Former Youth Leader at Southland Christian Church Charged with Sex Crime
By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
A former youth leader at Southland Christian Church's Danville campus is accused of sending sexual emails and text messages to a 15-year-old girl he met through church. Jonathan David Hall, 29, of Danville was charged with unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sexual activities. Hall was arrested Tuesday by the Kentucky State Police Electronic Crime Branch as part of an undercover Internet Crimes Against Children investigation, state police said Thursday in a news release. Police said a search of Hall's home uncovered nude photos of what appeared to be juvenile girls. Those girls apparently live in at least three other states, police said. The investigation is continuing, and additional charges are pending. Chris Hahn, the lead executive pastor at Southland Christian Church, told the Herald-Leader that Hall had been a youth leader at Southland Christian Church's Danville campus but "was recently released." "It's a personnel matter, so we are not at liberty to discuss that," Hahn said. "We understand that authorities are investigating it, and because of that we have no response." State police got involved in the case after Lexington police reported that a woman told them inappropriate text messages and emails had been sent to her 15-year-old daughter's cellphone, the release said. An investigation led to a suspect in Danville in Boyle County. The teenage girl told detectives she didn't know the person who sent her the messages, but he sent her a text looking for another girl, according to the release. Police did not release details about how Hall acquired the teen's cellphone number. Police said Hall did not identify himself; rather, he said he was an 18-year-old University of Kentucky student named Zachary Blight Carter. The teen said their conversations via email and text messaging quickly became sexual. The teen sent multiple nude photos of herself at his request, and he sent her a nude photo as well, police said. On Tuesday, investigators talked to Hall and searched his home in the 600 block of Denmark Drive in Danville. Police did not say how long the two had been talking. No other details were released. Hall was being held in the Boyle County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond. Boyle County Detention Center Sgt. Robert Coulter said Hall was declining all interview requests on Thursday. In a blog called iamjonhall, a man named Jon Hall wrote about his Christianity, his opinions on the University of Kentucky men's basketball team and his travels to places like the Red River Gorge. He wrote that he was married and had a 7-month-old son who died in 2010 from a chronic illness. In late May 2010, there was a blog post about Hall starting work at Southland. The post said he would become an "Age Level Leader" at the Danville campus of Southland. "I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to have this opportunity and how excited I am to begin this new chapter of my ministry ..." he wrote. "As the Age Level Leader, I will oversee the nursery-college aged ministries." Hahn, the church's lead executive pastor, did not say how long Hall had worked at the church. The pastor said the church does criminal background checks and checks references on all employees and volunteers. Hahn previously told the Herald-Leader that former University of Kentucky basketball player Michael Porter volunteered at Southland years ago. Porter was arrested May 15 and faces charges of sodomy and sexual abuse involving an underage girl he met through a church. He pleaded not guilty last month. Police say Porter had oral sex with a girl he met at functions at a church where he was a group leader. A warrant for Porter did not name the church where he met the girl, although Porter told the Herald-Leader in a 2009 interview that he and his wife were members of Southland Christian Church. Asked about Porter on Thursday, Hahn said, "I've got no comment about his case." Hahn would not comment on whether the church would be initiating policy changes. "We're going to do everything we can to protect our kids," he said, "and protect the people who come to church here." Contact: vhoneycutt@herald-leader.com
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