Peternel gets 6 years in child sex abuse case
Jonathan Peternel apologizes to father and mother in case which has wracked politically plugged in church
ANDERSON, Ind. _ Jonathan Peternel was sentenced Friday to six years for possessing and distributing gruesome videos of child rape and torture.
The son of politically plugged in pastor Nathan Peternel and longtime church member read an apology in Madison County Court saying that he was ashamed of his sin, committed himself to Jesus Christ and would give money to an anti-sex trafficking nonprofit.
“I hate my sin that I’ve committed and I want to apologize to anyone who has fallen victim to this. I also want to apologize to my family, my friends and my church family for the stress and embarrassment I’ve caused you,” Jonathan Peternel read from a statement. “Last, to my mom and my dad, I’m sorry I put you through this humiliating situation you have been dishonored and your names have been dragged through the mud.”
Circuit Court Judge Mark Dudley said that while it has not the worst crime he has seen, Jonathan Peternel’s possession and trafficking of child sexual abuse material “affects what other people do, which helps them exploit minors.”
Dudley read through the list of factors he weighed, from aggravating and mitigating factors to mandatory sentencing guidelines in the four felony charges Jonathan Peternel pled guilty to before announcing the sentence.
Weighing Jonathan Peternel’s apology, Dudley explained that the 24-year-old member of Life Church was clearly a smart man and had character, but that he had to consider both rehabilitation and accountability in the sentencing in the case of more than 200 videos discovered on Jonathan Peternel’s phone which showed young children being drugged, raped and tortured.
The judge said that Jonathan’s possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material on June 5 last year and again on September 10, when his electronics were seized as part of the investigation, along with being under the influence of drugs suggested that he only stopped the criminal behavior when he was caught.
“I can’t say with assurance that you won’t commit another crime because with your background you knew it was wrong the very first time you did it, but you continued to do it until you got caught”, Dudley said.
The Jonathan Peternel case has rocked the Pentecostal Life Church in Central Indiana where Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith works as a lead pastor of one of its four campuses and the church has served as a political staging grounds in recent years.
Beckwith has worked closely with Peternel, his boss at the church, since the two launched Beckwith’s political career from the church more than five years ago. And Beckwith has repeatedly said he stands by Nathan Peternel, urging congregants not to ask questions about the criminal case or Nathan’s own conduct.
But Beckwith, who has recently championed efforts to crack down on child sexual abuse material in the Indiana statehouse, did not appear in court Friday in support of the expansive Peternel family which packed the audience. Beckwith and his staff did not return a request for comment Friday.
Nathan Peternel did not return a request for comment Friday or a phone call. Nathan, along with his wife Christina and much of the larger Peternel family packed the seating in the small courtroom Friday, leaving en masse as Jonathan Peternel was walked by the sheriff from the courtroom.
Jonathan Peternel’s arrest on October 23rd touched off the scandal which has rocked Life Church, but it has been the discovery by police that Jonathan had more than 50 videos of his parents naked or having sex, reports of Nathan Peternel repeatedly demanding minors tell him about their sexual activity and efforts to stymie questions from congregants which have spurred a wave of departures, including two top pastors and dozens of families.
Nathan Peternel has admitted that he and his wife filmed themselves having sex and accused Jonathan of getting high and hacking into their password protected account. 24sight News reported last month that an official with the Indiana Assemblies of God had been investigating Nathan Peternel’s conduct, which could potentially result in a revocation of his credentials for possessing pornography.
When Jonathan Peternel was given a public defender in November, he had spent two weeks in jail with nobody paying the $2,500 needed to release him and sitting alone, like a ghost, at the defense table, with none of his family in the audience.
Last month, when Jonathan Peternel changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on all four felony counts, he kept his head bowed as his father, Nathan Peternel, looked on with his chin jutted forward from the front row of the audience.
Friday, before he was sentenced, Jonathan walked into the court the other prisoners now walking with ease with his hands and feet cuffed and chained and sitting up straight. He spoke louder than in previous appearances as he read his apology and said he would commit himself to fighting child sexual abuse and trafficking.
Judge Dudley called said that Jonathan’s crimes were not the most heinous he had seen in his courtroom and also dismissed as an aggravating factor a juvenile incident from Jonathan’s past and, as mitigating factors he noted that Jonathan did not have a history of delinquency and had shown remorse in the courtroom.
But Dudley said that in addition to rehabilitation, court sentences must deal with accountability, which was why he gave Jonathan Peternel under the plea agreement reached last month.
“You have a strong personality and you have a lot of support,” Dudley said, “Prepare yourself for when you get out to do good.”
Jonathan Peternel will be transferred to a state prison where he will serve a maximum of four years, then two years on probation and have to register as a lifetime sex offender.
Peternel’s family walked out of the courtroom Friday solemnly as the sheriff walked him back to detention.
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The “Jesus, Sex and Politics” investigation:
Beckwith adviser was with son in September when police executed warrant in child porn case - 10/24/25
Beckwith adviser Peternel responds to son’s child porn charges in Sunday video - 10/26/25
AUDIO: Nathan Peternel church message on sex videos, son’s arrest - 10/31/25
Peternel pried teen girl about sex life in closed-door ‘counseling’, woman says - 11/6/25
Beckwith adviser’s son gets public defender as church scandal grows - 11/10/25
Peternel says he can’t be fired by church board - 11/19/25
Peternel says son hacked sex videos of him and wife while high - 12/7/25
Families flee embattled Life Church amid abuse reports, child porn arrest - 12/17/25
Indiana pastor Nathan Peternel regularly pried congregants about sex in pre-marital counseling - 12/22/25
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith presses church to stop talking about embattled pastor Peternel - 1/2/26
Pastors resign from Life Church - 1/7/26
Jonathan Peternel pleads guilty to four felony counts of child exploitation, abuse - 1/16/26
Do pastor’s sex videos constitute porn violation? - 1/30/26
Indiana deepfake porn scandal stories:
Topless deepfake video roils Indiana office, lawmaker’s wife targeted, per sources - 8/2/25
Indy prosecutor probes topless deepfake, Haggard blasts ‘pornographic smear’ of his wife - 8/5/25
BREAKING: Lt. Gov. spokesman quits amid deepfake probe - 8/7/25
Lawmaker whose wife was targeted launching Congressional bid - 8/11/25
Lt. Gov.’s office adopts new employee handbook, Gov. calls in Beckwith for meeting - 8/14/25
Judge Mark Dudley: Now do Washington DC next.
Four years: A slap in the face and a mallet to the crotch to the victims.
As a Marine Legal Chief (enlisted), I went up a handful of pedos in a pre-internet era.
They DEFY rehabilitation. In my career, only ONE had a genuine ‘Come to Jesus’ moment and changed his ways.
If this guy — like the Duggar degenerate doing federal time in Texas for the same thing are REAL lucky, they might survive prison time.
Because once word gets out in the yard they’re in for kiddy stuff — regardless of what — their life expectancy can be reduced to minutes.
And frankly, while I’ve NEVER advocated violence once in my adult life, some of these depravities would have me not objecting to these guys being found with a 3” shiv sticking out of their throats either.