A Rutherford County jury convicted Benjamin Garlick and his wife Shaantal Garlick of child sex crimes after a two-week trial, and a judge handed the 35-year-old traveling pastor a life sentence without parole.

Garlick, who ran a Hispanic-focused ministry that operated across multiple states, was found guilty on seven counts of aggravated rape of a child, six counts of aggravated sexual battery, one count of solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor, and two counts of violating the Child Protection Act. Circuit Court Judge Barry Tidwell sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole on the aggravated rape charges alone. Additional sentencing on the remaining counts is scheduled for November 10.

His wife, Shaantal Garlick, 32, was convicted of two counts of facilitating aggravated rape of a child and two counts of aggravated child neglect. Police determined she knowingly neglected the child, harming the child's health and well-being, while assisting in the commission of the sexual abuse. She had been free on bond before the verdict. The jury's decision sent her straight to the county jail, where she will remain until her own sentencing hearing on November 10.

Abuse of a 5-year-old spanned years before police intervened

The Murfreesboro Police Department launched its investigation on August 15, 2023, after receiving allegations that Benjamin Garlick had sexually abused a child who was just five years old. The abuse had not been a single incident. It stretched over several years, meaning the victim endured ongoing harm during some of the most vulnerable years of childhood.

As detectives dug deeper, the case grew worse. The investigation uncovered two additional victims, bringing the total to three children abused by a man who held himself out as a man of God.

The contrast between Garlick's public persona and his criminal conduct is stark. Fox News reported that the couple had operated a traveling ministry focused on Hispanic communities, spreading the Gospel across state lines. Behind that ministry's doors, according to the jury's findings, children were being victimized.

That a pastor would use his position of trust to prey on children is a betrayal that defies easy words. That his wife would facilitate the abuse, not report it, not protect the child, but actively assist, compounds the depravity. The jury saw through whatever defense the couple offered and returned guilty verdicts on every count.

Cases like this are not isolated. An Ohio pastor and school bus driver was recently charged with child sex crimes and fired by his church, adding to a troubling pattern of clergy members exploiting the access their roles provide.

Lead detective credits investigators who gave victims a voice

Detective James Wilkinson, the lead investigator on the case, issued a statement after the convictions praising the multi-agency team that built the case over nearly three years. He credited the Child Protective Investigative Team, known as CPIT, a specialized unit focused on crimes against children.

Wilkinson told the New York Post:

"The Murfreesboro Police Department thanks all members of the Child Protective Investigative Team (CPIT) for their tireless work throughout this investigation and trial, ensuring the victims' voices were heard and justice was served."

He added a pointed reminder about why the work matters.

"The children of Rutherford County are safer because of the compassion, dedication and commitment each member of the CPIT Team brings to their roles every day."

Those are not hollow words. A two-week trial, built on an investigation that began in August 2023, required sustained effort, forensic interviews with traumatized children, careful evidence collection, and the kind of painstaking casework that doesn't make headlines until the verdict drops. The detectives and child-protection specialists who carried that burden deserve every word of Wilkinson's praise.

Benjamin Garlick sits in county lockup; more sentencing awaits

Garlick is currently held at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center. His life sentence covers only the seven aggravated rape convictions. Judge Tidwell will determine additional sentences on the six aggravated sexual battery counts, the solicitation charge, and the two Child Protection Act violations at the November 10 hearing. Those sentences could run consecutively, stacking more prison time on top of a sentence that already guarantees he will never walk free.

Shaantal Garlick faces her own reckoning at the same hearing. Tennessee law treats facilitation of aggravated rape of a child and aggravated child neglect as serious felonies. She went from living on bond, free to move about the community, to sitting in a jail cell the moment the jury spoke.

The case also raises questions that the available court record does not yet answer. Which church or organization, if any, provided the Garlicks a platform? Did anyone in their ministry network see warning signs and fail to act? Were background checks ever conducted? Those questions matter, because traveling ministries operate with minimal institutional oversight. A pastor who moves from congregation to congregation, state to state, can evade the kind of scrutiny that a permanent church placement might provide.

The broader pattern of clergy abuse cases across denominations and states demands that churches take safeguarding seriously. A Florida pastor was recently arrested for sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy while allegedly concealing an HIV-positive diagnosis, another case where a position of spiritual authority became a weapon against a child.

These are not problems confined to one denomination or one region. An 86-year-old retired pastor was named as a suspect after two of his wives' deaths were reclassified as homicides decades later. The common thread is not theology, it is unchecked access, misplaced trust, and institutions that move too slowly to protect the vulnerable.

Three children paid the price for misplaced trust

At the center of this case are three children. The youngest was five years old when the abuse began. They did not choose Benjamin Garlick as their pastor. They did not choose Shaantal Garlick as someone who would look the other way, or worse, assist. Adults in positions of authority failed them, and only the persistence of law enforcement gave those children a chance at justice.

The jury delivered that justice. Judge Tidwell enforced it. Life without parole means Benjamin Garlick will spend the rest of his days behind bars in a Tennessee prison, not behind a pulpit.

Communities of faith have every reason to be outraged by cases like this, not defensive, not dismissive, but outraged on behalf of the children. The overwhelming majority of pastors and church leaders serve honorably. But honorable service demands vigilance, accountability, and zero tolerance for anyone who exploits a child's trust. When churches fail to screen, fail to supervise, and fail to report, they become accomplices to the very evil they claim to oppose.

A life sentence without parole is the right outcome. The system worked, this time. The harder question is how many years those children suffered before anyone asked the right questions.