Pastor Jon Sheptock, Inspirational Montgomery Pastor, Arrested for Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Jon Paul Sheptock, a well-known worship leader and singer-songwriter from Montgomery, Texas, was charged with producing and possessing child sexual abuse materials. This charge carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.

The 49-year-old pastor was considered an inspiration by many for his resilience and faith. Born without arms and with one leg shorter than the other, he defied physical limitations to lead worship and preach in prisons.

But everything changed when he was arrested on 29 September 2025.

Charged for Child Sexual Abuse Materials

Sheptock was serving as a worship pastor at First Montgomery Baptist Church when he was arrested during a ministering session at the Dr. Lane Murray Unit Prison in Gatesville, Texas. He was providing spiritual services to inmates at the time of his arrest.

According to Montgomery County Precinct 3 law enforcement, investigators began looking into the pastor in August 2025 after receiving information that Sheptock allegedly possessed sexual materials involving a child under 18. These included videos and images depicting sexual conduct.

In a written testimony from the Constable's office, the alleged victim said that the abuse began nine years ago when she was 17 and a senior in high school. She told detectives that Sheptock had accessed a nude photo of her via her iCloud account.

'After the defendant (Sheptock) sent the image of the victim, he told her that he wanted more explicit images of her. The defendant (Sheptock) then sent her a video depicting someone being physically assaulted, accompanied by a statement implying that he did not want that to happen to her,' the affidavit said.

The affidavit also explained why the victim did not come forward at the time: 'Due to her parents' strong religious beliefs, the victim was concerned about how her parents would react to the fact she had taken a nude photo of herself.'

Court reports revealed that the pastor allegedly showed the victim multiple nude photographs of adults and young girls on his computer. Authorities also found text messages in which he sent a nude photo of young girls to the victim as recently as October 2024.

Police have clarified in a statement that no photos or videos of children from First Montgomery Baptist Church were found in Sheptock's possession.

Sheptock was taken into custody by the Texas Department of Public Safety and is currently being held in Coryell County Jail, west of Waco, awaiting extradition to Montgomery County. Detectives urged the public to come forward if they had any information relevant to the case.

First Montgomery Baptist Church's Statement

Following Sheptock's arrest, the First Montgomery Baptist Church released a statement on its website.

Pastor Chris Gober confirmed Sheptock had been removed from his responsibilities at the church and clarified that Sheptock 'did not have responsibilities overseeing children in the church or school except occasionally in a large group setting with other adults.'

The church also stated that they are fully cooperating in the investigation and will not be covering 'grievous sin.' The church has turned over Sheptock's church computer to authorities to 'ensure it contains no unlawful content.'