A suburban New Orleans pastor has been sentenced to 80 years in prison after a jury convicted him of sexually abusing two young boys he gained access to through the trust of their families.
Terry Reed was found guilty in May on two counts of third-degree rape and two counts of molestation of a juvenile. Judge Ray Steib imposed the maximum sentence this week after hearing testimony from the mother of one victim, who described how Reed exploited her vulnerability and her son's struggles.
The woman said she had known Reed since childhood. When her son was troubled and she was struggling as a single mother, she asked Reed for help. She allowed him to take the boy into his home in Terrytown, a Jefferson Parish community, believing he would serve as a grandfather figure.
Instead, Reed used religious manipulation to normalize the abuse. Prosecutors established that he cited biblical scripture to convince the boys that his sexual conduct was acceptable.
"I gave Terry the opportunity to be the grandfather figure that he long wanted to be," the mother testified at sentencing. "His subsequent abuse triggered the deepest wound of my childhood. I felt profoundly betrayed."
In a victim-impact statement read on her son's behalf, she called Reed "an utter failure and a sorry excuse for a man." The statement ended with blunt words: "It is done. It is over. And I couldn't be more glad. You disgust me."
This is Reed's third conviction for crimes against minors. He pleaded guilty in 1997 to indecent behavior with a juvenile, and again in 2017 to indecent behavior with a juvenile and molestation of a juvenile.
Reed's history includes another troubling incident that did not feature in this trial. Two boys, ages 12 and 13, died in a hot tub at his home in 2002. Investigators determined they had been electrocuted but were unable to classify the deaths as homicide, suicide, accidental, or natural causes.
The convictions reflect a broader crisis in the New Orleans area. The Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans filed for federal bankruptcy protection in 2020 following decades of clergy abuse revelations. At least five men who served as Catholic priests in the archdiocese have since been convicted of sexually violent crimes against children.
In February, Pentecostal pastor Milton Otto Martin III was sentenced to seven years in prison in nearby Chalmette after being convicted of molesting a teenage girl, adding another example of religious leaders abusing positions of spiritual authority.
Author James Rodriguez: "Reed's use of scripture to groom victims and manipulate grieving families shows how predators weaponize faith itself, and why communities must demand accountability from anyone claiming spiritual leadership."
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