Rev. Ray Montgomery, a 59-year-old California pastor who once ran a civil rights nonprofit, has been convicted of assaulting his girlfriend after she caught him cheating at his home.
A jury convicted Montgomery of misdemeanor assault for choking his 44-year-old girlfriend, the Santa Clara County district attorney said. The attack took place on June 6, 2024, in San Jose.
The victim showed up at Montgomery’s home and knocked on the door, according to the Mercury News. Montgomery answered in his underwear, and another woman was inside.
This reportedly sparked an argument that turned physical. Montgomery picked the woman up, dragged her down the hallway, and squeezed her neck between his forearm and bicep, causing her to lose consciousness temporarily. When she woke up, she ran from Montgomery, locked herself in a bathroom and called a friend, who picked her up.
She suffered bruising on her neck and went to a hospital, where she reported the assault to police. The woman also claimed Montgomery tried to intimidate her into dropping the complaint, and she accused him of being abusive on other occasions.
Before he was charged, Montgomery filed a lawsuit claiming the victim was the aggressor and that he was trying to “defuse the situation,” the Mercury News reported. The pastor noted that the woman came over to his home “uninvited” while he was “entertaining a female friend.”
The court reportedly put the lawsuit on hold while the criminal case progressed.
Montgomery served as executive of the People Acting in Community Together civil rights organization, which aids immigrants and low-income families. He stepped down from the post after the allegations surfaced.
“We believe domestic violence victims,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Lawsuits and lying will never stop us from seeking justice for those who are hurt by their partners.”
Montgomery is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 8.
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