"Shelton used his position of authority to groom and manipulate the victim, with incidents occurring in multiple locations over several years, indicating a pattern of exploitation tied to his role within the church."
"Prior to his arrest, Shelton publicly campaigned against LGBTQ+ content in schools, calling displays of Pride flags 'disgusting' and expressing anger over his daughter seeing certain books at a school book fair."
Silas H. Shelton, a pastor from Wilmington, Ohio, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The abuse involved a girl from his congregation and occurred from 2019 until shortly before his arrest in October 2025. Shelton's plea deal resulted in the dismissal of more serious charges. He faces a prison sentence of 3 to 15 years and must register as a Tier II sex offender for 25 years. His position in the church facilitated the exploitation of the victim.
Read at PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]