Victims Sue Parents Of Convicted MN Youth Pastor

January 5, 2025 Crime, Religion

Duluth’s Fox affiliate reports:

While the criminal cases against former Duluth Vineyard youth pastor Jackson Gatlin were prevented by a plea deal, new lawsuits aim to discover how sexual abuse within the church went overlooked for so long.

On Nov. 6, Jackson Gatlin pled guilty to five counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a child. Gatlin received a 13-year sentence for the abuse he committed against young girls within the Duluth Vineyard, the church where he served as a youth pastor. While Gatlin’s plea deal prevents a lengthy criminal trial, nine civil lawsuits present a new round of legal challenges.

Tuesday’s scheduling conference marked a small but productive, step forward for the civil lawsuits filed against the Vineyard Church, parent organization Vineyard USA, former youth pastor Jackson Gatlin, and his parents Michael and Brenda Gatlin.

From my September 2023 report:

Gatlin is the son of former pastors Michael and Brenda Gatlin. The couple resigned earlier this year amid concerns that they failed to act. According to a timeline of the church’s response to the allegations, church leaders fired Jackson Gatlin in February for refusing to meet with private investigators whom the church had hired.

In another alleged incident, prosecutors said that in late 2007, Gatlin invited a 16-year-old girl to his parents’ house to watch football. He allegedly pinned the teen to a futon and forcibly penetrated her vagina with his fingers.

After her mother found the teen barefoot in the street crying, the woman called Brenda Gatlin, who allegedly said “we know your daughter has issues,” and hung up the phone.

More of this, please.



Tags

© joemygod.com 2025