Youth Pastor Pleads Not Guilty in Vinelife Church Sexual Abuse Case
By Mitchell Byars
Jason Roberson, a youth pastor accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a teenage church member over several years, pleaded not guilty and is set for trial this summer. Roberson, 35, entered a plea of not guilty to sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and invasion of privacy at his arraignment in Boulder District Court today. He is set to stand trial beginning July 14. According to police reports, Danielle DesGeorges, 24, went to police in April and told investigators that she and Roberson had an inappropriate relationship that began when she was 15 and continued for seven years. In an interview with police, officers reported, Roberson admitted to touching the victim inappropriately but said it only occurred after she began attending classes at the University of Colorado. DesGeorges, who lives in Boulder, also is suing Roberson and VineLife Church in Boulder District Court. The Daily Camera generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse, but does have a policy of naming them in cases in which they initiate civil litigation. Boulder police obtained a warrant for Roberson's arrest in September, and he turned himself in to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office the same day. Roberson is free on $25,000 bond. Five church officials were also issued summons for failing to report alleged sexual abuse of a child: Senior pastor Walt Roberson – Jason Roberson's father – Executive Pastor Robert Phillip Young, Pastor Luke Michael Humbrecht, and church elders Edward Charles Bennell, and Warren Lloyd Williams. Contact: byarsm@dailycamera.com
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