Former church youth leader in Duluth pleads guilty in sexual assault case

DULUTH – Jackson Gatlin, dressed in a dark suit with his hands cuffed behind his back, was led by authorities from the courtroom Wednesday morning after pleading guilty to felony-level criminal sexual conduct in a case where numerous women have come forward with similar accusations of being sexually assaulted as girls when he was their youth leader at the Vineyard Church.

As part of a deal, Gatlin pleaded guilty to one count and on four others entered an Alford plea — in which he maintains innocence but admits there is sufficient evidence for him to be found guilty during a trial. The third-floor courtroom at the St. Louis County Courthouse was at capacity for the hearing, with several victims sitting together in a row. Gatlin, 36, will be sentenced during separate hearings Nov. 25-26, with all the impact statements during the first.

He will likely serve 13 years in prison and have to register as a sex offender.

Civil charges are expected to be filed soon against Gatlin — in addition to his father, Michael Gatlin, who was a senior pastor at the church, his mother, Brenda,who was also in a position of power, the Vineyard Church in Duluth and Vineyard USA, according to Spencer Kuvin, a Florida-based attorney who has represented victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Bill Cosby. There will be 10 complaints against each entity, nine from victims and one from a mother whose daughter died by suicide.

“The church should be a place where people feel secure — a sanctuary to find God, practice your faith and find support within your community,” Kuvin said during a news conference after the hearing, sitting alongside the victims in a conference room at a downtown law office. “Unfortunately, the church became a living hell for these young girls.”

Neither of Gatlin’s parents were in the courtroom Wednesday.

As part of the Alford plea, the prosecutors went through each victim’s allegations and the testimony that would have occurred during a trial. It showed a pattern of Gatlin, then in his early 20s, establishing closeness with girls, ages 11 to 16, that extended beyond just the church.

His text messages went from friendly to flirtatious to sexual. He took them to his bedroom in his family home, drove them in his car or made them sit next to him on a bus ride. He touched them or made them touch him. He bound their wrists or otherwise restrained them. He raped them and at least in one case laughed when they told him to stop.

Gatlin verbally acknowledged each statement from the prosecution, face forward with his hands crossed in front of him.

Gatlin was arrested in October 2023 and had in recent months been out on bail. The Vineyard Church solicited an investigation, and both of his parents resigned from the organization without cooperating. Part of the church’s website is dedicated to the case, including a timeline, victim resources, Gatlin’s five case numbers and a link to the St. Louis County jail roster.

Victims and their supporters crowded into a conference room at Falsani, Balmer, Peterson & Balmer law firm after the hearing. More than a year ago, the women started revisiting their shared history and then went to law enforcement with their accusations — which they say Gatlin’s parents dismissed when they happened in the mid-2000s. The women found strength to come forward in numbers, Kuvin said.

The results of the hearing brought mixed emotions.

“Let me be clear,” said Hannah Howg, who identified herself as one of Gatlin’s victims. “This is not a win. Nobody wins here. What Jackson did to me cannot be undone.”

Myrissa Overfors, described in court parlance as Victim 1, said she was 16 when she moved to a new community — and her hopes for a new start were ripped away by Gatlin. Instead, she said, she was left feeling silenced and alone.