Ohio youth pastor pleads guilty to sex charges - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Ohio youth pastor pleads guilty to sex charges

LOGAN, Ohio (AP) - A former southeastern Ohio youth pastor has pleaded guilty to sex charges involving a 13-year-old girl in the congregation.

The Logan Daily News reports that 31-year-old Travis Branstetter pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of attempted gross sexual imposition as part of a negotiated plea agreement. Other charges were dropped.

Branstetter was an ordained minister who was youth pastor for five years at the Church of the Nazarene in Logan, about 50 miles southeast of Columbus.

A judge said he could get up to three years in prison, but his attorney will ask for probation and other sanctions. He will be sentenced Dec. 21.

His attorney said he plans to move to another town with his wife.

Information from: Logan Daily News, http://www.logandaily.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • Regional

  • Saturday, May 18 2013 9:52 PM EDT2013-05-19 01:52:31 GMT
    LEXINGTON, Mich. (AP) - Carol Connell remembers well the gift she gave Sara Ylen, a friend seemingly forced to bear too much misery. Ylen, a Michigan mother of two young boys, said she was battling cancer
    A Michigan mom who claimed to be battling cancer and a rape survior is being accused of fraud and her community is reeling.
  • Saturday, May 18 2013 8:52 PM EDT2013-05-19 00:52:10 GMT
    DETROIT (AP) - A tiny insect is threatening Michigan's fruit and vegetable crops. The brown marmorated stink bug's presence in Michigan has growers and agriculture experts concerned because there are
    A tiny insect is threatening Michigan's fruit and vegetable crops. The brown marmorated stink bug's presence in Michigan has growers and agriculture experts concerned.
  • Saturday, May 18 2013 8:42 PM EDT2013-05-19 00:42:53 GMT
    CLEVELAND (AP) - Some of the Amish sentenced in beard-cutting attacks on fellow Amish in Ohio are upset with federal prison education requirements. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has required some to study
    Some of the Amish sentenced in beard-cutting attacks on fellow Amish in Ohio are upset with federal prison education requirements.
  • Top Stories

  • Saturday, May 18 2013 10:50 PM EDT2013-05-19 02:50:34 GMT
    Three suspects are still on the loose after an-early morning home invasion and murder in Waterville Township and investigators say the death of 34-year-old James Safadi was not a random act of violence.
    Investigators say the home invasion death of 34-year-old James Safadi in Waterville was not a random act of violence. They believe the local business owner was targeted.
  • Saturday, May 18 2013 9:52 PM EDT2013-05-19 01:52:31 GMT
    LEXINGTON, Mich. (AP) - Carol Connell remembers well the gift she gave Sara Ylen, a friend seemingly forced to bear too much misery. Ylen, a Michigan mother of two young boys, said she was battling cancer
    A Michigan mom who claimed to be battling cancer and a rape survior is being accused of fraud and her community is reeling.
  • Saturday, May 18 2013 9:11 PM EDT2013-05-19 01:11:00 GMT
    DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) - Witnesses in southwestern Virginia say a car has driven into a crowd at a festival parade. Several people appeared to be hurt, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately
    An elderly driver plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a Saturday parade in a small Virginia mountain town.

Area Events Calendar

See It, Shoot It, Send It!