Kentucky pastor turns himself in. He’s accused of asking minor to engage in ‘threesome.’

A Prestonsburg pastor turned himself in to police after he allegedly asked a minor to engage in sexual activity, according to court records.

Bobby Jordan Blackburn, 26, was charged with one felony count of prohibited use of an electronic device to procure a minor for a sexual act, according to the arrest citation. Blackburn was listed as a pastor at Elevate Church in Prestonsburg, according to the church website.

On May 24, Prestonsburg police responded to a complaint that Blackburn had contacted a minor over iMessage and asked the girl to engage in a sex act with another minor, according to court records. Police interviewed the girl who provided photos of the text conversation in which Blackburn had asked her to engage in a “threesome” with the second minor, according to police.

At the time, both minors involved were employees of a business Blackburn oversees, according to the citation. WYMT reported Blackburn owns Giovanni’s Pizza in Prestonsburg.

After the first minor was interviewed, a third minor told Prestonsburg police that she had sent the messages, according to court records. However, when asked about the contents of the messages, she demonstrated a limited understanding of the conversation and later recanted the statement, police said.

The third minor provided new written and audio statements claiming Blackburn told her about the “situation,” according to court records.

He allegedly told her that she needed to provide police a statement, falsely taking responsibility for the messages, or she would lose her job, according to the arrest citation.

When an officer involved in the investigation attempted to obtain Blackburn’s phone at the time of arrest, family members said the phone had been thrown in a Pike County river, according to the report.

Blackburn turned himself in on Wednesday, five days after the warrant for his arrest was issued, and was placed in the Floyd County Jail, according to the citation.

If convicted, Blackburn faces one to five years in prison, according to a police statement.

Giovanni’s, Blackburn’s pizzeria, was a subject of a 2016 spat when complaints were made that Christian music was played over its speakers and Bibles verses were on its receipts. Despite objection from atheists, Blackburn wrote on Facebook the business is “unapologetically” Christ-based and would continue to run and operate on its Christian values and principles, according to the Christian Examiner.

This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 12:59 PM.