TERRYTOWN (LA)
ChurchLeaders [Colorado Springs CO]
June 22, 2026
By Dale Chamberlain
A former Louisiana pastor has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for child sex abuse. Terry Reed, 66, was found guilty in May of two counts of third-degree rape and two counts of molestation of a juvenile.
Editor’s note: This article refers to reports of child sex abuse that some readers might find triggering and/or disturbing.
Reed reportedly operated his church, Vessels of Christ Ministry, out of his home in Terrytown, which is in the New Orleans metropolitan area.
At the time of the abuse, Reed was already a registered sex offender with a history of targeting teen boys. He pleaded guilty to indecent behavior with a juvenile in 1997. He pleaded guilty to indecent behavior with a juvenile and molestation of a juvenile in 2017.
In 2023, Reed was arrested after a victim came forward to allege that Reed sexually abused him from the ages of 16 to 21. The victim accused Reed of performing sex acts on him and making him shower with Reed.
Authorities said that Reed used Scripture to normalize his sexual abuse of victims. One victim told investigators that Reed claimed sexual acts would provide the “covering of Jesus” and protect the victim from evil.
Another victim, who also came forward in 2023, said that he was abused by Reed as a teen after moving into Reed’s home in 2011.
During the investigation, Reed admitted to engaging in sex acts with the boys, but he claimed that at the time of the encounters, the teens were 17, which is the age of consent in Louisiana. He also claimed that diabetes and prostate cancer had left him unable to perform sexually and that he had not engaged in any sex acts in a decade.
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Reed’s defense claimed that the only evidence against Reed was the victims’ testimony. However, given Reed’s previous convictions for similar crimes and the credibility of the victims’ accounts, the jury convicted Reed.
Assistant District Attorney Eric Cusimano told jurors that Reed “is the worst kind of predator in this community that we can have.”
The mother of one victim spoke at Reed’s sentencing hearing, saying, “His actions triggered the deepest wound of my childhood. I felt profoundly betrayed. I’m deeply disappointed because I trusted Terry to do the right thing.”
n a victim impact letter, the woman’s son wrote, “You disgust me.” He added, “And when I saw you in court, I saw an utter failure and a sorry excuse for a man.”
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The judge sentenced Reed to 25 years for each rape charge and 15 years for each molestation charge. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively.