Sixth Judicial Circuit Court Judge LaTonya Honorable urged former middle school teacher and Immanuel Baptist Church praise team member Reagan Danielle Gray to “repent” Monday after she pleaded no contest to second-degree sexual assault of a minor member of the Southern Baptist megachurch.
“Ms. Gray, let me say this. Keep in mind that actions that you do impact other people. Take this time to reflect on whatever decisions you made that landed you here and look for a way to repent, if you will, and change whatever course got you here,” Honorable said, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Gray, 27, was initially charged with first-degree sexual assault for engaging in sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy who was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church’s student ministry while she served as a volunteer. She accepted a plea deal that reduced the charge and dismissed a separate fourth-degree sexual assault charge.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.
Prosecutors said Gray’s abuse of the boy began around Sept. 1, 2020, and continued until May 31, 2021. After the abuse started, she sent the minor naked pictures of herself “on a daily basis,” according to Daily Mail. When the boy’s parents discovered the text messages and reported them, the church sent her to counseling, but she resumed her illegal contact with the boy only weeks later.
The boy told investigators that he met Gray in her car and apartment in Monticello until May 2021 but could not remember if he ever responded to her demands for nude images in response to the many she sent him.
“I don’t have explicit memory of doing that, but with how often she requested it, it probably did happen,” he stated.
Court records show that the boy denied having sexual intercourse with Gray but said she performed oral sex on him “in order for [him] to stay pure.”
Judge Honorable sentenced Gray to six years’ probation after concluding that she “knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily” entered the no contest plea. Gray was also charged $1,000 in fines along with court costs, and she was ordered to stay away from the victim.
Immanuel Baptist Church did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Christian Post on Wednesday. But Prosecuting Attorney Will Jones said Gray’s conviction ensures she “will be supervised by Arkansas Community Corrections, undergo a sex offender assessment and register as a sex offender, providing accountability and protection for the community.”
Immanuel Baptist Church, which is one of Arkansas’ largest congregations, is also facing a civil lawsuit filed by the victim alleging negligence, negligent hiring, negligent supervision and negligent retention.
The victim’s parents said in a written statement they wanted to deliver in open court but were not allowed on Monday that the abuse has traumatized him.
“The criminal process has concluded and we’re grateful that our son has one less painful load to carry. We believed we would have the opportunity to give victim impact statements. While that didn’t happen, it’s important to note that Judge Honorable acknowledged the trauma inflicted on our son — something that stands in stark contrast to the silence of so many others,” they said.
“What’s difficult to reconcile is how many adults repeatedly failed him — people with power, responsibility, or influence who looked the other way. Institutions that protected themselves. Systems that made justice harder than it should have been.”
Contact: leonardo.blair@christianpost.com Follow Leonardo Blair on Twitter: @leoblair Follow Leonardo Blair on Facebook: LeoBlairChristianPost
