TERRYTOWN (LA)
WVUE - Fox 8 [New Orleans LA]
June 18, 2026
By Judy Black
Terry Reed, the Terrytown pastor who was convicted of raping and molesting teenage boys, was sentenced to 80 years in prison on Thursday.
After rejecting four defense motions to overturn the verdict and get a new trial, Judge Ray Steib sentenced Reed to 25 years for two third-degree rape charges, to be served at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence; and to 15 years in prison for two molestation charges.
Judge Steib ran the sentences consecutively, meaning Reed will serve a total of 80 years in prison.
The Jefferson Parish District Attorney said a jury deliberated for less than an hour on May 6 before finding 66-year-old Reed guilty. Reed was already a convicted sex offender before being found guilty for these crimes.
He pleaded guilty to indecent behavior with a juvenile in 1997 and to indecent behavior with a juvenile and molestation of a juvenile in 2017, according to the DA.
Reed ministered from his North Marlin Court residence in Terrytown, mentoring the victims who had troubled home lives, the DA said.
According to the DA, Reed allowed them to move in with him and used bible verses and scripture to manipulate, normalize and justify his sexual behavior with them.
In the later crime, he told the juvenile he had to submit to certain acts “to fight off demons.” He received probation in both cases, the DA said.
In April or May of 2021, a 16-year-old who had a troubled relationship with his mother began visiting Reed’s home, officials said.
Reed sexually abused the victim during those visits before the victim moved into Reed’s home in August 2021, and the abuse continued for about three years. When the victim turned 19, he reported the abuse, leading to Reed’s arrest in 2023. According to the DA, these crimes are the basis of the third-degree rape convictions.
A 29-year-old man also reported being sexually abused when he was 16 until he was 21 years old by Reed when he moved into the pastor’s home in May of 2011, according to the DA.
Reed was charged with two counts of molestation of a juvenile for abuse that occurred before this victim was 17 years old, officials said.
Jefferson Parish officials said Reed admitted to detectives that he is a sex offender during his arrest in 2023. Reed claimed diabetes and prostate cancer left him unable to perform sexually, and that he had not had sex in 10 years. He added that his sexual relations with the teens occurred when they were 17, at the age of consent, meaning they were no longer juveniles and that no crime occurred, the DA’s office said.