Teacher axed as sexual abuse of 15yo she met at church exposed
A US teacher has lost her job after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a teenager she met while volunteering at a church once frequented by former President Bill Clinton.
Reagan Gray began assaulting the boy in 2020 when she was 23 and he was just 15 after they met at the iconic Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, in Arkansas where she volunteered with the student ministry.
During interviews with investigators, the boy alleged that Gray had given him oral sex — but claimed they didn't have intercourse so he could 'stay pure,' the New York Post reported.
Gray was initially charged with sexual assault in the first and fourth degree after her arrest last year, but has since pleaded guilty to sexual assault in the second degree.
She was sentenced to six years' probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 (AU $1552) fine.
Additionally, she must submit a DNA sample and will be placed on the sex offender registry, according to KARK.
Gray is also barred from having any contact with the victim, and has since been axed from her job at Sylvan Hills Middle School.
The victim's parents discovered a trove of inappropriate text messages, including nude photos, between the victim and Gray in 2020 — which they reported to the church's then-head pastor Steven Smith, according to court documents.
Smith confronted Gray about the texts — but she assured him the relationship was not 'physical'.
Gray, who also worked as a teacher at Little Rock Christian Academy at the time, was yanked from the student ministry and forced by the church to attend counselling services, to which she agreed.
Shortly afterwards, however, she was back with the church youth group.
Federal authorities launched an investigation in February 2024 when they learned that Gray had continued to exchange messages with the teen via Snapchat, the court documents charge.
The alleged abuse, which occurred nearly a dozen times, took place in Gray's car or apartment, the victim told police.
Smith resigned from his position last year over the controversy.
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