MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas (BP) — A former worship pastor and Christian music singer who shared his testimony of physical challenges is facing charges of distributing child pornography.
Jon Paul Sheptock, 49, was the worship minister at First Montgomery Baptist Church when detectives received information in August that he was in possession of and involved in producing child sexual assault materials. Those materials included videos and images of children engaged in sexual conduct.
After an investigation to establish probable cause, detectives attempted to arrest Sheptock at his residence in Gatesville on Sept. 26, but he wasn’t here. Sheptock was eventually located and arrested at a local women’s prison, where he had been ministering to inmates.
Senior Pastor Chris Gober of First Montgomery Baptist released a statement on Sept. 27 informing the church of Sheptock’s arrest and his immediate removal “from all responsibilities at the church.”
“He did not have responsibilities overseeing children in the church or school except occasionally in a large group setting with other adults,” Gober said. “At this point, we have no information that indicates any of the children in our care were involved, but we are taking every precaution to protect our kids and to maintain the integrity of our ministry.”
According to written testimony released from the Montgomery County Precinct 3 Constable’s office and covered by local media, the victim was a 17-year-old high school senior nine years ago when she believes Sheptock stole a nude photo of her from her iCloud account.
“After [Sheptock] sent the image of the victim, he told her that he wanted more explicit images of her. [Sheptock] then sent her a video depicting someone being physically assaulted, accompanied by a statement implying that he did not want that to happen to her,” the affidavit said.
It continued that the victim didn’t come forward at the time because “her parents’ strong religious beliefs” led her to worry about their reaction that she had taken a nude photo of herself.
She further testified that Sheptock showed multiple nude photos of adults and young girls on his computer. A text message sent to the victim last October included a nude photo of young girls.
Sheptock is facing two to 20 years in prison.
A bio page from Sheptock’s now-deleted website tells his story of being born with no arms and one leg shorter than the other. He would go on to become “a thriving Christian recording artist and speaker.” The page also reports that he and his wife of 26 years have three daughters and are expecting their first granddaughter next month.
A Sept. 29 update from First Montgomery stated that, per the investigating detective, no alleged victims had been connected to the church. The most recent statement on Oct. 7, however, reported a new allegation against Sheptock “from an adult connected to our church.”
“We are fully cooperating with [the detective] and have turned over what we know to her,” Gober said. “It is still true to my knowledge that no children associated with our church or school have come forth or been identified as victims.
“We are committed to transparency and cooperation in this,” he added, before encouraging those who may have any more information to come forward.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Scott Barkley is chief national correspondent for Baptist Press. If you are/have been a victim of sexual abuse or suspect sexual abuse by a pastor, staff member or member of a Southern Baptist church or entity, please reach out for help at sbcabuseprevention.com/helpline or call 833-611-HELP.)
