Jon Paul Sheptock, 49, served as the worship minister at the First Montgomery Baptist Church in Texas before these shocking allegations came to light.
The Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Unit eventually caught up with the suspect while he was working at a local women’s prison where he served as a minister.
At a Donald Trump rally in January 2022, Sheptock was recruited to sing the national anthem before later posing with the president and his son for pictures.
This is how predators keep their victims silent: exploit their embarrassment. It’s easy to say “Well, they shouldn’t have sent that in the first place” but that’s blaming the victim and not addressing the issue. A minor was taken advantage of and an adult received satisfaction from it. If this happened to you or someone you know, speak out. Take the power away from the predators. The embarrassment is only temporary because, in the end, it’s your well-being that matters.
The fact that kids don’t make good decisions when placed in adult situations is exactly why we have laws to punish adults who exploit them.