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The case against Nelson remains pending after a court hearing resulted in a continuance, with the next appearance set for June 17.
By Morgen White | FāVS News Reporter
Main Points
OLYMPIA, Washington — Derek Nelson, a former youth pastor at Highlands Community Church was not present for his arraignment at 11a.m. Wednesday, and instead represented by his lawyer Sarah Tietz. Tietz requested to continue the arraignment to June 17. Nelson has yet to plead one way or the other to the charges of child molestation in the second degree.
Tietz requested the absence of media coverage if Nelson was to appear on Zoom due to the “aggressive” media and social media attention.
Judge Mary Wilson denied the request stating, “I understand that a lot of coverage can impact people’s awareness of the case when you get to the selection of a jury, that alone from the court’s perspective is not sufficient to limit media coverage.”
Wilson granted the request to continue on June 17 and accepted the waiver of speedy arraignment.
Nelson was taken into custody by the Renton Police Department under suspicion of second-degree child molestation and first-degree voyeurism last week and booked into Thurston County Jail.
“The Thurston County prosecuting attorney is still reviewing the voyeurism charge and has indicated they will make a decision on that soon,” Susan Lewis, investigations commander for the RPD said.
Renewed investigation leads to child molestation charge
According to the probable cause affidavit a victim originally contacted the RPD in March 2021.
In August 2024, after investigative reporting and a call to the RPD from KING 5 News, the case was reopened two days later. Detective Scott Barfield became tasked with looking into whether there were more victims that had yet to be identified.
In March 2025, Barfield initiated an investigation following a report that Nelson abused a 13-year-old victim in 2015 during a church function at Great Wolf Lodge. During a child forensic interview it was revealed that the victim was isolated in a locked bathroom with Nelson.
In the interview, the victim said Nelson asked him to remove his swimsuit, then touched his genitals and buttocks, before holding him upside down by his ankles. He said Nelson told him he would “pay the price” if he spoke out. Believing that Nelson would kill him, the victim kept this secret for 10 years, according to reports.
Police continue seeking additional victims and witnesses
Lewis said that they understand it is a sensitive situation and may be uncomfortable for some to come forward and speak about it.
“It is impossible to know how many other victims there are. Detective Barfield has identified several people involved but they have declined to respond to or participate in the investigation,” Lewis said.
The RPD encourages anyone with any information about this case to contact Barfield at sbarfield@rentonwa.gov.
Church says arrest involves different allegations than 2020 misconduct case
Lead pastor at Highlands Community Church, Nate Edmondson, said Highlands terminated Nelson when allegations of sexual misconduct were first brought to the attention of Highlands leadership.
Edmondson clarified that Nelson’s recent arrest was connected to conduct with minors attending church functions in 2015 and 2019 but involving different victims than those who came forward in 2020 leading to his firing in May that same year.
In correspondence sent to Highlands Community Church members from July 11, 2020, two church leaders, then-Lead Pastor Jesse Campbell and Chairman of the Elders Glenn Joslin addressed the firing of Nelson.
“The accusations have been investigated and confirmed to be accurate, including by Derek’s own admission,” Campbell said.
In the video Campbell emphasized the victims were adults. The leaders allowed Nelson to include a written statement for the congregation.
“I ask for your forgiveness for not being above reproach. I covet your prayers for me and my family as I focus on clinging to the hope and healing that is only found in God’s Word and rebuilding trust in relationships I’ve damaged because of this,” Nelson included in his message.
The correspondence was stipulated to remain an internal communication to protect “the victims, Derek’s family and the church.” Despite the request, an anonymous individual forwarded the contents to Darlene “Dee” Parsons. Parsons co-founded The Wartburg Watch (TWW), a blog, after watching a pedophile case mishandled at her then-reformed Baptist church.
In a July 2020 blog post from TWW, Parsons writes about questions to ask the church about the situation, one including, “Has the church asked an independent, third-party investigative group like G.R.A.C.E. to review the steps the church took?”
GRACE investigation examined church’s response to abuse allegations
A third-party investigation was retained by Highlands in October 2020. The investigation by GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) was completed in 2023 and recommendations were shared with the congregation.
GRACE’s mission is to empower Christian communities to recognize, prevent and respond to abuse.
Robert Peters, a former child abuse prosecutor and director of institutional response at GRACE, said the first thing they do when it comes to their investigations is assess whether or not the case is a mandated-reporting situation.
Peters says it’s “pretty rare that there’s a concurrent GRACE investigation” with an active law enforcement investigation. Instead many of their cases work in situations where prosecution is not possible whether that be because of statute of limitations, not enough evidence, or a multitude of other reasons.
“Consequently, a faith community still needs clarity on what occurred and what they can learn from those situations, how they can become a safer community. And, so, we step into those gaps that are created when there isn’t momentum within the criminal justice system. I’ve seen quite a few cases where actual arrests have been made during an ongoing GRACE investigation, at least in part, due to information that’s been uncovered by GRACE,” Peters said.
Peters, who describes himself as being a person who is deeply connected to their faith, said it can be complicated to see the misuse of faith on a daily basis.
“I think in some sense you have to separate your faith from those who misuse it. That’s important,” Peters said.
GRACE is unable to discuss current or passed cases, or turn over full reports to law enforcement without some sort of formal legal process, he said.
Lewis confirmed that Barfield was in possession of the full report from GRACE but was unable to discuss it.
Edmondson said, “Highlands has been cooperating with the Renton Police Department in its separate law enforcement investigation,” which was corroborated by Lewis.
He said, “Highlands will continue to do our best to support all survivors of sexual misconduct and is committed to making our church a safe place to worship.”
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