A Balaton man made his second court appearance Tuesday in an omnibus hearing on charges of criminal sexual conduct.
Ethan Lennen Nelson, 25, is charged with one felony count of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree and three felony counts of criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree for allegedly engaging in sexual contact with minors between 2014-2018 while serving as a youth group leader for Victory Church in Balaton, according to the criminal complaint.
Appearing in person with his attorney Samuel Edmonds on Tuesday, Nelson’s omnibus hearing was to address the motion to dismiss filing from Sept. 10, including a probable cause challenge and a motion for severance.
The state entered four exhibits into court, including a cell phone recording, a document concerning a youth trip attended by Nelson and police reports. Nelson’s attorney received the exhibits.
Nelson’s defense chose to submit written arguments on the filings as opposed to presenting oral arguments on Tuesday.
Judge Michelle Dietrich set end of business day on Oct. 7 for Nelson’s attorney to submit his written arguments. The state will have until the end of business on Oct. 21 for their written arguments, and Edmunds will have until end of business on Oct. 28 for his rebuttal.
If Dietrich denies the motion, a date and time for a plea hearing will be set at that time. If she grants the filings, nothing further will take place.
Nelson’s charges stem from when he served in a leadership role at the church from 2011-2020, the complaint said.
Each fourth-degree charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail, or a $20,000 fine, or both; the third-degree charge, which includes an allegation of sexual penetration with another person, has a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail, or a $30,000 fine, or both.
At the time of the alleged offenses, the complainants were at least 16 but under 18 years of age and were attending youth programs at Victory.
The issue was brought into public light in August 2024 when current Victory Church Pastor Matthew Cherry, representing the church elders, read a letter to church members, stating that the initial response from Victory Church leadership upon learning about the allegations was inadequate. Because of that, the church reported the allegations to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department, according to the letter.
The letter, which was also emailed to the Victory congregation, stated that Nelson was informed he would no longer be permitted to be present on church property, attend church-related events, or contact minors attending the church or anyone involved in the allegations.
