A 15-year-old child was sexually assaulted by a Paedo school instructor, who also emailed him nude photos every day. Reagan Gray, 27, has entered a guilty plea to the charge of sexually assaulting the teenager, whom she first encountered while volunteering at Bill Clinton’s former church, Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas.
When Gray, a Monticello native, was 23 years old and a teacher at Sylvan Hills Middle School in 2020, the abuse started, and it lasted until the summer of 2021. Because she wanted him to “stay pure,” the teenager told police that Gray had repeatedly engaged in oral sex with him but nothing more serious.
The teen’s parents first became concerned five years ago after finding communications between the two, the court affidavit states. Steven Smith, the head pastor of the church, was informed. He spoke with Gray, but she assured him that there had not been a physical relationship.
The court heard that after being suspended and given counseling, Gray returned a few weeks later to continue assaulting the youngster and move their communications to Snapchat. The court was informed that Gray acknowledged her contact with the youngster was “sexual in nature” and had persisted following her return at a September 2023 counseling session with Smith.
After the police were notified, the child informed investigators that in the fall of 2020, Gray had five to ten instances of oral sex with him in her apartment or car. “In order for [him] to stay pure,” he stated, Gray had not wanted them to have sex. In April of last year, Gray was taken into custody and charged.
She was dismissed by the Pulaski County Special School District shortly after the charges were filed. Smith resigned as Immanuel’s pastor prior to the charges, drawing criticism for not telling his congregation about the alleged child abuse.
A letter he issued on September 7, 2023, alerting his congregation to “physical contact” between Gray and a juvenile while downplaying its gravity was the source of the controversy. The “reported level of physical contact did not rise to the level of criminal assault or abuse,” he said, according to police.
Days later, Courtney Reissig, one of the church’s directors, resigned in anger over this, claiming that there was “lack of transparency, accountability, and handling” of an “abuse situation.” Being in “a position of trust or authority” led to Gray’s first charges of first-degree sexual assault; however, she eventually entered a guilty plea to one count of second-degree sexual assault following a deal with the prosecution.
Arkansas baptist church worship leader, children’s ministry volunteer & christian school teacher, Reagan Gray, has been arrested for grooming & raping a 15 year old church member. pic.twitter.com/8nPDEzcnWO
— 𝐁𝐞𝐤𝐬 (@antifaoperative) April 18, 2024
On Monday, she was given a six-year probationary period, a $1,000 fine, and an order to provide a DNA sample. In addition, Gray was put on the sex offender registry and prohibited from contacting the victim in any way.
The boy’s parents expressed their dissatisfaction with the church’s actions following the sentencing. They said: “Some of those people were in the courtroom today. Given the opportunity to stand in court with the victim, those charged with teaching, leading and protecting our son once again chose to sit idly by.”
Reagan Danielle Gray, 26, former Immanuel Baptist Church music minister, children’s ministry volunteer & Little Rock Christian Academy teacher, has been charged with first degree sexual assault.https://t.co/1Ydu6kTB9l pic.twitter.com/jCr0aAxM7e
— 𝐁𝐞𝐤𝐬 (@antifaoperative) April 18, 2024
They added: “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.” But they also said they were “grateful that our son has one less painful load to carry”.
The church is the target of two lawsuits alleging that it covered up allegations of sexual abuse. Following sentencing, Immanuel and Sylvan Hills Middle School were contacted by the US Sun for comment.
Officials have no reaction “because Ms. Gray is no longer employed by our district,” according to a spokesman for the Pulaski County Special School District. Many years have passed since Bill Clinton’s previous visit to the Southern Baptist church. “I believe it would be virtually impossible (that) I would be going to Washington next week as President,” he said in January 1993, bidding it farewell.
