Longmont Pastor Sentenced in Sexual Exploitation of Children

CBS Denver
July 18, 2014

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/07/18/longmont-pastor-sentenced-in-sexual-exploitation-of-children/

A former youth pastor was sentenced to two years in jail and 10 years of sex offender probation on Friday.

Jason Roberson, 35, pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of children and stalking in May.

He admitted to an inappropriate relationship over several years with a girl, then 15, who attended the Vinelife Church in Longmont.

The victim, now 23, was in court Friday and began crying at one point. Roberson’s wife approached the victim and apologized on her husband’s behalf.

Prosecutors said Roberson manipulated the family to get close to the woman.

“It’s one thing to be sexually abused. It’s another thing to be sexually abuse by somebody that you’ve invited into your home, that you’ve made a part of your family, that you’ve trusted and that your parents trust,” prosecutor Adrienne Van Nic told CBS4. “And who do you turn to when the person who’s abusing you is someone who your parents have put in a position of authority with respect to you?”

Roberson will also have to undergo sex offender treatment.