Traveling Pastor Exposed — Horror Verdict

A traveling pastor who preached across five states was convicted of raping a 5-year-old child, and his wife was found guilty alongside him in the same case.

Story Snapshot

A Rutherford County, Tennessee jury convicted Benjamin Garlick on seven counts of aggravated rape of a child.
His wife, Shaantal Garlick, was convicted on related counts including solicitation of aggravated child rape and child neglect.
Judge Barry Tidwell announced life without parole for Benjamin Garlick’s rape convictions.
The case involved three victims and offenses dating back to February 2021.
Shaantal Garlick’s sentencing is set for November 10, 2026.

Jury Delivers Guilty Verdict After Years of Legal Proceedings

A Rutherford County jury found Benjamin Garlick guilty on August 17, 2026, 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 counts of violating the Child Protection Act. Judge Barry Tidwell announced Garlick will serve life without parole on the rape convictions.

Garlick worked as a traveling evangelist, preaching at churches across Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas. He and his wife had publicly asked for donations to fund their nationwide ministry work, according to court-record-based reporting. That travel and fundraising history now sits alongside the criminal case that unfolded over the past two years.

Wife Convicted on Related Child-Sex Charges

The same jury convicted Shaantal Garlick on two counts of solicitation of aggravated child rape and two counts of aggravated child neglect. Her sentencing is scheduled for November 10, 2026. A Murfreesboro Police Department document from April 2024 shows she was originally reindicted on facilitation of aggravated rape of a child and aggravated child neglect, a slightly different charge label than the final trial counts.

Benjamin Garlick remains held at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center while he awaits sentencing on his remaining convictions. The investigation began in August 2023 after a 5-year-old victim came forward. Investigators later identified two more victims, with the alleged abuse spanning from February 13, 2021, through August 14, 2023.

Case Reflects a Painful Pattern in Faith Communities

Cases involving religious leaders and child abuse often share common threads: a trusted public role, delayed reporting, and multiple victims discovered only after one comes forward. Research on Catholic clergy abuse found that criminal complaints were filed in just 38.3% of documented allegation cases, showing that full prosecutions like this one are relatively rare compared to the volume of allegations made across faith institutions.

A separate review by the United Kingdom’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse found more than 900 complaints involving over 3,000 instances of abuse tied to the Roman Catholic Church between 1970 and 2015, yet only 177 led to prosecution and 133 to conviction. That gap between allegation and courtroom outcome makes this case notable simply because it reached a full jury verdict.

For families who trusted a traveling ministry built on public appeals for support, the verdict closes one chapter of a case that began with a single child’s disclosure. It also raises a broader question many Americans across the political spectrum already ask: how do institutions, whether religious, governmental, or civic, properly vet the people given access to children and public trust, and why does accountability so often take years to arrive.

🚨 TENNESSEE PASTOR CONVICTED OF MULTIPLE CHILD SEX CRIMES; WIFE ALSO FOUND GUILTY

📍 MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE

🇺🇸 USA

A Tennessee pastor and his wife have been convicted following a two-week trial involving the sexual abuse and neglect of children.

Benjamin Garlick, 35, was… pic.twitter.com/JB4XynfAH4

— Echoes of Humanity (@wrldcrimediges) August 19, 2026

The court has not yet finalized sentencing for either defendant on all counts. Rutherford County Circuit Court records and any post-verdict motions were not available in reporting reviewed for this account.