Former Parker Youth Pastor Gets 7 Years For Sex Abuse Of Girls

DOUGLAS COUNTY, CO – The former youth pastor at Crossroads Community Church in Parker was sentenced to prison time for sexual contact with minor girls who were members of a church youth group.

Douglas County District Judge Shay Whitaker on Sept. 21 sentenced Joshua Mark Clemons, 35, to four years in prison, followed by 10 years of sex offender intensive supervised probation, the 18th Judicial District Attorney's office announced Friday. Clemons was also charged in a Denver County case, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison.

Clemons pleaded guilty July 23 in the Parker case to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of attempted sex assault on a child by one in a position of trust, the DA's office said. The district attorney's office dropped six other charges of sexual assault of a child between 2011-2018 as part of Clemons's plea deal.

Clemons lived in Denver when he was employed by the Parker church.

In the Denver case, Clemons was charged with carrying on an affair with a 17-year-old student while he was married and she was in high school, an arrest affidavit said. The student told Denver police that she would visit Clemons' home for sex in the 3600 block of South Xenia Street in Denver, and that Clemons would ask her to park outside the gated neighborhood so the neighbors wouldn't see her car. Clemons was formerly married to a doctor who divorced him after finding out about infidelity on his email, the ex-wife told police.

Another girl, who was 17 at the time, told Parker Police that Clemons used his position as youth pastor to manipulate her and get close to her. The mother of another girl told police Clemons is “a master manipulator not only of students, but adults, as well,” the DA's office said.

Clemons will be sentenced in the Denver case in October. His 4-year sentence in the Parker case, imposed by Judge Whitaker on Sept. 21, will run consecutive to the 3-year sentence he faces in Denver.

Image via 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office

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