Arkansas teacher says she performed sex act on boy so he could 'stay pure'

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An Arkansas teacher who abused a teen she met while volunteering at a church with the student ministry was sentenced to six years’ probation.

Reagan Gray was 23 and the boy was 15 when the 2020 assaults began at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock.

Gray told investigators that she performed oral sex on the boy, but denied they had intercourse so he could “stay pure,” court documents stated, according to KARK.

The victim’s parents discovered a trove of racy text messages, including nude photos, between their son and Gray in 2020.

They reported the messages to the church’s then-head pastor, Steven Smith, who confronted Gray about the texts, which she denied, claiming their relationship was “not physical.”

Gray, who worked as a teacher at Little Rock Christian Academy at the time, was yanked from the student ministry but was reinstated after attending church-ordered counselling services, the outlet reported.

Federal authorities launched an investigation in February 2024 when they learned that Gray had continued to exchange messages with the teen via Snapchat, according to the court docs.

The abuse took place in Gray’s car or apartment, the victim told police.

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Smith resigned from his position last year over the scandal.

After her arrest last year, Gray was initially charged with sexual assault in the first and fourth degree, but pleaded guilty to sexual assault in the second degree.

She was sentenced Monday to six years’ probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

Gray, who has since been fired from her job at Sylvan Hills Middle School, was barred from having any contact with the victim and ordered to submit a DNA sample and be placed on the sex offender registry.