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Pastor Arrested Last Year for Sexual Exploitation of a Child Sentenced to 2 Years

Colorado Springs pastor and music teacher exchanged explicit images of underage girls

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A Colorado Springs pastor MinistryWatch reported on a year ago has been sentenced and is serving time in prison.

Last September, investigators discovered that Jonathan Shaheen, 31, was exchanging explicit images of and with two underage girls—one 9 years old and the other 5 years old—through the girl’s mother, who was once his lover.

According to the arrest affidavit, Shaheen expressed interest in having sexual intercourse with the two children, as well as their mother, who texted the photos to Shaheen.

In 2022, police traced the texts to Shaheen while investigating the mother and her partner in New Mexico for exploiting children.

Colorado Springs police received the tip from the FBI on Sept. 6. They searched Shaheen’s home and arrested him the next day. The Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, comprising approximately 99 affiliate law enforcement agencies throughout the state, has the Colorado Springs Police Department as its lead agency.

Shaheen had plenty of opportunity to contact young people as a creative arts pastor at his church and as a music teacher and manager at School of Rock.

Representatives of School of Rock said Shaheen had passed a required background check. It’s not clear if the church required a similar check.

Following Shaheen’s arrest last September, TimberCreek’s lead pastor, Patrick Tanton, told KRDO-TV: “Jonathan was a former creative arts pastor at TimberCreek from 2021-2022. CSPD proactively communicated that his arrest has nothing to do with anyone at TimberCreek church.” Court documents indicate that after initially pleading not guilty to all charges, Shaheen pleaded guilty in February to sexual exploitation of a child.

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The terms of the plea agreement, according to prosecutor Blake Whitcomb, included the possibility of a two-year prison sentence or an extended stint on sex offender intensive supervised probation (SOISP) with no prison time.

According to The Gazette, Judge Jill Brady said the defendant was a “very willing” participant in the crime, and although Shehaan’s attorney advocated he was remorseful, Brady said that expressing remorse was not enough.

Shaheen also claimed his texts to the mother were “just a fantasy,” to which Judge Brady expressed disagreement. “The messages sent by Shaheen really do not make it seem like it was just a fantasy,” Brady said.

Brady sentenced Shaheen to two years in the Department of Corrections with a mandatory three-year parole upon release. He is not currently listed as a sex offender.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Why does MinistryWatch report on sex crimes? These stories are tough to read and sometimes even tougher to report, but we think they are vital to our mission to bring transparency, accountability, and credibility to the evangelical church. To read more about why and how we report these stories, read “Why MinistryWatch Reports On Sex Crimes.” You can find that story here.

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Jessica Eturralde

Jessica Eturralde is a military wife of 20 years, a mother of three, and has worked as a TV and podcast host. She currently covers religion in the United States and the former Soviet Republics.

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