Father of Former Youth Pastor Guilty of Sex Abuse Hopes Son Can Return to Ohio

By Grant Rodgers
Des Moines Register
March 20, 2014

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20140320/NEWS/303200120/Father-former-youth-pastor-guilty-sex-abuse-hopes-son-can-return-Ohio?nclick_check=1

Ryan Matthew McKelvey

The father of a former Des Moines youth pastor who pleaded guilty to sexual abuse hopes his son will be allowed to return to Ohio instead of going to prison.

Ryan Matthew McKelvey, 27, pleaded guilty last month to one count of third-degree sexual abuse and two counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or clergy after two female teenagers told police that they'd kissed and had sexual contact with McKelvey. McKelvey worked as a youth pastor at the Heritage Assembly Church and the two victims were students at the church's unaccredited school, according to court papers.

Polk County District Court Judge Karen Romano is scheduled to sentence McKelvey on Monday morning. McKelvey could be sentenced to serve up to 20 years in prison.

McKelvey's father, Keith McKelvey, is asking Romano to give his son a suspended sentence so he can return to the family's home near Dayton, Ohio. In a letter last month written to the judge, the father wrote that his son will have a "support structure" and will receive counseling if he's allowed to return home.

"I also pledge myself to be an Accountability Partner with my son to talk about what is going on in his mind, what he is seeing and feeling and just to talk to him on a daily basis," he wrote. "I will be there for him."

Ryan McKelvey's longtime pastor, Clifford Hurst, is also asking the judge to consider letting him return home, writing in a letter last month that he would help counsel McKelvey. Hurst is the senior pastor at the Union Pentecostal Church in Dayton, Ohio and first met McKelvey when he was five years old, according to the pastor's letter.

"Having been closely connected to Ryan, I know that during the twenty one years he was one of our church's young people, he had exhibited none of the behavior which he ultimately committed and pled guilty," he wrote. "My hope would be that a return home would provide the environment that would facilitate lasting reformation."

McKelvey has remained in the Polk County Jail on a $100,000 cash bond since his arrest in August, according to online jail records. McKelvey's attorney, Keith Rigg, did not immediately return a phone call from a reporter this afternoon.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone said he could nottalk with a reporter about what recommendations prosecutors will make during the sentencing hearing on Monday.

Des Moines police charged McKelvey after a 16-year-old girl and her parents reported that the youth pastor had kissed her and made her touch his genitals, according to court records. Through their investigation, police found another female who reported similar abuse; during one incident in August, McKelvey pushed her up against a refrigerator in her home and performed a sex act, court papers said.

Both females reported that McKelvey told them not to tell anybody about the inappropriate contact. McKelvey told the 16-year-old that if she reported him, she wouldn't be able to go into the ministry in the future, according to a police report.

McKelvey had already been fired from his job at the church before his arrest for being lazy and "spending too much time with the female juveniles of the church," according to the police report.

Online court records show that McKelvey had never been charged with a crime in Iowa before his August arrest. If he returned to Ohio, he'd have family members and support from his native church to ensure he wouldn't abuse again, both his father and Hurst wrote.

"I wanted you to know that I will make it my mission to not allow anything like this (sic) happen again," Keith McKelvey wrote. "I want for you to never have to see Ryan in a court room again."