Former youth pastor accused of sex offenses
Published 4:42 pm Thursday, May 28, 2026
A former youth pastor has been arrested for suspicion of two felony sexual offenses, and Renton police are asking for any other victims to come forward.
On May 27, Renton police arrested Derek Nelson, a former youth pastor at Highlands Community Church, on suspicion of second-degree child molestation and first-degree voyeurism.
The molestation charge is from an incident that occurred in April 2015 with a 13-year-old child, while the voyeurism charge stems from a separate incident in February 2019 with a 17-year-old child, according to the police department.
According to the victims, both incidents took place during church events in Thurston County. Nelson was booked into Thurston County Jail on May 27.
Detectives believe there may have been additional victims and are asking if anyone has information related to this case to contact Detective Scott Barfield at sbarfield@rentonwa.gov.
