
using cryptocurrency to purchase something, it's illegal.
Speaker 12 (34:24):
Investigators are still working the case against Jonathan ell Wing,
and prosecutors say they could go for the death penalty
under a Florida law which allows the death penalty sentence
for sexual battery of a child under the age of twelve.
In Florida, juries only need eight of twelve jurors to
agree on the death penalty, as opposed to unanimous juries
in other parts of the country.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Jordan Littwell are joining US investigative reporter and anchor WWSBABC seven. Jordan,
have you ever been to the zoo? I have, yes, Okay,
have you been to the snake house?
Speaker 7 (34:58):
I have a lot a big better snake I've been there.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
I hate them, but you notice that they're always behind
glass so some idiot doesn't try to like reach out
and grab one. That's how I feel every time I
look at this guy at the pulpit preaching.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
It's like the snake house. I am looking.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
At it, but it also makes me sick looking at him.
The sound we're playing the video of him preaching gives
all Christians, all of us struggling Christians, a black eye.
But what about his family? What are they enduring?
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Listen?
Speaker 12 (35:42):
The former pastor's wife, Crystal, has been devastated by the charges.
Manatee County Sheriff's Office information officer Randy Warren tells The
Daily Mail. I don't know how much she may be
suspected something was wrong, but everyone involved here has said
how much she was surprised and devastated. Warren also says,
with everything we've collected in the search for additional images,
we're going to have a final number of up to
(36:04):
twenty five charges. We've got production of child pornography, capital
sexual battery, and lout and lascivious molestation.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
I mean, the reality is Stacy Hanos very briefly, every
time you transmit or send a child porn image, that's
another felony. Every time you transmit it, every time you
download it. Much let's create it as this guy's accused
of doing. So, it could very well be more than
twenty five charges if they want to parse it that
(36:33):
way correct.
Speaker 8 (36:34):
Each one is its own count anytime, any If you
have fifteen pictures and you're possessing fifteen pictures of child porn,
it could be fifteen counts if you're transmitting it transmitted
fifteen times. Just like you said, each one is its
own individual count.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
And a Sonoda joining us child sex Whob's grooming expert
and author of dut Groom. You can't let your guard
down as a parent. You can't let your guard down.
If it's the pastor, or the youth minister, or the
guy selling doughnuts at Krispy Krame or the grocery store
(37:10):
check out guy that gives your children a set of
crayons every time you come there. You can't let your
guard down. And this guy proves it well.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
Nancy.
Speaker 11 (37:19):
It's easy to get caught up in our fear and
are worry about everybody, because, let's be honest, sexual predators
are everywhere. I recommend that we show up and that
we look up and we're observing the individuals who are
coming in contact with our kids. That churches who talk
and denominations who talk about the potential for child sexual
(37:39):
abuse are less likely to have instances of child sexual abuse.
Are there programs to train the leadership within your church?
Are there programs to educate parents? What about educating kids
on an age appropriate level about what grooming and child
sexual abuse might look like Every individual, then a church
(38:01):
setting should be co teaching and co leading. There is
no reason for individuals to be alone with a minor
within a religious context.
Speaker 2 (38:10):
Karen start very quickly, a lot of speculation. Did the
wife know? I don't know if she knew or not,
or suspected if she did, suspect or did know?
Speaker 1 (38:22):
Rot in hell woman. If she didn't know, it.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Could be because he so masterfully hid his acts. He
hid it from a whole congregation. So you know, when
you love someone, you very often have on blinders. You
don't see tell tale signs.
Speaker 10 (38:39):
And that happens to a lot, and you hear a
lot where the wife is saying I would never have known,
and all of it is intentional. This monster made sure
that he had this kind of job. Nancy, this is
what he wanted so he could hide behind it. He
had a family.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
I'm not surprised.
Speaker 10 (38:57):
I'm sure none of your guests are, priest that he
looked like he was somebody trustworthy and a great character
because he was hiding Masterfleet a monster.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
And Jordan Littweller, I got so many more questions for you.
Jordan joining us from WWSB, did you tell me earlier
that this guy came from Hill's Song the Very Troubled Congregation?
Speaker 7 (39:24):
Yeah, it did look like that was in his history.
I think as an associate pastor there, I believe maybe
that was his second church that he was at after
graduating from a Baptist University in two thousand and four.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
I believe there will be more charges and we will
all meet again as it relates to former pastor now
child porn defendant Jonathan Edward Elwing. But if you have
had contact with this guy's very important. If you know
or think you know any information regarding this case, even
(39:58):
a potential whichness or victim, please call Mantatee County Crime
Stoppers eight six six six three four eight four seven seven.
We can only stop child predators if we can catch them.
Thank you to our guest, for being with us, Nancy
(40:18):
Grace signing off goodbye friend,
Host
Nancy Grace
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