The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office has charged a Goleta pastor with possession of child pornography and additional allegations related to sending sexual images to minors.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s detectives arrested Shaun Donald Hertlein, 42, last week in connection with an investigation into lewd images of children, sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said.
Hertlein worked with children as a pastor at SOUTHCOAST Church at 5814 Cathedral Oaks Road and as an assistant coach for boys football at Dos Pueblos High School.
Prosecutors charged him Tuesday with felony possession or control of child pornography, which was described as more than 600 images including at least 10 images of prepubescent minors or minors under the age of 12.
Special allegations were filed for aggravating factors, saying the victim was particularly vulnerable; the defendant took advantage of a position of trust or confidence to commit the offense; and the manner in which the crime was carried out indicates planning, sophistication or professionalism, according to the criminal complaint.
Hertlein also was charged with three misdemeanor allegations of annoying or molesting a child. In 2023, he allegedly sent a photo of a penis to a 9-year-old girl and a photo and video of a male masturbating to a 10-year-old girl, according to the criminal complaint.
He was arraigned this week and entered a plea of not guilty, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Hertlein was being held in Main Jail custody without bail as of Thursday, according to Sheriff’s Office records.
Hertlein was a walk-on, lower-level assistant football coach at Dos Pueblos High School and will not be coaching or affiliated with the school going forward, Principal Bill Woodard said.
Woodard sent a message to school families Monday and said the district is fully cooperating with the Sheriff’s Office. All school district employees go through a thorough background check, he added.
“At this time, there is no indication that any students from our school were victims of his actions,” Woodard wrote in a follow-up message this week. “However, the investigation is ongoing.
“We encourage anyone who may have been affected to come forward, including anonymously, as emphasized in both our ParentSquare message and the sheriff’s press release. If any victims connected to our school community come to light, we will support them and make the necessary referrals.”
SOUTHCOAST Church posted a statement on its website this week acknowledging Hertlein’s arrest and sent a message to parents.
“In light of the recent news of Shaun Hertlein, we are sure your families are hurting and have questions. When one of us grieves, we all grieve,” pastoral staff wrote in the message, which church staff shared with Noozhawk. “We want you to rest assured that we take the safety of our church family and community very seriously. We thoroughly vet and background check each and every one of our volunteers that directly interacts with children. Like you, we never saw this coming.”
Church staff said they are fully cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation.
“As far as we are currently aware from the Sheriff’s Department, we have no reason to believe any of the children in the images nor the minors he was in contact with currently attend or attended/visited SOUTHCOAST in the past,” the message said.