Jonathan Elwing was arrested last week on charges of possessing child porn. He now faces additional charges after investigators say he photographed himself sexually assaulting a toddler.
Last week, a Baptist preacher resigned in disgrace on the day he was arrested for possessing four photos of child pornography on his phone.
This week, the allegations grew even more horrific.
Jonathan Elwing, who helped lead an evangelical Florida congregation for more than five years, now faces 14 additional criminal counts, including two capital charges of sexual battery on a child and six charges of producing child pornography.
The worst accusations against Elwing — a 43-year-old father of four — are based on photographs he took of himself repeatedly sexually assaulting a toddler, according to authorities.
"This is a monster," Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells told reporters on Thursday. “This is a man who went to great lengths to hide his true identity. To use whatever resources he could to feed this deviant behavior that he has.”
Elwing is being held without bail at the Manatee County Jail, according to online records. He has not entered a plea, and there is no attorney of record, according to court filings.
Elwing had been senior pastor of Palm View First Baptist Church in Manatee County since 2019, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has been tending various Florida flocks since 2003, his profile said.
Church members and officials have expressed shock at the charges against Elwing.
"It is a bad, bad, bad situation my preacher has gotten himself into, but we are no longer associated with him," deacon Larry Bianchi told WFLA-TV after Elwing was arrested last Friday. "It is hard to say that, but we are no longer associated with him and we are going to have to go forward from there."
There have been no public comments from the church since Elwing was charged this week with the additional counts alleging he photographed himself assaulting a toddler.
In Florida, a defendant found guilty of sexually assaulting a child must be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the state's Office of the Public Defender.
According to a Thursday statement from the Sheriff's Department, more charges are in store.
"Detectives continue to examine Elwing’s cell phone and expect to find more illegal material on his computer. Additional charges are forthcoming," the statement said.
Sheriff Wells said the case began with a tip from a cryptocurrency firm that Elwing had allegedly used to cryptocurrency to buy child porn on the dark web. Deputies obtained a search warrant last Friday, and went to Elwing’s home.
Detectives found four child porn images on his phone that day, the sheriff said. Further investigation led to additional photos in which a toddler wearing a shirt with cartoon giraffes is seen with Ewing on a blue blanket, according to Elwing's arrest report.
At Elwing's home, investigators later seized a shirt "identical" to the one in the photos, and a blue blanket in the home's master bedroom, the arrest report alleges.
Lt. Mark Moore said they found about 10 covert cameras belonging to Elwing. Two were at his home, and the rest were in his pastor's office, Moore said.
“There’s a school that’s at the church — the school is not in session right now,” Moore said. “There’s some concern that he may have been hiding those cameras inside the church.”
A bond hearing for Elwing has been scheduled for Wednesday, according to court records.
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