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Former Crossroads Community Church youth pastor pleads guilty to attempted sex assault

Posted at 1:22 PM, Jul 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-23 15:22:33-04

PARKER, Colo. – The former Crossroads Community Church youth pastor arrested earlier this year over allegations he’d been having sex with one of the members of the youth group agreed Monday to plead guilty to two felony counts in the case.

Joshua Clemons, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child – video/20+ items and one count of attempted sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust – victim age 15-18. The former is a class 4 felony and the latter is a class 5 felony.

He saw six other counts dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea, according to a spokesperson for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Clemons, who worked as a pastor at the Parker church from 2006 through September 2015, had been accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl who had long been in his program.

The relationship carried on as the girl went to college at Colorado State University before ending toward the end of last year, when the alleged victim said Clemons began to show up at her new church and she threatened to get a restraining order, according to police documents.

Clemons is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. He faces between three and nine years in prison, according to sentencing guidelines for class 4 and 5 felonies.