San Jose pastor convicted of domestic violence assault after suing former girlfriend

A San Jose pastor and former civil rights nonprofit leader has been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence assault after prosecutors said he choked and dragged a former girlfriend who leads another South Bay nonprofit, then sued her for defamation before he was criminally charged.

The Rev. Ray Montgomery, 59, was found guilty July 1 of assault involving a 44-year-old woman he had dated between 2020 and June 6, 2024, the latter date being when the reported attack occurred.

Montgomery is the former head of the San Jose-based People Acting in Community Together, known as PACT, and was leading the organization when the domestic violence allegations were made. This news organization is not naming the woman because she is the victim of a domestic violence crime.

In February 2025, before prosecutors charged him, he sued the woman for defamation, claiming her allegations forced him out of PACT. The civil case, which includes a cross-complaint by the woman detailing the assault account that fueled the prosecution, was later put on hold while the criminal case moved forward.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen alluded to the lawsuit in a statement following the guilty verdict.

“We believe domestic violence victims,” Rosen said in a statement Monday. “Lawsuits and lying will never stop us from seeking justice for those who are hurt by their partners.”

Montgomery’s attorney, the woman’s attorneys and PACT did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

According to the police investigation and accounts from the civil litigation, Montgomery and the woman had been in a four-year relationship when she went to his home the night of June 6, 2024, and found him with another woman. The woman stated in her cross-complaint that Montgomery was in his underwear when he answered the door and became hostile when she arrived.

Prosecutors said Montgomery physically intimidated her, picked her up, dragged her down the hallway and squeezed her neck between his forearm and bicep, causing her to nearly lose consciousness. After she collapsed to the floor, she ran to a bathroom, locked herself inside and called a friend to come get her.

The next day, with visible bruising on her neck, she went to a hospital and reported the assault. She later reported it to San Jose police in November and December.

In her cross-complaint, the woman also claimed Montgomery approached her menacingly on two occasions after the assault and that he had been abusive and manipulative over the course of their relationship.

Montgomery, in his lawsuit he filed before the criminal charge, claimed the woman had been the aggressor and characterized the primary encounter as him making “peaceful efforts to defuse the situation and facilitate (her) safe departure.” He stated in the lawsuit that the victim had “arrived at plaintiff’s private residence uninvited and unannounced,” and that “at the time, plaintiff was entertaining a female friend.”

Montgomery is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 8 and could face jail time.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.