Arkansas teacher, 26, is charged with sexually assaulting 15-year-old she groomed at church and then ‘demanded they exchange nude photos every day’
- Reagan Gray, 26, was a volunteer at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock when she began a nine-month sexual relationship with the boy, prosecutors allege
- Church authorities challenged her about the relationship in 2020, but it was late last year before police were informed
- The church is one of the largest in Arkansas and has former President Bill Clinton among its former worshipers
A teacher and children’s volunteer at one of Arkansas’ largest churches accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy told police she wouldn’t go beyond oral sex so he could “stay pure.”
Reagan Gray, 26, sent nude photos to the boy “on a daily basis” after he began the abuse in the fall of 2020 at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, once attended by former President Bill Clinton.
The church sent her for counseling after the boy’s parents discovered text messages on their son’s phone referencing the affair, but welcomed her back within weeks and resumed her abuse.
The pair had sex in her car and at her Monticello apartment until May 2021, but the boy told investigators he could not remember whether he responded to her demands for nude photos in response to her flood of nude photos.
“I don’t have any explicit memory of doing that, but given how many times she asked, it probably happened,” he admitted.
Teacher and church volunteer Reagan Gray, 26, reportedly had a nine-month relationship with a 15-year-old student ministry member from 2020
Officials at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock warned her about the relationship, but she allegedly resumed it after returning from counseling and demanding he send her nude photos.
The boy told detectives that the couple did not go beyond oral sex so he could ‘stay pure’
Gray, who taught at Little Rock Christian Academy, met her alleged victim at the church where he was also a member of the student ministry.
The student told investigators that Gray discovered his phone number through the church’s music program group chat.
The boy’s parents confronted Gray and informed lead pastor Steven Smith after discovering a series of text messages.
Smith said he confronted Gray and suspended her from student work, despite her insistence that her relationship with the boy was not sexual.
Police were not notified and the church assigned Gray an “accountability partner” in the form of Smith’s wife Ashley.
But a police affidavit claims Gray resumed her abuse after returning from counseling, switching her communications with the boy to Snapchat.
It was only during a counseling session with Smith in September last year that Gray admitted the relationship was “sexual in nature” and had continued after her suspension.
Police were called and the boy told FBI investigators that the couple had sex between five and 10 times in the fall of 2020.
He said Gray performed oral sex on him, but the couple did not have intercourse “to allow him to remain pure,” the affidavit states.
By then, she had been hired as a teacher at Sylvan Hills Middle School in Sherwood, but she was suspended in February by the Pulaski County Special School District after it learned of the investigation.
Gray was charged with a single felony count of sexual assault of a teenager between September 2020 and May 2021 and was released on $20,000 bail after turning herself in to Little Rock police on Wednesday.
Her attorney John Ogles said she denied the accusation and said he expected her to clear her name.
Gray has been released on $20,000 bail and has denied one misdemeanor count of sexual assault
The church in Little Rock is one of the largest in Arkansas and counts former President Bill Clinton among its congregation
She is scheduled to appear in Little Rock District Court on June 17
“We trust the legal system,” he emphasized.
Smith resigned earlier this month and interim pastor Mark Carter said the case had caused unrest among worshipers at the 128-year-old church, which routinely draws nearly 1,000 people to its services.
He said Gray’s arrest had been reported to the church’s new “Caring Well Team” to “assess the situation and determine what action steps will be taken.”
“We are saddened by this situation, our heartfelt pain for the young man affected, and our prayers for all involved,” he wrote.