LINCOLN COUNTY, Ky. (LEX News) — Update: September 2nd, 2026
A federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Lexington adds new details to the case against Lincoln County youth pastor Jason Coulter.
According to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Bethany Harmon, Coulter contacted Kentucky State Police on Aug. 14 and said he wanted to confess to crimes. The affidavit states Coulter told investigators he communicated with the 17 year-old-girl through TikTok and Snapchat.
The complaint alleges Coulter told investigators he exchanged explicit messages and images with the teenager over about six weeks in spring 2026 and that they met twice for sexual activity, once at a park in Mercer County and once in his vehicle in Lincoln County.
The affidavit states the girl later told Kentucky State Police that she and Coulter engaged in sexual activity on two occasions and exchanged nude images through Snapchat and TikTok.
Federal prosecutors allege Coulter used online platforms to persuade, induce or entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b).
Court records show Coulter was arrested on the federal complaint and is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in Frankfort at 2 p.m. on Sept. 3.
The federal complaint notes that search warrants were obtained for both phones involved, as well as Snapchat account records, and that those investigative results were still pending at the time the affidavit was filed.
Coulter had previously posted a $10,000 bond on the state charges before federal authorities arrested him on the new charge. He is currently being held at the Woodford County Detention Center pending an initial appearance in federal court Thursday. As of Wednesday, no bond had been set in the federal case.
Coulter also faces state charges in Lincoln and Mercer counties. Court records indicate his Lincoln County case has been sent to a grand jury for review.
Original Story:
A Lincoln County youth pastor and funeral director faces four criminal charges after he contacted Kentucky State Police to confess to crimes involving a 17-year-old.
Jason Coulter, 48, a youth pastor at Green River Pentecostal Church in Lincoln County, was charged on Aug. 17, 2026, with third degree sodomy, possession of matter showing a sexual performance by a minor, promoting a sexual performance by a minor, and procuring or promoting the use of a minor by electronic means.
According to court records, Coulter reached out to Kentucky State Police on Aug. 14 and told investigators he wanted to confess to crimes. He told troopers that he and the 17-year-old began exchanging nude photographs through Snapchat. He also told investigators he shared sexual fantasies with her through the app.
Coulter told investigators the two met in person on two separate occasions. In April, he said, they met at a park in Mercer County, where sexual contact occurred. In May, the teen met Coulter in Lincoln County where he works. After work, the two drove in his gray Chevrolet Equinox to McKinney, where sexual contact occurred again.
Coulter told investigators he kept some of the images exchanged through Snapchat. When investigators arrived at his home to arrest him, he also told them he had sometimes asked the teen for the photographs.
Investigators interviewed the victim on Aug. 17, 2026. Her account matched Coulter's, confirming the exchange of nude photographs through Snapchat and both in-person encounters in Mercer and Lincoln counties.
