A former Taylorville youth minister accused of grooming will serve 180 days in jail and see 30 months probation. 34-year-old Zachary C. Crowley was charged with two counts of unlawful grooming and one count of distribution of harmful material to a minor.  All counts were Class 4 felonies. Crowley plead guilty in July to the charges.  Judge Kevin Parker oversaw a 2-hour sentencing hearing that saw multiple witnesses and victims speak out on the incident. Judge Parker was also able to see in submitted evidence a masturbation video that Crowley did while he was speaking with one of the victims. 

Christian County States Attorney Wes Poggenpohl urged the court for the max of 3 years per charge for a max of 9 years. Crowley’s attorney Dan Fultz argued for probation saying that Crowley had to hide his homosexuality because of his faith. He also claimed that it was just video and there was no actual touching of any of the minors. After deliberating, the court sentenced Crowley to 180 days in jail (90 actual days) and 30 months probation. He will also have to register as a sex offender for ten years. Judge Parker noted that his sex offender evaluation was low risk. 

The arrest came from investigations that were conducted by the Taylorville Police Department and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office in December of 2020.