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 in who numerous women came forward with similar allegations of being sexually assaulted by girls when he was their youth leader at the Vineyard Church.

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

He will likely serve 13 years in prison and must 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, Vineyard Church in Duluth and Vineyard. US, according to Spencer Kuvin, a Florida attorney who 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 committed suicide.

“Church should be a place where people feel safe — a sanctuary to find God, practice your faith and find support in your community,” Kuvin said during a press conference after the hearing, sitting with victims in a downtown conference room. law firm. “Unfortunately, the church has become a living hell for these young girls.”

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

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

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