A former Florida pastor has received multiple life sentences after being found guilty of multiple counts related to the sexual abuse of children and possession of child pornography.
Jonathan Edward Elwing was convicted by a jury on Tuesday of 12 felony offenses, including charges of sexual battery of a child under age 12, lewd or lascivious molestation of a child under 12, five counts of use of a child in a sexual performance and five counts of possession of child pornography.
The trial was held at the Manatee County Courthouse from April 20–21, with sentencing carried out immediately after the verdict, according to a release from the Florida State Attorney’s Office.
Circuit Court Judge Ryan Felix sentenced Elwing to 12 life sentences, three of which are to be served consecutively, while the remaining sentences are to be served concurrently. Elwing also received the official designation of sexual predator.
Assistant State Attorney Ashley Dusnik said in the press release that he wanted “to recognize the diligent work of the Crimes Against Children detectives who were able to obtain overwhelming evidence of this defendant’s guilt.”
“Their efforts ensure that no children will be exposed to any additional harm at the hands of this defendant,” stated Dusnik. “We would also like to thank the members of the jury for their time and careful consideration in this disturbing case.”
In 2024, Elwing was arrested by detectives in the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children division after they received information that the pastor had used cryptocurrency to purchase images of child pornography.
Elwing, who had served as pastor of Palm View First Baptist Church in Palmetto, resigned from his leadership position as the police investigation continued.
Authorities added more charges against Elwing after they discovered additional images of child sexual abuse material on his devices and footage of him participating in such acts.
“A forensic search of the former pastor’s cell phone revealed images of him sexually battering a child along with the production and possession of 12 images of child pornography,” reported the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in the summer of 2024.
“This is in addition to the four sexually explicit images of children found in his possession last week. Detectives continue to examine Elwing’s cell phone and expect to find more illegal material on his computer.”
At the time of Elwing’s arrest, members of the Southern Baptist Convention-affiliated congregation, including deacon chair Larry Bianchi, expressed surprise at the news.
“We’d had a pastor of 41 years that Jonathan replaced, and by all accounts, he was the guy,” Bianchi told ABC 7, adding that “he seemed to be doing a good job.”
