Madison County youth pastor sentenced to 24 years
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY GENERAL JODY PICKENS:
Madison County Youth Pastor Sentenced to 24 Years
In June of 2024, the Jackson Police Department received a report that Ryan McElrath, youth pastor at Fellowship Bible Church, was having an inappropriate relationship with a seventeen–year–old female. During an interview, the minor female victim disclosed that the defendant engaged in various sexual acts with her at locations in Gibson County, Henderson County, and Madison County. When interviewed by investigators, McElrath admitted to the sexual relationship. He was arrested in Jackson on June 11, 2024, and charged with multiple sexual offenses.
In addition to being indicted in Madison County on December 2, 2024, for three (3) counts of Statutory Rape by an Authority Figure and two (2) counts of Sexual Battery by an Authority Figure, McElrath also faced charges in other jurisdictions as a result of his criminal conduct. He was indicted on the same day in Gibson County for two (2) counts of Statutory Rape by an Authority Figure and two (2) counts of Sexual Battery by an Authority Figure. In Henderson County, McElrath was indicted on one (1) count of Statutory Rape by an Authority Figure and two (2) counts of Sexual Battery by an Authority Figure on December 3, 2024.
McElrath first pled guilty to the Gibson County charges on July 7, 2025, and received an agreed–upon sentence of ten (10) years. He pled guilty to the Madison County and Henderson County indictments at the same time by entering a plea without a recommended sentence on September 29, 2025. Following a sentencing hearing, Judge Kyle Atkins, Division III, Madison County Circuit Court, sentenced McElrath to twelve (12) years for the Madison County indictment and twelve (12) years for the Henderson County indictment, to be served consecutively to each other, for an effective sentence of twenty–four (24) years. He will serve 100% of this sentence.
“This defendant was in a position of leadership and authority in a place where children and parents have an expectation that the youth will be safe. McElrath violated the trust of the youth under his care, their parents, the leadership of the church, and the community as a whole,” said District Attorney General Jody Pickens. “I am thankful for the hard work of Assistant District Attorney General Katie Ferguson and the investigators with the Jackson Police Department, Madison County Sheriff’s Department, Henderson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Medina Police Department in developing this case and ensuring that justice was done. The Carl Perkins Child Advocacy Center did an outstanding job in completing forensic interviews with the victim, which assisted my office in being able to reach this resolution. While no punishment can ever make up for what the minor victim in this case endured, I appreciate the firm stance Judge Atkins took in handing down this sentence. Our community is safer with this sexual predator being in prison for the next decades.”
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