{"id":270514,"date":"2026-05-14T06:06:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270514\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T06:06:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:06:19","slug":"defense-seeks-magistrate-screening-of-accused-pastors-phone-before-prosecutors-can-access-messages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270514\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense seeks magistrate screening of accused pastor\u2019s phone before prosecutors can access messages"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Jacksonville defense attorney is asking a Duval County judge to block prosecutors from freely accessing his client\u2019s seized cell phone \u2014 arguing it contains protected attorney-client communications, private marital messages and potential clergy communications that investigators have no right to review.<\/p>\n

The motion, filed April 28, comes as former youth pastor and local business owner Joshua Allen Trent, 42, faces two counts of sexual battery involving a victim between the ages of 12 and 18.<\/a><\/p>\n

[RELATED: Victim says threats made by youth pastor accused of grooming her as teen haunt her into adulthood<\/a>]What the motion asks for<\/p>\n

Attorney John Rockwell filed the motion on Trent\u2019s behalf, arguing that a neutral magistrate \u2014 not investigators \u2014 should screen the phone\u2019s contents first and remove any legally protected communications before the state sees anything.<\/p>\n

Rockwell is pointing to three categories of protected material he believes are on the device: confidential exchanges between Trent and his legal counsel, private communications between Trent and his wife, and potential messages with clergy members.<\/p>\n

\u201cUpon information and belief, the cellular telephone seized by members of the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office contains confidential attorney\/client communications between Mr. Trent and the undersigned counsel,\u201d Rockwell wrote in the motion.<\/p>\n

The phone was seized by Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office officers when Trent was arrested April 12, 2026. Rockwell says prosecutors are expected to seek or have already sought a search warrant for a forensic review of the device.<\/p>\n

The motion adds another layer: the phone also allegedly contains messages between Trent and a second attorney \u2014 who is representing Trent in a separate civil injunction involving the same alleged victim.<\/p>\n

Rockwell argues that accessing those communications would be equally off-limits, as they are also protected under attorney-client privilege.<\/p>\n

The legal argument<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s lawyer-client privilege, under Section 90.502 of Florida Statutes, gives a client the right to prevent disclosure of confidential communications made in connection with legal services.<\/p>\n

The husband-wife privilege, under Section 90.504, similarly shields private communications between spouses. While that privilege has exceptions in criminal cases involving crimes against a child, Rockwell argues those exceptions don\u2019t give investigators a blanket right to comb through all marital messages \u2014 only those directly tied to the charges.<\/p>\n

The defense cites the 2003 Florida case State v. Hill, in which a court ruled that even where marital privilege is partially lifted, the state cannot broadly investigate all spousal communications that fall outside the scope of the criminal charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur conclusion in this case does not entitle the State to embark upon questions or an investigation of communications or records which are not related or relevant to the criminal charges in this case,\u201d the court wrote in Hill. \u201cAs to all other marital communications, the privileges continue in effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

The motion also invokes Section 90.505 of Florida Statutes, which protects private communications made to a clergy member for spiritual counsel \u2014 a notable argument given Trent\u2019s background in ministry.<\/p>\n

Rockwell warns the court that once privileged communications are exposed, the damage cannot be undone. He cited the Florida Supreme Court\u2019s 1995 ruling in Allstate Insurance Co. v. Langston, which held that discovery of privileged communications \u201cmay reasonably cause material injury of an irreparable nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

To prevent that outcome, Rockwell is asking the court to require a magistrate to screen the phone before any law enforcement officer or state employee reviews its contents \u2014 a process supported by a 2007 federal case, United States v. Jackson, in which a federal court appointed a magistrate to separate privileged documents from those the government could access.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: First Coast Crime Stoppers tip leads to arrest of Jacksonville youth pastor accused of grooming teen<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Background on the case<\/p>\n

Trent was arrested April 12, 2026, on a warrant. On April 21, 2026, the State Attorney\u2019s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit formally charged him with two counts of sexual battery. He posted bond the same day and was released from Duval County Jail.<\/p>\n

First Coast Crime Stoppers said an anonymous tip submitted through its program help lead to Trent\u2019s arrest. Executive Director Chase Robinson credited the tipster \u2014 and the investigators who acted quickly on the information.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no place in our community for sexual violence,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cThis case represents justice for the victim and a clear message that those who commit these crimes will be held accountable. We will continue to stand with survivors and empower our community to speak up anonymously. Our community will not look the other way.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the arrest report, investigators said the abuse began with hugs and escalated over time to intimate touching and sexual acts at multiple locations, including the parking lot of the ChurchTrac business and Trent\u2019s office. Investigators also noted that Trent was able to gain the victim\u2019s trust in part because he was viewed as a \u201cman of God.<\/p>\n

The News4JAX I-TEAM obtained a court-filed protection injunction from the victim. In it, she describes what she says happened to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was 15 years old the respondent was my pastor and he sexually assaulted me for about five years. He groomed me for several years from 2016-2022 and then sexually assaulted me for several years. What the respondent did to me as a teenager is starting to resurface as an adult,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

According to a LinkedIn page that has since been deleted, Trent worked as a youth pastor at Hillcrest Baptist Church from 2015 to 2016 and served as vice president of ChurchTrac, a software company that serves houses of worship. The arrest report also noted Trent was investigated in 2021 over allegations of child pornography possession but was not charged.<\/p>\n

Hillcrest Baptist Church issued a statement after News4JAX reached out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware of the recent news regarding charges involving a former employee. The situation is deeply concerning and grieves our hearts. First and foremost, our prayers and concern are with those affected. We are committed to supporting those involved with compassion, care, and respect for their privacy. We take matters like this seriously. The individual is no longer associated with our church and has not been since 2018. We are fully cooperating with the authorities as they conduct their investigation, and we remain committed to integrity, safety, and accountability in our ministry,\u201d the church said.<\/p>\n

News4JAX reached out to Trent and his attorney for comment. No responses had been received as of publication.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Jacksonville defense attorney is asking a Duval County judge to block prosecutors from freely accessing his client\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117,71632],"class_list":["post-270514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-pastor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}