A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated less than an hour on Wednesday (May 6) in finding Terrytown pastor and convicted sex offender Terry Reed guilty of sexually abusing two young teens. 

Reed, 66, is guilty as charged of two counts of third-degree rape and two counts of molestation of a juvenile, jurors decided. 

Reed, who ministered from his North Marlin Court residence in Terrytown, mentored the victims who had troubled home lives. He allowed them to move in with him and used bible verses and scripture to manipulate, normalize and justify his sexual behavior with them.  

“He has preyed on these very, very troubled boys who don’t have a father figure in their lives,” Assistant District Attorney James Wascom told jurors in closing argument Wednesday. 

Reed “held himself out to be a saint” in the eyes of the two victims as well as his congregation, members of which testified on his behalf, Assistant District Attorney Eric Cusimano told jurors in closing argument. “He is the worst kind of predator in this community that we can have.”  

Reed already was a convicted sex offender before his arrest in the crimes for which he was convicted Wednesday. 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, jurors heard during this week’s trial. 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. 

Then, in April or May of 2021 during the Covid 19 pandemic, a 16-year-old who had a troubled relationship with his mother began visiting Reed’s home. Reed sexually abused the victim during those visits, before the victim moved into Reed’s home in August 2021. The abuse continued for about three years. At age 19, that victim disclosed the abuse, leading to Reed’s arrest in 2023. These crimes are the basis of the third-degree rape convictions. 

Upon learning of Reed’s arrest, a 29-year-old man reported that he, too, had been sexually abused by Reed when he moved into the pastor’s home in May of 2011, when he was 16 years old. Reed continued to sexually abuse the victim until the victim was 21 years old. Reed was charged with two counts of molestation of a juvenile for abuse that occurred before this victim was 17 years old. 

The victims deserve justice, Assistant DA Wascom told jurors in urging them to find Reed guilty as charged. But so, too, does Reed. “He deserves to be accountable for what he has been doing for over 30 years,” Wascom said. 

When arrested by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in 2023, Reed readily admitted to a detective that he is a sex offender. But he asserted that diabetes and prostate cancer left him unable to perform sexually, and that he had not had sex in 10 years. He conversely said 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. His defense attorney asserted the Sheriff’s Office inserted errors into its investigative reports, and the case lacked evidence beyond the statements provided by the victims. 

Judge Ray Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Reed on June 18. 

Assistant District Attorneys James Wascom and Eric Cusimano prosecuted the case.