A travelling Tennessee pastor has been handed life without parole after a jury convicted him of raping a child, while his wife was also convicted for facilitating the abuse. Benjamin Garlick, 35, was found guilty on Monday of seven counts of aggravated rape of a child alongside multiple other charges, bringing an end to a ministry that once spanned the country.
The news came after Murfreesboro police launched an investigation in August 2023 into the sexual abuse of a five-year-old, which officers said had occurred over several years. As detectives dug deeper, they identified two additional victims and determined that Shaantal Garlick, 32, had knowingly neglected a victim in a way that affected the child's health and welfare while assisting in the sexual abuse.
