A former youth minister who previously worked with children in Jasper has been sentenced to federal prison after investigators uncovered child exploitation material during an investigation connected to a Kentucky school official.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced that 24-year-old Aaron Paul Lockman was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to nine counts of possessing sexually explicit material involving minors.
Lockman will also serve five years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence and was ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution.
Federal authorities say the case stems from a broader investigation that began on March 11, 2024, when FBI agents arrested Matthew D. Constant, who at the time served as superintendent of Owensboro Public Schools in Daviess County, Kentucky. Investigators allege Constant had attempted to solicit sexual acts from minors online.
While reviewing electronic communications connected to that investigation, agents discovered WhatsApp messages between Constant and Lockman. Court documents indicate the two discussed their sexual interest in children and exchanged illegal images involving the sexual abuse of minors.
Investigators later determined Lockman was working as a youth minister at a church in Jasper, Indiana, where he was responsible for supervising boys in youth programs. Authorities say he frequently took children on one-on-one outings, including trips to local restaurants, while serving in that role.
Federal agents eventually searched Lockman’s church-issued computer and cell phone. According to prosecutors, the devices contained multiple videos depicting minors under the age of 12 engaged in sexually abusive conduct.
When the investigation first became public in March of 2024, the church where Lockman worked, Redemption Christian Church in Jasper, terminated his employment and barred him from church property after learning of the federal probe.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Evansville Police Department and prosecuted in federal court in southern Indiana as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative, which focuses on identifying offenders and combating the online exploitation of children.
Constant, whose arrest helped launch the investigation that led to Lockman, was previously sentenced in federal court to 30 years in prison for multiple child exploitation offenses.
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