The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Reagan Gray, a volunteer and worship team member at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkanas, and a public school teacher, recenty pleaded no contest to second-degree sexual assault. Gray was asoundingly sentenced to probation for her crimes. Worse, the judge refused to let the victim and his family provide impact statements to the court.

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports:

Reagan Danielle Gray, a former middle school teacher and Immanuel Baptist Church praise team member, pleaded no contest Monday to second-degree sexual assault involving one of the congregation’s minors.

Originally charged with first-degree sexual assault, she accepted a plea agreement reducing the count and dismissing a separate count of fourth-degree sexual assault.

If the case had proceeded to trial, deputy prosecuting attorney Claire Maddox said the evidence would have shown that Gray had engaged in sexual contact with a minor while she was serving as a volunteer in the student ministry at Immanuel Baptist Church and that she had done so while holding “a position of trust or authority” over the minor.

After briefly questioning her, Sixth Judicial Circuit Court Judge LaTonya Honorable found her guilty, determining that Gray had “knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily” entered the no-contest plea.

She sentenced Gray to six years probation, assessed her $1,000 in fines plus court costs and ordered her to stay away from the victim.

Gray, 27, was also required to submit a DNA sample and to register as a sex offender. She’ll have to undergo random drug screens and drug treatment as deemed necessary by probations, the judge said.

Gray had been accused of sexually assaulting a high-school aged music ministry volunteer, beginning when he was 15 years old.

Prosecutors said the criminal conduct occurred from roughly Sept. 1, 2020, through May 31, 2021.

“Ms. Gray, let me say this. Keep in mind that actions that you do impact other people. Take this time to reflect on whatever decisions you made that landed you here and look for a way to repent, if you will, and change whatever course got you here,” Honorable said.

In a written statement afterwards, Prosecuting Attorney Will Jones said the conviction “ensures the defendant will be supervised by Arkansas Community Corrections, undergo a sex offender assessment and register as a sex offender, providing accountability and protection for the community.”

Gray’s attorney, John Ogles, declined to comment.

Immanuel, which was founded in 1892, has long been one of the state’s largest congregations and is affiliated with the 12.7-million-member Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

Monday, there were several longtime Immanuel members or leaders present at the courthouse, some showing support for Gray, others appearing to simply observe the proceedings.

Former Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Beth Coulson, whose husband was a longtime Immanuel trustee, sat one row in front of Gray. At one point, she went into the hall and conferred with Gray’s defense attorney for roughly five minutes.

Coulson declined to comment.

In a written statement Monday afternoon, the victim’s parents addressed the abuse’s toll. Honorable had denied them the opportunity to do so in open court.

“The criminal process has concluded and we’re grateful that our son has one less painful load to carry. We believed we would have the opportunity to give victim impact statements. While that didn’t happen, it’s important to note that Judge Honorable acknowledged the trauma inflicted on our son — something that stands in stark contrast to the silence of so many others,” they said.

“What’s difficult to reconcile is how many adults repeatedly failed him — people with power, responsibility, or influence who looked the other way. Institutions that protected themselves. Systems that made justice harder than it should have been,” they said.

In a Sept. 7, 2023, letter, Immanuel’s lead pastor at the time, Steven Smith, had informed his congregation about “physical contact” between Gray and a minor, but had downplayed the seriousness of the incident, saying he’d been told “by the police” that the “reported level of physical contact did not rise to the level of criminal assault or abuse.”

Days later, the church’s discipleship content director, Courtney Reissig, submitted her resignation, voicing concerns about the “lack of transparency, accountability, and handling” of an “abuse situation.”

In an interview in December 2023, Reissig said Smith had initially been reluctant to alert the congregation, had minimized the seriousness of the accusations and had withheld key details when he finally informed people.

The victim’s parents, who had been longtime Immanuel Baptist members, expressed disappointment Monday at the lack of support that had been extended once the abuse came to light.

“Some of those people were in the courtroom today. Given the opportunity to stand in court with the victim, those charged with teaching, leading and protecting our son once again chose to sit idly by,” they said.

“Their continued silence speaks volumes. Their actions — or lack of them — continue to make a hard road even harder.

….

“And the burden of that failure is a weight our son will carry for the rest of his life,” they said.

“Our son, at great personal cost, chose a difficult and uncomfortable path by bravely speaking up when others wouldn’t. We hope his courage has made it harder for the defendant to ever harm another child,” they said.

Even as the church was portraying Gray’s conduct as non-criminal, federal and local law enforcement officials were interviewing Immanuel staffers and others about the case.

….

Honorable questioned whether they were entitled to make any statements.

Prosecutors maintained that they had that right, citing Arkansas law.

Under AR Code § 16-90-1112 (a) (1) “(b)efore imposing sentence, the court shall permit the victim to present a victim-impact statement concerning the effects of the crime on the victim, the circumstances surrounding the crime, the manner in which the crime was perpetrated.”

The statement can be in writing or under oath at the sentencing proceedings. The law also requires the sentencing court to “consider the victim-impact statement along with other factors.”

“I understand the language that’s in the statute,” Honorable told prosecutors after they directed her to it. “But anytime I am determining what evidence comes in, I have to give deference to what’s relevant, and I still don’t understand what the relevance of their testimony is in a negotiated plea.”

Honorable said she would not proceed as planned unless they agreed to do so “without victim impact statements,” and cut off the deputy prosecuting attorney when she attempted to point the judge, again, to the relevant statute.

“Ms. Maddox, I’m not going to repeat my interpretation of the statute, and I’m not going to repeat the options,” Honorable said.

In December, the victim filed a lawsuit against the Little Rock congregation, accusing it of negligence, negligent hiring, negligent supervision and negligent retention. The suit also names the congregation’s insurance company and other unnamed defendants.

It also lists Smith as a defendant, saying he had “reasonable cause to suspect” child maltreatment had occurred but waited to report it to authorities despite being a mandatory reporter.

Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.

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