Peternel says son hacked sex videos of him and wife while high
Head of Indiana lieutenant governor’s church does not address abuse reports, says he will continue leading church
Nathan Peternel, the head of the politically powerful Life Church in Indiana, told congregants Sunday that he and his wife made videos of them having sex, but that his son, who was arrested in October on child sex abuse material charges, hacked into his account and downloaded the videos, according to an audio recording obtained by 24sight News.
Peternel said his son was high when he stole the videos of his parents having sex, which were discovered by police while they were searching electronic devices for child sex abuse material.
The arrest of Peternel’s son on October 23rd and reports of abuse by Nathan Peternel himself over the past quarter century have embroiled the church, where Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith is employed as one of its top pastors, in scandal. Sunday marked the first time since October 26th that Peternel has talked about the sex videos of him and his wife, but he did not address reports from 24sight News that he routinely pressured minors to tell him intimate details about their intimate relations.
“Within the covenant of our marriage, my wife and I created private, intimate photos and videos,” Peternel said in church Sunday. “Although those files were password protected, they were hacked. And they were hacked from a device without our consent, without our knowledge, and that was done by our son, who was high at the time.”
Peternel said that the videos have all been deleted and said he will continue leading the church, this after weeks of consternation behind the scenes and his friend and partner, Lt. Gov. Beckwith, stepping in periodically and telling churchgoers to stop asking questions.
“My prayer is that this would not be something that divides us, but actually something that, in the end, is strengthening us,” Peternel said Sunday. “Although all pastors are still human, I want you to know I’m grieved by this situation. I have to own my mistake. I have to take responsibility for my life.”
Peternel did not return a request for comment for this story.
Peternel has refused repeated requests from 24sight News to talk, going on six weeks now. His church staff have refused repeated requests for comment, at one point saying that the person who handled media requests was named “No Comment.” One of Peternel’s top deputies in the church told 24sight News that he had hired a lawyer for himself (while his son received a public defender) but refused to give the name of the lawyer.
In the weeks since Peternel’s son was arrested, the scandal has emerged on the national stage with a viral video from top true crime podcaster Ashley Flowers, creator of Crime Junkie, a report in The Indianapolis Star, and a steady stream social media debate, including many former congregants saying they are glad to see more people leaving the abusive environment created by Peternel.
The scandal in Beckwith’s church is hitting just as he, as the formal leader of Indiana’s state Senate, has taken center stage pushing for a White House led effort to eliminate the last two Democratic-held seats in the state’s Congressional delegation. The state Senate is scheduled to debate the matter this week in Indianapolis.
Peternel, in his brief address Sunday, did not talk about specific reports of abuse by him, but broadly stated that some things were true, some were false and some were taken out of context.
People who were in Peternel’s first youth group more than 25 years ago, told 24sight News that he would regularly ask them about them and other children for details about how they had sex, and would regularly tell them in meetings at his apartment about how he had sex with his wife and about an incident that happened to her in college.
Peternel himself confirmed one story of hazing a teen in the group, which he had named “Stormfront” despite protests that it bore the same name as a neo-Nazi group from Florida, by spraying Cheez Whiz up the teen’s nose in separate audio obtained by 24sight News. In the same audio, Peternel also accused a former camper who requested an apology from Peternel of being drunk when he made the request, despite having no way of knowing the former group member’s disposition at the time.
A 27-year-old Indiana woman named Paige recounted Peternel pressuring her fiancé and her, when she was 17 years old, in a closed-door “pre-marital counseling” session, to tell him in graphic detail about what body parts they used on each other and specific techniques during intercourse. Paige (whose last name is being withheld at her request) and her fiancé reported the incident to other pastors at Life Church at the time. The other pastors chastised Peternel for meeting with a minor in private without another adult supervisor around and not listing the meeting on their shared schedule, a person familiar with the incident told 24sight News.
Paige recently reported the incident to the local police. In Indiana, every adult — including clergy — is considered a “mandatory reporter” and must report any child abuse or face criminal charges.
Former congregants of Peternel’s Life Church have regularly described being deeply disturbed by Peternel preaching about sex and intercourse to the entire congregation, including children, and their anger at taking their concerns directly to Peternel and other church staff only to have those concerns dismissed.
But Peternel, in private, has told congregants that he can’t be fired by the board of directors at Life Church. It’s unclear if Peternel is entirely correct in this assertion.
Peternel’s son, meanwhile, remains in jail in Madison County, Indiana, unable to find the $2,500 needed for pre-trial release and left to be represented by a public defender. (The top lawyer for Lt. Gov. Beckwith, who Peternel’s son initially said would be representing him — even as that lawyer is facing his own, separate criminal investigation for watching a deepfake porn of a lawmaker’s wife — has said his law firm will not work with Peternel’s son.)
Nathan Peternel told the congregation Sunday that he has not abandoned his son and continues to pray for him.
If you would like to get in touch to discuss what is happening in Life Church or have a news tip, please email: tom@24sight.news.
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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
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
“Nathan Peternel told the congregation Sunday that he has not abandoned his son and continues to pray for him.”
That’s pietistic church talk. He *has* abandoned his son, seeking his own legal representation, even though he hasn’t been charged with a crime, but not doing the same for his son. He could easily pay the $2,500 for his son’s pre-trial release as well. Nathan has made a very prosperous yet dubious living in a calling which should not lead to such wealth. Just check out his additional yellow sports car, just for starters.
I’m not defending or advocating for Jonathan Peternel in the slightest, and believe justice should be served, but Nathan can’t honestly say, with tears in his eyes, that he hasn’t abandoned his son.
Nathan claims his personal pictures and videos were password protected, and that Jonathan not only hacked his files, but emphasized Jonathan was “high” when he did so. That’s a very dubious detail to add, that Jonathan didn’t simply hack his password protected files, but did so while he was “high.”
How does that work? Typically being “high” would make such an already difficult task even harder, if not impossible. I’m curious about this additional detail. Was it observed to make his son out to be even worse? That Jonathan not only hacked his files, but was high when he did so. Was it to deflect from what Nathan clearly seems to feel guilty about, having made such a collection, by making Jonathan’s deed even worse?