For a year, Mariah's mothers thought her emotional and physical relationship with her pastor,

Patrick Garcia, was an affair.

She blamed herself and was ostracized by many in her congregation.

But Mariah says she now believes she was a victim of clergy sexual abuse. And now that Garcia is returning to

ministry, she's speaking out in this exclusive podcast. Welcome to the Roy's report, a podcast dedicated

to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I'm Julie Roy's. And joining me on this episode is

Mariah's mothers and her her husband, Jack Smothers.

Mariah has not spoken publicly since 2020 when Patrick Garcia resigned from the Hills Church

in Evansville, Indiana. At that time, Garcia confessed to engaging in a, quote, inappropriate

relationship, both physically and emotionally.

He added, no one is to blame for this repeated wicked behavior but me,

and he pledged to undergo a, quote, season of restoration,

so that the root of my brokenness and dysfunction can be addressed.

Now almost three years later, that season is apparently nearing a close.

In a Christian Post article last month,

Garcia says he's been able to determine what caused his crash. And now, with the help of mentoring Pastor Bob Russell, Pastor Emeritus of one of the largest churches in the country, Garcia is

starting to minister again. He's also speaking out. Claiming the relationship he had with the other

woman was an emotional affair, but the church forced him to say it was physical. He also claims the

church didn't know how to handle his struggle with anxiety and depression contributing to what happened.

All this has come as a shock to Mariah, who says Garcia isn't telling the truth.

She says Garcia groomed and abused her, using his power as a pastor to keep her in a relationship

she repeatedly tried to escape. She also says she's reached out to Russell and leaders at the

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