Former Bluff Dale youth pastor taken into custody and charged with online solicitation of a minor.
A former Bluff Dale resident has been arrested and charged with online solicitation of a minor under the age of 14.
Ryan Ivy, 42, was a youth pastor at Bluff Dale Baptist Church and employee of Bluff Dale ISD when he allegedly sent inappropriate messages to a 13-year-old middle school student.
According to Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash’s official complaint released to Beneath the Surface News, Ivy engaged in explicit conversations on Instagram with the minor in July 2020.
The conversations are too explicit to share, but include overt sexual overtures and graphic language.
Investigators were able to retrieve the conversation by doing a forensic examination of electronic devices.
The complaint also states that Ivy confessed to the church’s pastor that he had “inappropriate” conversations with the victim, but was still allowed to keep his job as youth pastor.
After a similar admission to Bluff Dale ISD superintendent John Taylor, Ivy resigned his position with the school district.
Following Ivy’s arrest, Taylor released the following statement: “Bluff Dale ISD immediately accepted Ryan Ivy’s resignation when it was offered. The BDISD contacted the appropriate authorities at that time. Bluff Dale ISD has and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and other agencies.
“The safety and wellbeing of our students are always the utmost concern at Bluff Dale. To that end, we have worked to provide the lessons ‘Teen Safety Matters’ and ‘Child Safety Matters’ to our students through the Paluxy River Children’s Advocacy Center.”
Ivy was taken into custody by the Erath County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday and is being held at the Erath County Jail on a $35,000 bond.
