Joseph Todd NeillA 38-year-old former Shelbyville, Tenn., youth pastor has pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing child pornography and has been taken into custody.
Joseph Todd Neill was charged with possessing "violent" and "sadistic" images on his cellphone. The images were discovered while Shelbyville police were investigating a statutory rape case involving Neill and a 17-year-old female congregant at North Fork Baptist Church.
Neill had been charged and entered a plea agreement in February. He pleaded Friday in U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee's courtroom and was immediately taken into custody.
He faces no minimum sentence but a maximum of 20 years at his June 9 hearing.