A Tennessee pastor has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of raping a child. His wife was found guilty of facilitating the abuse and child neglect.
Benjamin Garlick, 35, was convicted 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. The convictions followed a two-week trial in Rutherford County.
Circuit Court Judge Barry Tidwell imposed the life sentence for the aggravated rape convictions. Garlick faces sentencing for the remaining charges on November 10. 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. She is also scheduled for sentencing on November 10.
The investigation began in August 2023 when the Murfreesboro Police Department's Special Victims Unit initiated a probe into the sexual abuse of a 5-year-old child. Police stated that the abuse had occurred over several years. Detectives subsequently identified two additional victims.
Investigators also 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. Detective James Wilkinson of the Murfreesboro Police Department acknowledged the Child Protective Investigative Team for their work in the investigation and trial.
Prior to the convictions, Benjamin Garlick had traveled across the country as a minister, primarily focusing on the Hispanic community. He and his wife were involved in La Espada, a Murfreesboro-based ministry for Spanish speakers. Online records indicate Garlick's sermons were connected with churches in Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, and Texas. The ministry was founded by his grandfather, and Benjamin Garlick had been involved with the organization since at least 2015, working under his late father. Shaantal Garlick described her role as serving God full-time alongside her husband and working with La Espada to spread the Gospel to the Hispanic community.
The couple was arrested in September 2023. A Rutherford County grand jury reindicted them in March 2024. Special Victims Unit detectives had publicly urged potential victims, particularly within the Hispanic community, to come forward.
Shaantal Garlick was taken into custody following the verdict. Both she and her husband are being held at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center.