Son of Life Church pastor charged with multiple child sex crimes, had explicit videos of parents: affidavit

Jonathan Peternel, the 24-year-old son of Nathan Peternel, who serves as the lead pastor of the multicampus Life Church in Pendleton, Indiana, has been arrested and charged with multiple felony counts related to child sex crimes.

Jonathan Peternel was charged with one count of child exploitation, a Level 4 felony; two counts of possession of child sex abuse material, Level 5 felonies; and one count of possession of child sex abuse material, a Level 6 felony, according to The Indiana Citizen. 

He pleaded not guilty during an initial hearing in Madison County Circuit Court last Thursday.

Investigators with the Hamilton County Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force also alleged to have found more than 50 photos and videos on Jonathan Peternel's phone showing his parents nude or engaged in sex acts, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by The Indiana Citizen.

Calls to Life Church for comment from The Christian Post went unanswered on Monday.

A press statement from the Fishers Police Department said an investigation into Jonathan Peternel began after authorities received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The CyberTip was submitted by popular multimedia messaging app SnapChat and showed five files of suspected child sex abuse material involving prepubescent children.

A search warrant was subsequently issued for Jonathan Peternel's Snapchat account, where investigators said they found more child sex abuse material. They also found evidence suggesting that the younger Peternel was sharing the material with other users.

Detectives reported finding more than 200 files of child sex abuse material during a search of the Peternel residence in Pendleton.

"Some of this included sadomasochistic child abuse, children that appeared to be drugged or intoxicated while being abused, violent child molestation, and photorealistic AI-generated photos of nude pregnant toddlers," investigators said.

Peternel is currently being held at the Madison County Jail.

When Investigators went to serve their search warrant for the Peternel residence on Sept. 10, both Jonathan and his father answered the door, according to the probable cause affidavit.

When the younger Peternel was read his Miranda rights, he reportedly told investigators that he is a member of the Indiana National Guard and worked as a Blackhawk helicopter mechanic in Shelbyville.

When he was told he was under investigation for child exploitation and possession of child sexual abuse material, he asked to speak to an attorney. Several electronic devices, including multiple laptops, iPads, tablets, cellphones and storage devices from the home were seized.

Investigators allegedly found chat logs suggesting that Jonathan Peternel was distributing the material through a Snapchat group called "Diddy Disciples," which referenced controversial music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, who is currently serving a 50-month sentence for violating the Mann Act.

Nathan Peternel co-hosts the podcast "Jesus, Sex and Politics" with Pastor Micah Beckwith. The show, which covers cultural topics from a religious perspective, warned in a 2021 episode that sharing explicit photos among minors can amount to exploitation.

In the episode titled "Stopping Sexual Assault and Sex Trafficking," the cohosts interviewed a sexual assault survivor and a representative from Not Today, a foundation started by then-Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich and his wife, Linda, to fight child abuse and trafficking.