Baptist Youth Minister Trevor Jacob Fortner Charged With Attempted Enticement of a Minor

A Lubbock man employed as a youth minister at a Levelland church is in federal custody for attempted enticement of a minor.

Trevor Jacob Fortner is a youth minister at the Fifth Street Baptist Church in Levelland, and also works at First Baptist Church in Lubbock, in its publications and graphics department.

According to a press release provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, an undercover detective with the Lubbock Police Department posed as a 15-year-old female online and reportedly encountered the 25-year-old Fortner on the internet.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says that the detective, posing as the teenager named “Katy,” provided Fortner with a phone number and a new email address, and Fortner reportedly sent text messages to the number, including a picture of his face and a sexually explicit image. Authorities claim that Fortner also asked “Katy” to send him a “dirty pic” as well.

Fortner was arrested by the FBI and Lubbock Police on May 8^th, 2013.

The maximum statutory penalty for the offense  of attempted enticement of a minor is life in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release.

Fortner will remain in custody until a detention hearing set for Wednesday, May 15^th.