A Rutherford County jury convicted traveling evangelical pastor Benjamin Garlick on seven counts of aggravated rape of a child Monday, delivering a verdict that carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Circuit Court Judge Barry Tidwell handed down that life sentence immediately following the verdict, while the 35-year-old awaits a separate sentencing hearing on his remaining convictions. His estranged wife, 32-year-old Shaantal Garlick, was also convicted by the same jury on multiple counts tied to the abuse of three young girls, all age 8 and under.
The jury, which spent more than two weeks hearing and deciding the case, found Benjamin Garlick guilty 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 counts of violating the child protection act, according to The Tennessean. Shaantal Garlick was convicted of two counts of aggravated child neglect and two counts of solicitation of aggravated rape of a child. Assistant District Attorney General Hugh Ammerman told the outlet that the three testifying victims “showed great courage” throughout the proceedings, and said the jury's decision may help them heal and return their focus to daily life.
Benjamin Garlick reportedly remained calm and respectful as the verdict was read Monday, according to the same report. The charges against him pertained to crimes prosecutors say occurred between February 13, 2021 and August 14, 2023, with at least two offenses dating to 2014 or later, and involved at least three separate incidents of abuse against the three girls. He will serve time at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center while he awaits his next sentencing date.
A Ministry That Reached Far Beyond Middle Tennessee
Before his arrest, Garlick was tied to La Espada, a Murfreesboro-based Independent Fundamental Baptist ministry focused on Spanish-language outreach that had been run by his late father, Dr. Daniel Garlick, until his death in 2020, according to an obituary published by Woodfin Funeral Chapels. Garlick's traveling ministry extended his father's reach nationwide, with the pastor conducting guest sermons across Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas, per reporting from WGNS Radio. In April 2024, the Murfreesboro Police Department's Special Victims Unit publicly urged potential victims, particularly within Spanish-speaking and Hispanic congregations nationwide, to come forward as the investigation expanded.
Detectives with the Murfreesboro Police Department first arrested Garlick and his wife in September 2023 following a sealed grand jury indictment in Rutherford County, WGNS Radio reported at the time. A Rutherford County Grand Jury later reindicted the couple in March 2024, expanding Benjamin Garlick's charges to 16 felony counts and adding four felony counts against Shaantal Garlick, including criminal facilitation and child neglect, according to MinistryWatch. Shaantal Garlick was released on a $75,000 bond after that second arrest, while Benjamin Garlick was held on an $825,000 bond, per the same outlet.
Estranged Wife Sought Protective Order Before Arrests
Court records reveal a fraught relationship between the two co-defendants. Shaantal Garlick filed an order of protection against her husband in Rutherford County Chancery Court in August 2023, one month before their first joint arrest, and later filed for divorce with minor children the following March, according to MinistryWatch and WGNS Radio. Hoodline previously reported on the case's 2024 reindictment and expanded charges, when police were still calling for additional victims to step forward.
Even as she pursued the protective order and divorce, Shaantal Garlick faced her own criminal exposure for child neglect and facilitating the abuse, according to the same reporting. The investigation and trial drew on multiple Rutherford County institutions, including the Rutherford County District Attorney's Office, the Rutherford County Circuit Court, the Rutherford County Child Advocacy Center, the Tennessee Department of Children's Services, and Our Kids Center, per case details reported by The Tennessean.
What Tennessee Law Requires for the Convictions
Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-531, an adult convicted of aggravated rape of a child faces a Class A felony carrying a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a statute covering victims age eight or younger, according to Justia Law. That statutory mandate explains why Judge Tidwell imposed the life sentence on Garlick immediately after Monday's verdict, even though sentencing for his remaining convictions and for Shaantal Garlick's convictions is not scheduled until November 10 at the Rutherford County Judicial Center in downtown Murfreesboro.
Garlick's defense attorneys, Heather Parker and Barbara Penland-Lafevers, represented him during the trial, per The Tennessean's account. The case is being covered locally by the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, with reporting by Scott Broden.
Regional Context on Child Abuse Reporting
Research from Our Kids Center, a Middle Tennessee nonprofit that has evaluated more than 32,000 children suspected of being abused, indicates that 95% of child sexual abuse perpetrators are known to the child and only 7% of cases involve physical injuries. The Rutherford County Child Advocacy Center, which collaborated with police and prosecutors throughout the investigation, operates in a county where regional statistics show roughly 10% of children experience sexual abuse before age 18, according to WGNS Radio. The center provides neutral forensic interviews and advocacy for young victims in Murfreesboro, a role that proved central to building the case against Garlick.
