Gregory Wayne Jones, an Idaho pastor and director of operations at a daycare, preschool, and after-school center in Mountain Home, was arrested on Friday (April 25) by the Elmore County Sheriff’s Department on charges of “human sex trafficking” and “sexual penetration with a foreign object.”
The investigation into Jones began on January 31, 2025, according to a statement by the Sheriff’s Office. It was then that several victims allegedly came forward and provided “critical evidence” in the case.
The pastor was taken into custody and is currently being held at the Elmore County Detention Center in Idaho.
Jones previously worked as the “Director of Operations” for the NXT Dream Center, which describes itself online as a “non-profit 501(c)(3) Community Development Corporation (CDC)” providing the Mountain Home community with a preschool academy, childcare/nursery, before/after school programs, and a summer camp.”
The center is also said to provide support for veterans, seniors, and youth.
Following news of his arrest, multiple parents and community members came forward to express their shock and frustration at not being informed about the investigation sooner.
“I am disgusted. I’m angry,” Kerstyn Tracy, a parent at the daycare center, told Idaho News 8. “And [I’m] very distrusting of not only the sheriff’s department at this point but daycare facilities in general,” she continued.
“They have yet to put out a statement or address any communication, email, text, phone call, in person,” Tracy said.
The mom of two went on to say she knew the pastor, and he worked very closely with the kids at the daycare center.
“They [NXT] were aware that he’s being investigated for sex crimes. And I feel like that is a possibility of a danger to our children. And I am very upset about that,” she added.
In addition to his work with NXT, Jones was identified as a “Pastor/Evangelist” on the Liberty Christian Fellowship Church’s website.
He is also a military veteran and was even recognized as the “Person of the Year” in 2013 at Mountain Home’s 24th Annual Black History Banquet, according to Idaho News 6.
The pastor is being held on a $1 million bond, His hearing is scheduled for May 8 in Elmore County.
