DULUTH – A former youth pastor pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually assaulting numerous girls under his supervision and agreed to serve a 13-year prison sentence.

But for Jackson Michael Gatlin’s victims, accepting criminal responsibility is just a “first step.” His plea hearing was immediately followed by the announcement of 10 civil lawsuits seeking accountability from the local and national Vineyard Church and various officials.

“The church allowed Jackson to use his position of power and authority to harm children, to harm me,” said victim Hannah Howg. “The hypocrisy, the grooming and the gaslighting were really some of the most damaging aspects. Parts of me still feel stuck in that headspace with him. It keeps me awake at night. It gnaws at me. I often find it difficult to sleep, let alone eat.”

Gatlin served as a volunteer and paid pastoral assistant at Kenwood Neighborhood Church from 2007-23. His parents, Michael and Brenda Gatlin, were senior pastors of the church and also involved in its national leadership.

Several investigations were launched and court documents indicated that the Gatlins

allowed his son to use the church youth group as a “hunting ground”

to “(prey) on underage girls without consequences for years” before the police finally intervened in 2022.

Authorities said the known victims ranged in age from approximately 11 to 16 years old.

“These crimes were not isolated incidents,” said Spencer Kuvin, a nationally recognized attorney representing the victims. “The culture of fear, spiritual manipulation and abuse that was occurring at the Vineyard Church, both locally and nationally, was the root cause behind these incidents.”

Wyatt Buckner / Archive 2024 / Duluth Media Group

Gatlin, under extensive questioning by St. Louis County prosecutors Mike Ryan and Jacqueline Primeau, did not dispute the central claims. He pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal sexual conduct, ranging from the first to the fourth degree.

But he admitted to only one incident and pleaded guilty to Alford on the remaining charges. An Alford plea allows the defendant to maintain his innocence while asking the court to plead guilty based on the strength of the evidence against him.

Gatlin admitted in his only direct statement that he began texting a 14-year-old girl outside of his group sessions. Eventually, he invited her to his parents’ house in the Lakeside neighborhood and they had sex. She was under the age of consent and he was in a position of authority that made the conduct illegal.

The former pastor acknowledged that several other victims and witnesses would testify about similar incidents.

One case involved allegations that Gatlin forced an 11-year-old boy to engage in sexual conduct during a bus ride to the Twin Cities. In another, a victim’s mother allegedly called Brenda Gatlin to report an attempted assault by her son, only to have the senior pastor hang up.

Complaints had been filed for five different victims, but another five were not charged for various reasons. Judge Dale Harris had accepted a motion that would have

allowed prosecutors to present evidence of other crimes or wrongdoing at each trial

to prove your motive and pattern of behavior.

Reaching the plea deal allows Gatlin to avoid a series of trials,

less than two weeks before the first one started.

Both he and the victims approved the 13-year sentence.

Harris revoked Gatlin’s bond and ordered him immediately jailed, with a two-day sentencing hearing scheduled for Nov. 25-26.

Kuvin, the Florida-based attorney hired by the victims, is known for having represented accusers of billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein and comedian Bill Cosby. His firm has partnered with Falsani, Balmer, Peterson & Balmer of Duluth to pursue the civil litigation.

Tom Olsen/Duluth Media Group

Kuvin said the complaints name all three Gatlins, as well as Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA. They have been notified, Kuvin said, and filings are expected in State District Court in the coming days.

Nine cases allege personal injury, while the other is for wrongful death. Jeanne Filkins tearfully described losing her daughter, Kacey, to suicide in 2022.

“In the last years of her life, she spoke often about the pain inflicted by Jackson Gatlin and the church,” Filkins said, “and how what happened made her feel diminished as a human being. “She felt it colored her understanding of love and relationships.”

Tom Olsen/Duluth Media Group

Filkins, who is also Howg’s mother-in-law, described the young women as “beautiful, strong and amazing.” He blamed the pastors for “harming the flock they were responsible for protecting and further damaging the reputation of the Christian church.”

Victim Vanessa Josephson said she, too, has spent 16 years struggling with depression, anxiety, “overwhelming feelings of hopelessness” and suicidal thoughts. She was relieved that the deal would at least require Gatlin to serve time and register as a sex offender for life.

Myrissa Overfors said Wednesday’s events were possibly solely due to the “incredible ladies who have come together to support each other.”

“After fighting for 17 years, finally having a sense of justice for myself and others is overwhelming and powerful,” she said. “I stand here today knowing that all of this is possible because of the courage to use our voice and stand up for what is right.”

Jackson Gatlin

He was fired by the church in February 2023

after refusing to participate in an investigation. His parents also resigned or were fired from local and national positions and reportedly moved out of state.

The Duluth Vineyard has

Consistently publish detailed schedules, resources, and reports

to its website since the beginning of the investigation, including a

96-page report prepared by the nonprofit organization Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment.

Kuvin argued that civil litigation can create liability not only through financial penalties but also through the disclosure of new information.

“The discovery process of that civil case can allow us to uncover the facts that allowed this to happen,” the attorney said, “and we hope that other institutions and the Vineyard Church can fix that so this never happens again.”