Trending
MARSHALL -- A Balaton man pleaded guilty in Lyon County District Court Tuesday to charges of criminal sexual conduct.
Ethan Lennen Nelson, 36, said in a hearing that he was taking "full responsibility" for having sexual contact with minor victims while he was a youth group leader at a Balaton church.
Under a plea agreement, Nelson will serve 120 days in jail and complete seven years of probation with conditions, including that he not have contact with the victims in his case and that he not have unsupervised contact with minors outside his own family.
Nelson pleaded guilty to one count of third degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct. A 2025 criminal complaint said Nelson had sexual contact with four girls under the age of 18, during a period of time from around 2014 to 2018 when Nelson was serving in a youth group leadership role at Victory Church in Balaton.
Attorneys at the hearing said they reached a plea agreement for Nelson which would help prevent further impact to victims by not having to go through a trial. Nelson admitted to each charge during Tuesday's hearing.
Several people read community impact statements during the hearing, including victims in the case, and the current pastor of Victory Church in Balaton. In their statements, victims described feeling isolated by Nelson and said his actions have had an impact on them emotionally and on their families and community.
In his statement, Victory Church pastor Matt Cherry said the news of Nelson's actions fractured trust and led to divisions within the church.
"Words cannot express the depth of grief behind this statement," Cherry read.
Nelson also gave a short statement at the hearing.
"I am deeply sorry for what I did," he said. Nelson said he took "full responsibility, without reservation" for his actions.
Attorneys said that under the plea agreement they reached for Nelson, he would serve 120 days in jail and complete up to seven years of probation. Under the plea agreement, Nelson would also have no contact with victims in the case, and write letters of apology to each of them. Nelson would not have coaching or school leadership responsibilities and with the exception of his own family, he would not have contact with minors outside the presence of another adult.
Lyon County District Court Judge Michelle Dietrich accepted the plea agreement, and also briefly spoke to Nelson.
"I hope you understand your conduct has had a long-term effect," Dietrich told Nelson. "It's affected an entire community."