Youth pastor whose parents led church sexually abused 5 girls in congregation, cops say
A former Minnesota youth pastor sexually assaulted multiple girls who were members of his congregation and will serve prison time, court records show.
Jackson Michael Gatlin, 36, of Duluth, was sentenced to a concurrent 13 years in prison after pleading guilty Nov. 6 to criminal sexual conduct charges in five related cases, according to court records.
McClatchy News reached out to Gatlin’s attorney for comment Nov. 29 but did not immediately hear back.
Gatlin was a youth pastor at The Vineyard Church when he sexually assaulted five minors in his youth group between 2007 and 2010, according to a probable cause affidavit.
“This was an exploitation of innocence and faith that will have a lifelong impact for many women in this community,” St. Louis County Assistant Attorney Mike Ryan said in a Nov. 25 news release.
“While no sentence could undo that impact, this story has now been punctuated by the strength and resilience of the women who did not rest until Jackson Gatlin was brought to justice,” Ryan added.
Reports of abuse dating back more than a decade
In October 2022, a former member of Gatlin’s youth group told a senior church leader about the allegations, saying for “approximately 10 years prior, (Gatlin) had been having sex with underage students in the youth group,” records show.
The senior leader brought the concerns to other church leaders who then contacted Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, “an independent investigative organization that contracts with churches to investigate allegations of abuse,” authorities said.
In January 2023, the same former youth group member who approached church leaders filed a report with the Duluth Police Department prompting an investigation, court records show.
Investigation findings
Investigators identified five victims who were between the ages of 12 and 16 when they were sexually assaulted by Gatlin.
One woman, who was 12 years old when she met 22-year-old Gatlin, told police Gatlin pulled her “away from her friends and made her sit with him in the back of the bus” while on a youth group trip, records show.
Gatlin made her “rub his penis with her hand, telling her she could get out of the seat ‘once you do this,’” the victim told police.
Another victim told investigators Gatlin invited her to his house to watch football, ensuring her his parents, both senior church leaders, would be home, records show.
Gatlin took the 16-year-old up to his room, locked the door, took her phone away and sexually assaulted her, according to the affidavit.
She told police she was able to escape and called her mom to pick her up.
When her mother called Gatlin’s mother to tell her what happened, Gatlin’s mother “responded by saying ‘we know your daughter has issues’” and hung up the phone, according to court records.
Other victims’ parents confronted Gatlin’s parents about the suspected sexual assault of their children and were similarly dismissed, records show.
Another former youth pastor at the church told investigators Jackson Gatlin was not subject to the church’s usual vetting process, background check or training and was immediately given a “lead” position in the youth group, pointing to his parents’ “status within the church” as a the reason for his “special privileges,” records show.
Reactions from the church
In a statement posted to its website, The Vineyard Church said the Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment investigation found extensive abuse by both Jackson Gatlin and his parents, Michael and Brenda Gatlin, who are no longer with the church.
“These findings include sexual misconduct, cover-up, abuse of pastoral or spiritual power, and emotional abuse,” church officials said.
“Civil lawsuits have also been filed against Jackson, Michael, Brenda, Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA,” the statement said.
Attorney information for the other defendants was not available.
