A Tennessee pastor has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of raping a 5-year-old girl. Benjamin Garlick, 35, was found guilty by a jury on Monday 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 violations of Tennessee’s Child Protection Act. His wife, Shaantal Garlick, 32, was convicted of two counts of facilitation of aggravated rape of a child and two counts of aggravated child neglect.
Circuit Court Judge Barry Tidwell delivered the life sentence for the aggravated rape convictions. Garlick still faces sentencing on the remaining charges on November 10. Shaantal Garlick is also scheduled for sentencing on the same date.
The investigation by the Murfreesboro Police Department’s Special Victims Unit began in August 2023, focusing on the sexual abuse of a child who was 5 years old at the time. Detectives later identified two additional victims and determined that Shaantal Garlick knowingly neglected a victim in a manner that affected the child’s health and welfare and assisted in the sexual abuse.
Benjamin Garlick had spent years traveling the country as a minister, primarily serving the Hispanic community. He and his wife were involved with La Espada, a Murfreesboro-based ministry for Spanish speakers. Videos and images connected Garlick and his sermons to churches in Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, and Texas. The couple’s biographies on La Espada’s former website described deep family ties to the ministry, stating that Benjamin worked with the organization under the direction of his late father, Daniel Garlick, by at least 2015. Shaantal Garlick wrote that she met Benjamin at a youth conference and described her calling as serving God full-time alongside her husband.
The couple was arrested in September 2023. A Rutherford County grand jury reindicted them in March 2024. Shaantal Garlick was taken into custody following the verdict on Monday and remains held with her husband at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center.