A Tennessee pastor who spent years traveling the country for his ministry will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a jury convicted him of raping a child, while his wife was found guilty of facilitating the abuse, authorities said.
Benjamin Garlick, 35, was found guilty Monday of 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 violations of Tennessee's Child Protection Act following a two-week trial in Rutherford County.
Circuit Court Judge Barry Tidwell sentenced Garlick to life in prison without the possibility of parole on the aggravated rape convictions, according to the Murfreesboro Police Department. He still faces sentencing on the remaining convictions on Nov. 10.
Garlick's wife, 32-year-old Shaantal Garlick, was convicted of two counts of facilitation of aggravated rape of a child and two counts of aggravated child neglect. She is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 10.
OHIO POLICE CHIEF ARRESTED IN FLORIDA AFTER GRAND JURY HANDS DOWN 70-COUNT CHILD SEX INDICTMENT
The case began in August 2023, when the Murfreesboro Police Department's Special Victims Unit launched an investigation into the sexual abuse of a child who was just 5 years old at the time. Police said the abuse had occurred over several years.
As detectives dug deeper, they identified two additional victims, according to police.
Investigators also determined that Shaantal Garlick knowingly neglected a victim in a way that affected the child's health and welfare and assisted in the sexual abuse, police said.
"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," lead investigator Detective James Wilkinson said following the convictions.
"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," Wilkinson said.
FORMER GEORGIA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL TEACHER LEARNS FATE FOR SEXUALLY ABUSING 15-YEAR-OLD STUDENT
Garlick's life outside the courtroom stood in stark contrast to the crimes for which he was convicted. Murfreesboro police said their investigation showed he had spent several years traveling as a minister, primarily focused on the Hispanic community, and that he and his wife had traveled across the country.
WSMV previously reported that Garlick helped run La Espada, a Murfreesboro-based ministry for Spanish speakers. The station reported that videos and images posted online showed Garlick and his sermons connected with churches in Florida, Indiana, Minnesota and Texas.
FORMER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL TEACHER SENTENCED AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO CHILD SEDUCTION CHARGE
The couple also described deep family ties to the ministry in biographies that appeared on La Espada's former website and remain available through the Internet Archive. The site said La Espada was founded by Garlick's grandfather, Rolando Garlick, and showed Benjamin working with the ministry under the direction of his late father, Daniel Garlick, by at least 2015.
Benjamin Garlick wrote that he began traveling with his father as a child, felt drawn to the ministry at a young age and later became an evangelist. Shaantal Garlick wrote that she met Benjamin at a youth conference when she was 18 and described her calling as serving God full time alongside her husband and working with La Espada to reach the Hispanic community with the Gospel.
Benjamin and Shaantal Garlick were arrested in September 2023. The case continued to grow, and a Rutherford County grand jury reindicted the couple in March 2024, according to Murfreesboro police.
As investigators pursued the case, Special Victims Unit detectives publicly urged potential victims to come forward, particularly people in the Hispanic community, police said.
Shaantal Garlick, who had been free on bond, was taken into custody following Monday's verdict, police said. Both she and her husband are being held at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center.
