Retired Hatboro Pastor Charged With Child Pornography, Assault

HATBORO, PA — A retired pastor from Hatboro is in jail, facing hundreds of charges of child pornography and assaulting a child.

Jerry Zweitzig, 70, was arrested in December. A preliminary court hearing in his case was held on Dec. 20.

According to court documents, Zweitzig faces a long list of felony charges, including child pornography, and misdemeanors including unlawful contact with a minor and assaulting an unconscious person.

Zweitzig was pastor at Horsham Bible Church, an independent church on Upland Avenue. He left that post in 2016 and the church building has since been sold.

According to a Dec. 11 criminal complaint, Zweitzig's arrest came after investigators were alerted by a tipster. In 2018, a juvenile girl reported being sexually assaulted multiple times by Zweitzig, according to the report.

Police searched his Hatboro home, where they say they found hundreds of images on his computer depicting children in explicitly sexual poses. There was at least one image of Zweitzig nude with a juvenile girl, the complaint says.

There also was evidence of sexual assault and that a child was assaulted while sleeping, prosecutors say. They believe the crimes happened in Montgomery and Lancaster counties and spanned at least 10 years.

Zweitzig is being held in Montgomery County on a $500,000 bail, according to court records.

Photo courtesy Montgomery County District Attorney's office