Former Duluth youth leader sentenced to 13 years in prison for sexual abuse of young girls

DULUTH – Jackson Gatlin was sentenced to 13 years in prison Monday, the first of back-to-back days of sentencings after the former youth leader from Duluth Vineyard pleaded guilty earlier this month to felony-level sexual misconduct.

In early 2023, a handful of women came forward with similar stories of sexual assault from when they were teens or younger at the hands of Gatlin — who held a position of authority at the church where his parents, Michael and Brenda Gatlin, were senior pastors. On Nov. 6, Jackson Gatlin, 36, pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal sexual conduct.

“I hope you conquer your demons,” Judge Dale Harris said to the defendant on Monday.

Gatlin, dressed in orange, did not comment in the courtroom. When he is out of prison, he will have to register as a sex offender.

The first day of sentencings were tied to two separate victims, numbered 4 and 5 in court documents: one who said she was 14 when Gatlin, then 21, snuck her into his parents’ basement and committed the first of several sexual assaults, according to the criminal complaint. It ended when she saw his flirtatious text messages with other girls from a youth group. The second woman was in middle school when she said Gatlin started sending her sexual text messages and later trapped her in a bus seat during the church’s annual retreat weekend in the Twin Cities. He assaulted her and threatened that if she told anyone, the police would get involved, according to the criminal complaint.

The courtroom was at capacity, with the victims sitting together in a row.

“We’re talking about something, for them, that is nearly 20 years in the making,” the victims’ attorney Paul McBride said after the sentencing. “Finding justice is a journey. This is one step toward that. Hopefully we can come to a meaningful end.”

Gatlin was due back in court Tuesday morning.

Since Gatlin’s plea earlier this month, nine victims have filed civil charges against him — in addition to his parents, Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA, its governing body.

In the civil complaints filed Nov. 6, Gatlin is accused of extended hugs, touching teenage girls over and under their clothes, making them touch him, tackling them in the guise of playing games, and raping them. He is accused of tying a girl to his bedpost. In one case, Brenda Gatlin reportedly walked into her bedroom and found her son sexually assaulting a girl. Nothing came of it, according to the complaint.

Gatlin told several girls he was going to teach them and show them the love of God, according to court documents. A parent found sexual text messages from Jackson Gatlin to their daughter and notified at least one of his parents.

The Gatlins, Duluth Vineyard and Vineyard USA are accused of continuing to give Jackson Gatlin access to minors, even though leadership had been told of his actions, not providing proper training, covering up information and not going to the local Police Department, among other accusations.

Jackson Gatlin was fired from his position with the church in mid-February 2023 and was not allowed back on the church campus. Michael Gatlin resigned as senior pastor at Duluth Vineyard and from various positions and the board tied to the church in February 2023. He had been with the church for two years. Brenda Gatlin, who was a super regional leader for Vineyard USA, resigned soon after.