Youth pastor’s trial begins on sex abuse charges

POCATELLO, Idaho – Jury selection is under way in the trial of an eastern Idaho youth pastor accused of sexually abusing a girl prosecutors say was 15 years old at the time.

Joshua Robinson, 29, the former youth pastor at Gate City Christian Church in Chubbock, was arrested in February and charged with two counts of lewd conduct with a minor and one count of sexually abusing a minor.

After his arrest, church officials elected to keep Robinson on staff, but shifted his job from active ministry to an administrative role pending the outcome of the trial. A court order requires that he not have any contact with people younger than 18.

All three charges stem from separate situations with the girl, now 17, police investigators have said.

If convicted, Robinson faces up to life in prison for each lewd conduct charge and up to 15 years in prison for the sexual abuse charge.

In 6th District Court Monday, lawyers argued over a handful of last-minute trial motions and evidence.

Specifically, arguments focused on a segment of a recorded conversation between Robinson and the alleged victim, who initiated the conversation at the request of police detectives.

Defense attorneys said the recording – a 4-minute segment singled out by prosecutors from a 30-minute conversation – violated rules of evidence and should be disallowed.

Bannock County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Vic Pearson countered that the recording contains statements by Robinson that are critical to the jury’s decision.

Judge Peter McDermott rejected the motion, but said prosecutors would have to provide the proper foundation if they hoped to have it admitted at trial. “It does appear the evidence is relevant,” McDermott said.

On another issue, the judge sided with defense attorneys when he banned prosecutors from referring to the teenager as a “victim.”

Robinson has pleaded not guilty, “and to call her a victim does have a negative connotation to the jury,” McDermott said.