BOONE (IA)
The Ames Tribune [Ames, IA]
April 28, 2026
By Celia Brocke
A former Boone pastor who is a registered sex offender has withdrawn his year-long request to be removed from the registry.
Former Grace Community Church Pastor Joel Waltz, 56, of Boone, was arrested in 2017 for sexually exploiting an underage teenager for several years.
Waltz groomed and sexually abused the then minor he’d known since the victim was 11 years old. The two met when Waltz was a youth pastor at Grace Community Church.
Waltz was sentenced to four years in state prison and released on parole in January 2019. He has been a registered sex offender since.
Waltz requested to be taken off the Iowa Sex Offender Registry in April 2025, after rumors began circulating that he was working for a church in Ames.
A trial began on March 24, and at “the conclusion of the evidence, the parties requested additional time to discuss settlement prior to the court issuing a ruling.”
Court documents say the parties settled the case, and Waltz has filed a motion to dismiss his petition.
Sentenced to prison, registered as a sex offender
Waltz pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in 2017 and was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released early on parole on Jan. 15, 2019.
Iowa Code states that sex offenders like Waltz are prohibited from certain zones that have minors present, such as an elementary or secondary school, “without the written permission of the school administrator or school administrator’s designee.”
Ames church denied Joel Waltz was employed
A court motion was filed in August 2025 to postpone Waltz’s hearing to modify his sex offender status, saying that it has “become clear” he was working or volunteering at a church.
Because Waltz was found guilty of grooming and abuse through his involvement with a church, the motion suggested his pattern of behavior “could be very relevant for the court.”
Though the motion did not reveal what church Waltz was allegedly working for, Harvest Vineyard Church in Ames released a statement on Aug. 18 denying involvement.
The church said Waltz has never been employed by Harvest Vineyard and he hasn’t served in any children or youth ministries. The church indicated that Waltz is a member of the congregation, in which the organization set “specific boundaries and expectations by church leadership, board, and his parole officer.”
“Those boundaries and expectations have remained firmly in place and he has faithfully abided by them,” the church’s statement said. “We cooperate fully with law enforcement in any regard they deem necessary.”
According to court documents from March 26, three subpoenas were delivered to the church’s senior pastor.