A former intern at one of America’s largest megachurches was sentenced Jan. 16 to more than 14 years in prison for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. District Judge Terence Kern sentenced Austin Ryder Sewell, 25, to 174 months in prison and a lifetime of supervision once released.
The sentence also requires Sewell to register as a sex offender and pay $15,500 in restitution to victims.
Sewell worked as an operations intern at Life.Church’s Midtown Tulsa campus starting Jan. 6, 2025. Life.Church is pastored by Craig Groeschel and has more than 40 campuses in 12 states.
Life.Church previously told The Roys Report (TRR) that it learned of the charges against Sewell after his internship ended. The church did not respond to follow-up questions as to whether the church had informed its congregation about the matter nor when it ended Sewell’s internship.
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Authorities began investigating Sewell last year after Kik, a social media app, sent more than 10 cyber tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Kik identified several videos showing sexual abuse of children that a user –– later identified as Sewell –– had shared through multiple accounts.
Investigators discovered Sewell had been asking other users to join chat groups to exchange child sexual abuse material. They also found several chats in the app where Sewell discussed his sexual interest in children.
Within the chats, investigators discovered 98 videos and 24 images showing children, toddlers and newborn babies being sexually abused. NCMEC identified at least five of the victims by name.
Federal agents arrested Sewell July 24, 2025 after searching his home, which he shared with his parents in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. During the search, they seized several electronic devices and discovered multiple AR-15-style rifles in Sewell’s basement bedroom.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, Sewell told investigators that “he never did it for any sexual gratification but did it because he was bored due to not having anyone to talk to.”
Sewell’s attorney, Tracy Tiernan, did not respond to a request for comment as of time of publication.
The Tulsa County sheriff’s office and Homeland Security Investigations partnered to investigate the case.
Ann Marie Shambaugh has reported as a print journalist in multiple states, including currently in Carmel, Indiana.
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2 Responses
Why the recurrent tie-in to the former employer? Headline title, photos of the church, etc. Not a big fan of mega-church myself, but this over correlation seems unfair. The church apparently knew nothing about the situation, and he was no longer interning.
😢
While most of America (including Christians) were plastered to frivolous entertainment, this horrific violation of children and babies has been growing for decades.