Reagan Gray, Little Rock, Arkansas teacher at Immanuel Baptist Church sentenced to 6 years probation in plea deal following accusations of sexual assault of a then 15 year old teen boy. Former teacher had also worked as children’s volunteer at Christian church.
What if the genders were reversed? A former Arkansas teacher has avoided having to serve any jail time after admitting to sexually assaulting a student while volunteering at a Little Rock church.
Reagan Danielle Gray pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting a teenager she met while volunteering at an Arkansas church, with the former educator on Monday being sentenced to six years’ probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
A plea of no contest, in this context, is the same as a guilty plea. A no-contest plea allows Gray not to specifically admit or deny allegations.
Little Rock teacher grooming and sexual assault of teen victim
Court documents state that Gray was charged with grooming and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy when she worked as the church’s youth music ministry leader. She was 23 at the time of the abuse. The timeline began in 2020 and continued into 2021.
As part of her punishment, Gray must submit a DNA sample and will be placed on the sex offender registry, according to KARK.
Reagan Gray is also barred from having any contact with the victim, and has since been fired from her job at Sylvan Hills Middle School.
Gray began assaulting the boy in 2020 when the then 23-year old educator groomed the student victim when the boy was just 15. The pair began exchanging illicit photos after meeting at the iconic Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, where Gray volunteered with the student ministry.
During police investigations, the boy alleged that Gray soon after gave him oral sex, while claiming they didn’t have intercourse so he could ‘stay pure,’ according to court documents.
Immanuel Baptist Church cover up
Gray was initially charged with sexual assault in the first and fourth degree after her arrest last year, but pleaded guilty to sexual assault in the second degree.
Notice of the inappropriate relations came after the victim’s parents discovered a trove of racy text messages, including nude photos, exchanged between the victim and Gray in 2020 — which they then reported to the church’s then-head pastor Steven Smith, according to court documents.
Smith confronted Gray about the texts — but she assured him the relationship was not ‘physical.’
Gray, who also worked as a teacher at Little Rock Christian Academy at the time, was removed from the student ministry and forced by the church to attend counseling services, to which she agreed. Shortly afterwards, however, she was back with the church youth group.
Federal authorities launched an investigation in February 2024 when they learned that Gray had continued to exchange messages with the teen via Snapchat, according to court documents.
The abuse, which occurred nearly a dozen times, took place in Gray’s car or apartment, the victim told police.
Pastor Smith resigned from his position last year over the controversy.
Immanuel Baptist is currently involved in an ongoing lawsuit over allegations that the church engaged in the cover-up of sexual abuse. Gray is named as a defendant in the suit according to KATV.
