DULUTH – Dressed in a dark suit and with his hands cuffed behind his back, Jackson Gatlin was led from the courtroom by authorities Wednesday morning after pleading guilty to criminal sexual intercourse in a case that has seen multiple women come forward with similar accusations. She was sexually assaulted as a girl while she was a youth leader at Vineyard Church.

As part of an agreement, Gatlin pleaded guilty to one count and four others In Alford’s plea, he maintained his innocence but acknowledged during the trial that there was enough evidence to convict him. St. The courtroom on the third floor of the St. Louis County courthouse was packed for the hearing, with several of the victims seated in a row. Gatlin, 36, will be sentenced in separate hearings on Nov. 25-26, with all impact statements from the first hearing.

He will likely serve 13 years in prison and will have to register as a sex offender.

In addition to Gatlin’s father, Michael Gatlin, a senior pastor at the church, civil charges are expected to be filed soon against his mother, Brenda, who is in a position of power at The Vineyard Church and Vineyard USA in Duluth. To Spencer Kuvin, the Florida-based attorney who represents victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Bill Cosby. There will be 10 complaints against each organization; nine from victims and one from a mother whose daughter died by suicide.

“Church should be a place where people feel safe; a sanctuary to find God, practice your faith, and find support in your community,” Kuvin said at a news conference after the hearing, sitting with victims in a downtown conference room. law firm. “Unfortunately, the church has become a living hell for these young girls.”

Neither of Gatlin’s parents were in the courtroom Wednesday.

As part of the Alford plea, prosecutors reviewed each victim’s allegations and testimony that might have emerged during the trial. It showed an example of Gatlin, then in his early 20s, building rapport with girls ages 11 to 16 that went beyond church.

Their messages ranged from friendly to flirty and sexual. He brought them to his bedroom at his parents’ house, took them in his car, or had them sit next to him on bus rides. He touched them or made them touch them. He tied their wrists or otherwise restrained them. He raped them and in at least one case laughed when they told him to stop.