Megachurch pastor responds to allegations against son after horrific materials found in his home

The pair of pastors shared their last podcast, “A Tribute to Charlie Kirk,” on Sept. 12 – two days after police entered the Peternel’s Pendleton home with a search warrant, the Indiana Citizen reports.

‘Diddy Disciples’

In October 2025, the longtime megachurch leader stepped down from his role following deeply disturbing allegations against his 24-year-old son, Jonathan Wesley Peternel, who has been charged with multiple felony counts related to child sexual abuse materials.

According to The Indiana Citizen, the case began with a CyberTip report submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The report traced illicit online activity to a Snapchat account, where he was allegedly sharing child sexual abuse material through a group named “Diddy Disciples” – a disturbing reference to the disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently serving a 50-month prison sentence.

That tip set off a multi-agency investigation that has since drawn national attention for the extreme nature of the materials discovered.

‘Sadomasochistic child abuse’Continue reading…

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