DULUTH — A former youth pastor pleaded guilty Wednesday to sexually assaulting numerous girls under his supervision, agreeing 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 liability from the local and national Vineyard Church and several 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, grooming and gaslighting were really some of the most damaging aspects. Parts of me still feel trapped there in that headspace with him. It keeps me up at night. It’s gnawing at me. I often find it hard to sleep, let alone eat.”

Gatlin served as a volunteer and paid pastoral assistant at Kenwood Neighborhood Church from 2007-2023. His parents, Michael and Brenda Gatlin, were senior pastors at the church and were also involved in its national leadership.

Several investigations were initiated, with court records pointing to the Gatlin family

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

to “(prey) on underage girls without consequence for years” before the police finally got involved in 2022.

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

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

Wyatt Buckner / file 2024 / Duluth Media Group

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

But he admitted to just one incident, entering Alford pleas to the other counts. An Alford plea allows the defendant to maintain his innocence while asking the court to enter a guilty plea based on the evidence against him.

Gatlin admitted in his only direct plea that he began texting a 14-year-old girl outside of group sessions. Eventually, he invited her to his parents’ home in the Lakeside neighborhood and they engaged in sexual relations. She was both under the age of consent and he held a position of authority that made the conduct illegal.

The former pastor went on to acknowledge that several other victims and witnesses will testify about similar incidents.

One case involved allegations that Gatlin forced an 11-year-old child to engage in sexual behavior while on a bus trip to the Twin Cities. In another, a victim’s mother called Brenda Gatlin to report an attempted assault on her son, only to have the senior pastor hang up.

Complaints were filed against five separate victims, but five others were not charged for various reasons. Judge Dale Harris granted a motion that would have

allowed prosecutors to introduce evidence of other crimes or misdeeds at each trial

to prove their motive and pattern of behavior.

The plea deal allows Gatlin to avoid a series of trials,

less than two weeks before the first started.

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

Harris revoked Gatlin’s bail, ordering that he be jailed immediately, with a two-day sentencing hearing set for Nov. 25-26.

Kuvin, the Florida victim-retained attorney, is known for representing accusers of billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein and comedian Bill Cosby. His firm teamed with Duluth’s Falsani, Balmer, Peterson & Balmer to initiate 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 served, Kuvin said, with filings expected in state District Court in the coming days.

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

“In the last years of her life, she often talked about the pain caused 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”. She blamed the pastors for “hurting the flock they were responsible for protecting and further damaging the reputation of the Christian church.”

Victim Vanessa Josephson said she too 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 developments were only possible because of “amazing ladies standing up together to support each other.”

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

Jackson Gatlin

he was fired from 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.

Duluth Vineyard has

detailed calendars, resources and regularly published reports

on 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 bring liability not only through financial penalties, but also through the disclosure of new information.

“The discovery process in that civil case may allow us to discover the facts that allowed this to happen,” the attorney said, “and hopefully other institutions and the Vineyard Church can resolve this so that this does not happen again never”.