Former Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault of Teen Volunteer at Arkansas Church
A former teacher has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a teenager she met while volunteering at an Arkansas church, which was once frequented by former President Bill Clinton. Reagan Gray, 23, began assaulting the boy, who was just 15 at the time, in 2020 after they met at the iconic Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, where she volunteered with the student ministry.
According to court documents, the boy alleged that Gray had given him oral sex but claimed they didn’t have intercourse so he could “stay pure.” Gray was initially charged with sexual assault in the first and fourth degree after her arrest last year but ultimately pleaded guilty to sexual assault in the second degree.
As part of her sentence, Gray has been placed on six years’ probation, ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, submit a DNA sample, and will be listed on the sex offender registry. She is also prohibited from having any contact with the victim and has been terminated from her job at Sylvan Hills Middle School.
The victim’s parents discovered a series of explicit text messages, including nude photos, exchanged between their son and Gray in 2020. They reported this to the church’s then-head pastor, Steven Smith. Smith confronted Gray about the texts, to which she assured him that the relationship was not physical.
Despite being removed from the student ministry and attending counseling services as mandated by the church, Gray continued to engage with the church’s youth group. Federal authorities launched an investigation in February 2024 when they discovered that Gray had resumed communication with the teen via Snapchat.
The victim reported that the abuse, which occurred approximately eleven times, took place in Gray’s car or apartment. Pastor Smith resigned from his position last year in light of the controversy surrounding Gray’s actions.
This case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of safeguarding vulnerable individuals in places of worship and educational institutions. It highlights the critical need for ongoing vigilance and accountability to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
