Pastor’s Son Will Spend 4 Years in Prison Following Guilty Plea in CSAM Case

Michie · Monday at 4:07 PM

Jonathan Peternel, son of a pastor, will spend four years in prison after pleading guilty to three felony charges related to child sex abuse material (CSAM).

Editor’s note: This article refers to reports of disturbing child sex crimes that some readers might find triggering.

Peternel’s father, Nathan Peternel, is the lead pastor of Life Church, a multisite congregation in the Indianapolis area. The church is affiliated with the Assemblies of God.

The younger Peternel, 24, was arrestedin October 2025 following an investigation conducted by the Fishers Indiana Police Department (FIPD) in conjunction with the Hamilton County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Continued below.

Pastor's Son Gets 4 Years for 200 CSAM Files — Judge Calls Crimes 'Not the Worst'

Jonathan Peternel, son of a pastor, will spend four years in prison after pleading guilty to three felony charges related to child sex abuse material (CSAM).

churchleaders.com

seeking.IAM · Monday at 7:57 PM

As a one-time pastor's son, I think it is unfortunate this man's crime is mentioned in the same sentence as his father's occupation. At 24-years-old, my father was not responsible for my behavior. And, at 14-years-old people shouldn't have had different expectations for me than they did their own child just because my dad was a pastor. It is too bad this pastor and church got associated in print with this crime. Do we write, "Son of a plumber at Noname Plumbing arrested for...? Doesn't the church get enough bad press as it is?

Michie · Monday at 9:06 PM

Because they are considered spiritual leaders and shepherds. Plumbers aren’t.

seeking.IAM · Monday at 9:19 PM

Michie said:
Because they are considered spiritual leaders and shepherds. Plumbers aren’t.

One might argue that the Christian plumber could be the spiritual leader of his/her household. Be that as it may, as a Pastor's kid I always felt like if I was good, I was not judged by my own merit but judged as, "Of course he is, he is the pastor's kid." And, if I messed up, it was like, "Of course he did, you know how those preacher's kids are." or that it was some moral failure of my dad, not mine. I think we ought to hold folks accountable for their own behavior, both to give them credit where deserved and blame where warranted. And why smear a congregation for the action of one of its members?

RileyG · Monday at 9:21 PM

seeking.IAM said:
As a one-time pastor's son, I think it is unfortunate this man's crime is mentioned in the same sentence as his father's occupation. At 24-years-old, my father was not responsible for my behavior. And, at 14-years-old people shouldn't have had different expectations for me than they did their own child just because my dad was a pastor. It is too bad this pastor and church got associated in print with this crime. Do we write, "Son of a plumber at Noname Plumbing arrested for...? Doesn't the church get enough bad press as it is?

I agree.

Michie · Monday at 9:43 PM

seeking.IAM said:
One might argue that the Christian plumber could be the spiritual leader of his/her household. Be that as it may, as a Pastor's kid I always felt like if I was good, I was not judged by my own merit but judged as, "Of course he is, he is the pastor's kid." And, if I messed up, it was like, "Of course he did, you know how those preacher's kids are." or that it was some moral failure of my dad, not mine. I think we ought to hold folks accountable for their own behavior, both to give them credit where deserved and blame where warranted. And why smear a congregation for the action of one of its members?

The point is, nobody said the father was responsible for his son’s bad choices.or smeared the congregation. But given the position the father has, it is better to be transparent. If you read the whole article, you can see nobody is blaming the pastor or the congregants. But given his position, I believe it is better to be open and honest than to cover up.

Michie · Monday at 9:59 PM

During his sentencing hearing, Peternel said that he was “deeply sorry.”

“I hate my sin that I’ve committed,” he continued. “I want to apologize to anybody who has fallen victim to my behavior.”

Addressing his parents, Peternel said, “I’m sorry for putting you in this humiliating situation. You’ve been dishonored, your wonderful reputations have been ruined, and your names have been dragged through the mud all because I cared about myself more than you.”

Continued below.

Pastor's Son Gets 4 Years for 200 CSAM Files — Judge Calls Crimes 'Not the Worst'

Jonathan Peternel, son of a pastor, will spend four years in prison after pleading guilty to three felony charges related to child sex abuse material (CSAM).

churchleaders.com

Sabertooth · Tuesday at 12:20 AM

Looking at the article, how did he acquire such photos of his parents...!?
(That seems to be an important, if unanswered, question.)

Another article says that he hacked into his parents' private video account when he was high.

BPPLEE · Tuesday at 6:48 AM

Sabertooth said:
Looking at the article, how did he acquire such photos of his parents...!?
(That seems to be an important, if unanswered, question.)

Another article says that he hacked into his parents' private video account when he was high.

So his parents had some sort of sexual videos?

Michie · Tuesday at 8:38 AM

Sabertooth said:
Looking at the article, how did he acquire such photos of his parents...!?
(That seems to be an important, if unanswered, question.)

Another article says that he hacked into his parents' private video account when he was high.

Who knows? With technology these days, it probably would not be too difficult.

Sabertooth · Tuesday at 10:37 AM

BPPLEE said:
So his parents had some sort of sexual videos?

Yes. They considered them acceptable within marriage, but have since deleted them due to this kind of vulnerability.

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Pastor’s Son Will Spend 4 Years in Prison Following Guilty Plea in CSAM Case

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