Colorado youth pastor sentenced 50 years for sexual exploitation of a child and assault

A Colorado youth pastor was sentenced to decades in jail for sex crimes against children.

The sentence was handed out this week for the 2017 crime. Arapahoe District Court Judge Ben Leutwyler sentenced Joseph Potts, 33, to a total of 50 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Potts pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and first-degree assault. Other counts were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

Potts was a youth pastor at Jubilee Fellowship Church at the time. He reportedly invited multiple teenagers over to stay overnight at his apartment to play video games. When the minors got there, Potts had them watch pornography and sexually assaulted them.

“There is likely a special place in hell for those who satisfy their lascivious sexual desires under the guise of being a youth pastor,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “We can, at best, protect ourselves from him in this life. His true sentence awaits him in the next.”

Potts will be required to register as a sex offender.

“Mr. Potts is the most dangerous type of criminal. He used a religious position of leadership in order to gain the trust of parents so that he had access to their children. These parents trusted that their children would be safe when alone with the defendant, and he took advantage of that trust in the worst way,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Danielle Jaramillo, who prosecuted the case. “This sentence is due to the bravery and courage of two boys who were willing to come forward and disclose what happened to them. If not for them, Mr. Potts would have done this again to other children. They truly are heroes.”