A Tennessee pastor who once traveled across the country through his ministry is now set to spend life in prison after a Rutherford County jury found him guilty of raping a child. Authorities said his wife was also convicted for her role in enabling the abuse.
Benjamin Garlick, 35, was convicted Monday following a two-week trial on seven counts of aggravated rape of a child, six counts of aggravated sexual battery, one count of solicitation of sexual exploitation of a minor, and two violations of Tennessee’s Child Protection Act.
Circuit Court Judge Barry Tidwell handed Garlick a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the aggravated rape convictions, the Murfreesboro Police Department said. Sentencing for his remaining convictions is scheduled for Nov. 10.
His wife, 32-year-old Shaantal Garlick, was found guilty of two counts of facilitation of aggravated rape of a child and two counts of aggravated child neglect.
She is also expected to be sentenced on Nov. 10.
The investigation began in August 2023, when the Murfreesboro Police Department’s Special Victims Unit opened a case involving the sexual abuse of a child who was 5 years old at the time.
Investigators said the abuse took place over the course of several years.
As the case developed, detectives identified two more victims, police said.
Investigators also determined that Shaantal Garlick knowingly neglected a victim in a way that affected the child’s health and welfare and assisted in the sexual abuse, police said.
“The Murfreesboro Police Department thanks all members of the Child Protective Investigative Team (CPIT) for their tireless work throughout this investigation and trial, ensuring the victims’ voices were heard and justice was served,” Det. James Wilkinson, lead investigator, said after the convictions.
“The children of Rutherford County are safer because of the compassion, dedication, and commitment each member of the CPIT Team brings to their roles every day.”
Garlick’s life outside the courtroom stood in stark contrast to the crimes for which he was convicted. Murfreesboro police said their investigation showed he had spent several years traveling as a minister, primarily focused on the Hispanic community, and that he and his wife had traveled across the country.
WSMV previously reported that Garlick helped run La Espada, a Murfreesboro-based ministry for Spanish speakers.
The station reported that videos and images posted online showed Garlick and his sermons connected with churches in Florida, Indiana, Minnesota and Texas.
The couple also described deep family ties to the ministry in biographies that appeared on La Espada’s former website and remain available through the Internet Archive.
The site said La Espada was founded by Garlick’s grandfather, Rolando Garlick, and showed Benjamin working with the ministry under the direction of his late father, Daniel Garlick, by at least 2015.
Benjamin Garlick wrote that he began traveling with his father as a child, felt drawn to the ministry at a young age and later became an evangelist.
Shaantal Garlick wrote that she met Benjamin at a youth conference when she was 18 and described her calling as serving God full time alongside her husband and working with La Espada to reach the Hispanic community with the Gospel.
Benjamin and Shaantal Garlick were arrested in September 2023.
The case continued to grow, and a Rutherford County grand jury reindicted the couple in March 2024, according to Murfreesboro police.
As investigators pursued the case, Special Victims Unit detectives publicly urged potential victims to come forward, particularly people in the Hispanic community, police said.
Shaantal Garlick, who had been free on bond, was taken into custody following Monday’s verdict, police said. Both she and her husband are being held at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center.
