A teacher in Arkansas has been charged with sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy while volunteering at a local church, RadarOnline.com has learned. Reagan Gray,26, was arrested earlier this month for allegedly carrying on a sexual relationship with the teen for years.
Gray met the child at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, the hometown congregation of former president Bill Clinton.
The teen's parents reported Gray to the church's senior pastor in 2020 after finding explicit text messages on his phone, according to local station THV11.
Gray reportedly claimed her relationship with the child was not "physical," but she was suspended from the student ministry and ordered to undergo counseling. Law enforcement officials intervened in February when they learned Gray was allegedly still contacting the boy via Snapchat.
The alleged victim told federal agents that Gray had given him oral sex but said they did not have intercourse so that he could "stay pure," according to the New York Post, which cited court documents.
A church leader also reportedly told investigators that Gray had allegedly admitted during a counseling session last year that her relationship with the teen was sexual.
It was not clear whether the alleged abuse was reported to authorities, but the church leader reportedly resigned from his position due to how the allegations were handled.
Officials learned about nearly a dozen instances of abuse, which the alleged victim said took place in Gray's car or apartment. Following her arrest, Gray was released on a $20k bond.
In light of the investigation, she was placed on administrative leave from her position as a teacher at Sylvan Hills Middle School in North Little Rock, per the Post. She was previously a teacher at Little Rock Christian Academy.
Days before his inauguration in 1993, Clinton gave an emotional speech about the Immanuel Baptist Church, which he praised as crucial to his entry into the White House.
"Were it not for this church,” he told parishioners, “I believe it would be virtually impossible I would be going to Washington next week as President. And I am absolutely certain I would be less prepared for the job.”
Clinton has been publicly accused of sexual assault by several women but was never officially charged in court.
He and his well-known wife Hillary Clinton have also been the subjects of a debunked yet persisting right-wing conspiracy theory called "Pizzagate," spread largely by Donald Trump supporters during the 2016 election cycle.
The rumors, which have been deemed false, purported that the couple was running a pedophile ring out of a Washington, D.C. pizza parlor.