A Georgia pastor who pleaded guilty to cruelty to children was preaching again last week, telling a congregation about the importance of “childlike” faith.

Russell Jon Tusing II was accused of domestic violence, sexual assault, and cruelty to a 13-year-old child, garnering media attention in 2024. His ex-wife, Sarah Tusing, and their children said they feared for their lives.

“I and my immediate … family are absolutely terrified at what he is and what he is capable of doing when he is free in the public,” one of Tusing’s adult sons said in a court hearing.

Tusing, former pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of LaGrange in west-central Georgia, was arrested and charged in March 2024, as Roys Report (RR) previously reported.

The LaGrange church was part of the Sovereign Grace Churches organization that, under its former name Sovereign Grace Ministries, also faced accusations of covering up abuses. The LaGrange church is now closed.

The Troup County district attorney dropped two of the charges against Tusing in December 2025. Tusing agreed to plead guilty to cruelty to children in the first degree.

As a first-time offender, he was sentenced to 10 years, to be served on probation. If he meets the requirements, the felony won’t remain on his record, Troup County Superior Court Judge Nina Markette Baker explained at the plea hearing.

Tusing spent almost two years in county jail before his guilty plea, court records show.

Nine months after receiving his sentence, Tusing, 46, was back in the pulpit.

He preached at Grace Covenant Worship Center in Hogansville, Georgia, about 50 miles southwest of Atlanta, on Sept. 23. Tusing told the congregation that he’s been worshipping at the church since January.

He preached about the importance of knowing God as a father and having a childlike faith. He told some stories about his four kids, mentioning that his two daughters would run to hug him after church every Sunday.

Tusing’s ex-wife told the court in December that Tusing gains people’s trust as a pastor. But behind closed doors, he was different. She said he was abusive and often violent. According to Sarah Tusing, the pastor kept a loaded gun at home and in his church office.

“Husband, father, pastor. Those titles should be comforting, held in high regard, trusted, and respected,” Sarah Tusing told the court. “Not in the case of Russell. He violated each of those roles in the worst way. The truth is Russell is an abuser, deceitful, angry, violent, a drunk, and an oppressive man.”

Sarah Tusing filed for divorce in March 2024, saying the marriage was “irretrievably broken.” She claimed in her petition, filed in the Superior Court of Troup County, that her husband was emotionally and physically abusive.

“Plaintiff is additionally entitled to a divorce from Defendant on the grounds that Defendant has caused emotional and physical abuse such that Plaintiff and the parties’ minor children are in reasonable apprehension of bodily harm,” the divorce petition stated.

The divorce was final in February 2025, court records show. In December, the judge ordered Tusing to stay 200 yards away from his family and not contact them, as a condition of his probation.

Tusing did not respond to RR’s request for comment. RR also emailed the pastor of Grace Covenant Worship Center to ask whether the church knows of Tusing’s criminal history and the accusations of domestic violence. The pastor did not respond.

Two allegations of inappropriate touching

Tusing was also accused of sexual abuse. In a statement given at the plea hearing, Tusing was accused of touching a 13-year-old girl when drunk.

In 2022, he “touched her inappropriately on her upper thigh on several occasions,” according to county prosecutor Monique Kirby. “And on one particular day, she felt like it was a little close to an area where he shouldn’t be touching her at all.”

RR does not disclose the names of alleged victims unless they have chosen to publicly come forward.

The girl disclosed the incident to her mother and then to the LaGrange Police Department. Police mistakenly believed the girl told them Tusing had touched her genitals, resulting in the child molestation and sexual battery charge, Kirby explained in court. According to the girl, however, the pastor only touched her upper thigh.

In May 2024, another woman came forward after seeing news about Tusing’s arrest. According to the assistant district attorney, she told police that Tusing sat next to her in a bar in Florida and “ran his hand up the thigh.”

She told the Orange County Sheriff’s Office that she pushed the man’s hand away but then he touched her a second time. She said he slid his hand all the way up her leg, touching the outside of her underwear, only pulling away when she yelled at him.

A bartender confirmed the substance of the woman’s account, according to the sheriff’s office. He gave deputies a copy of the man’s credit card, which had Tusing’s name and the name of the church on it.

The case was forwarded to the state attorney’s office for review. No charges have been filed.

‘I never want to see him again’

Tusing’s wife and three of his four children all spoke to the court in December, before the judge decided on a sentence in the plea deal. They described a life of fear.

The family recounted calling police multiple times, hiding Tusing’s guns and cowering behind closed doors as the pastor allegedly made violent threats. Sarah Tusing said the family was forced to make contingency plans to escape her ex-husband’s outbursts.

“I never want to see him again,” one of Tusing’s daughters said at the plea hearing. “I just want me and my family to be safe.”

Judge Baker warned Tusing that if he violated any of the conditions of probation, he would have to serve the remainder of his sentence in prison. He is not allowed to drink alcohol, possess a gun or contact his ex-wife and kids.

The court did not prohibit Tusing from preaching or leading a church.

Rebecca Hopkins is a journalist based in Colorado.