JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- All day Monday, at Davis and 15th, you could hear chants of "Darrell Gilyard must go! Darrell Gilyard must go!"
After finding out convicted sex offender, Darrell Gilyard - a man who spent three years in prison for sex crimes against minors, was the church's new preacher, the New Black Panther Party stood in front of Christ Tabernacle Baptist Church in protest.
"We believe that the decision to allow him to come here and preach is the worst decision this church could have made," said New Black Panther Party organizer Mikhail Muhammed.
And at times Monday, things got heated as some of Gilyard's supporters sauntered up.
"Protect the black people and stop crime, but don't come out here preaching against this man. This man is trying to bring people to God," said one supporter.
"If I rape your daughter, you wouldn't allow me to be the pastor of her, brother," Muhammed yelled back.
We did some checking and found out, as a registered sex offender, by law Gilyard cannot live in certain places. He can't work in schools or daycares. But, Action News also found out there's nothing that governs whether or not a registered sex offender can lead a church service.
"Religious institutions are like any other job, if you can do it without violating the terms of your probation then you're allowed to do it," explained criminal trial lawyer Mitch Stone.
Part of Gilyard's probation is that he's not allowed to be around minors. So, the church has agreed to make his Sunday service "for adults only." The children were moved into a neighboring nursery, which we couldn't help but notice sits just feet from the church and right next to a playground.
According to Stone, this could be a potential probation violation.
"That's going to be a problem, absolutely," he said.
We checked with the Department of Corrections and they said Gilyard is currently in compliance with his probation. He is legally allowed to preach as long as minors are not present.
But as long as Gilyard's at the church, the Black Panthers plan to be as well.
"This is bad for the community, this is even worse for the children," said Muhammed.
The Black Panthers say they'll be protesting every day until Gilyard steps down or the church forces him out.
