Former youth pastor in Jackson sentenced to prison

JACKSON, Tenn. — A former youth pastor in Jackson has been sentenced to prison for sex crimes involving a minor.

📸: Ryan McElrath, Mugshot, June 2024

SEE ALSO:

• Jackson youth pastor arrested on rape charges (June 2024)
• Former youth pastor accused of rape has case waived to grand jury (September 2024)
• Former youth pastor pleads guilty to sex crimes involving minor (February 2025)

In June 2024, then 39-year-old Ryan McElrath, a former youth pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Jackson, was booked into the Madison County jail on charges involving inappropriate sexual conduct with a minor.

A warrant revealed that the arrest stemmed from an alleged incident that took place at the church between McElrath and a 17-year-old female victim.

📸: McElrath appears in Jackson City Court, September 2024

In February 2025, McElrath pled guilty to “use of a facility and means of interstate commerce to persuade, induce, entice a minor to engage in criminal sexual acts.” The plea agreement includes that McElrath will be placed on the national sex offender registry.

On June 6, 2025, McElrath was sentenced at the U.S. District Court in Jackson to 252 months (21 years) in federal custody and five years supervised release. He was also ordered to pay over $8,000 in restitution.

The court also recommended that McElrath be housed at a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility as close to Phoenix, Arizona as possible.

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