A Kentucky youth pastor has been arrested and charged with grooming a minor, putting a newly enacted state law aimed at protecting children from adults who allegedly use positions of trust to facilitate sexual conduct into the spotlight.
Jeremiah Swaw, 38, of Cadiz, was arrested Aug. 17 following an investigation by the Cadiz Police Department. Swaw had served as the Next Generation pastor at Hillcrest Baptist Church in Hopkinsville, where authorities say the alleged victim, a 16-year-old girl, was a member.
According to a police citation reported by WNKY, authorities received a report involving multiple incidents of alleged inappropriate physical contact between an adult man and a minor. Police said Swaw later came to the department and acknowledged inappropriate physical contact with the minor on several occasions while denying most of the sexual-contact allegations. The citation reportedly identified him as an “adult religious leader.”
The case is particularly notable because Swaw is being prosecuted under Kentucky’s recently enacted grooming law. The legislation defines grooming as a course of conduct directed toward a minor that uses manipulation, trust-building or influence with the intent of facilitating future sexual conduct or normalizing or desensitizing the child to sexual conduct.
The grooming charge is a Class D felony. Cadiz Police Chief Tyler Thomas has said the investigation remains ongoing and additional charges could potentially be filed depending on what investigators uncover.
Pastor and Wife Reportedly Had Guardianship of Teen
The circumstances surrounding the relationship make the allegations especially serious.
Baptist Press reported that Swaw and his wife had guardianship and power of attorney for the minor and that she had been living in their home.
That detail adds another layer to a case already centered on the alleged misuse of trust. Swaw was not simply an unrelated adult accused of inappropriate behavior with a teenager; authorities have identified him as a religious leader, while reporting indicates the teenager was both connected to his church and living in his household.
The grooming statute was designed specifically to address situations in which adults allegedly establish emotional connections with minors through manipulation, influence or trust before sexual conduct occurs.
Church Fires Swaw Following Arrest
Hillcrest Baptist Church terminated Swaw shortly after learning of his arrest.
Church leaders said they became aware Aug. 17 that Swaw had turned himself in to authorities over what the church described as an alleged illegal and immoral act involving a minor. His employment was terminated, and the church barred him from contacting its young people or participating in church-sponsored activities.
The church also said its understanding was that the alleged conduct did not occur on church property.
In a subsequent statement during a church service, Hillcrest further addressed the allegations as the congregation dealt with the arrest of a pastor who had been entrusted with working with its younger members.
Kentucky’s New Law Gets an Early Test
Swaw’s arrest comes only weeks after Kentucky’s grooming statute took effect, making the case an early test of how prosecutors will apply a law intended to intervene in conduct that may precede or facilitate sexual abuse.
The law focuses not simply on an alleged sexual act itself but on the behavior that can lead up to one — including manipulation, secrecy, trust-building and the exploitation of an adult’s influence over a child.
Police have described Swaw as the first person charged with grooming a minor by the Cadiz Police Department.
The case also arrives amid heightened scrutiny of adults in positions of authority over minors, particularly clergy, teachers, coaches and others whose roles may give them unusual access to children and their families.
Swaw has been charged, not convicted, and the allegations against him remain subject to the judicial process. Police have said their investigation is continuing.
