Story perspectives

Jefferson Parish Pastor Terry Reed Convicted of Rape, Molestation

5/9/2026

38 6

Summary

Story summary

A Jefferson Parish jury convicted Pastor Terry Reed, 66, of counts each of third-degree rape and juvenile molestation after less than an hour of deliberation on May 6, 2026.
Prosecutors said Reed cited biblical verses to justify abusing two teenage boys in his home.
Reed’s conviction follows prior guilty pleas in 1997 and 2017 that yielded only probation and joins prison sentences for abusive religious figures Daniel Savala and Robert Mendez Esquivel.

1 of 1

Story summary

A Jefferson Parish jury convicted Pastor Terry Reed, 66, of counts each of third-degree rape and juvenile molestation after less than an hour of deliberation on May 6, 2026.
Prosecutors said Reed cited biblical verses to justify abusing two teenage boys in his home.
Reed’s conviction follows prior guilty pleas in 1997 and 2017 that yielded only probation and joins prison sentences for abusive religious figures Daniel Savala and Robert Mendez Esquivel.