Ohio Ministers Arrested, Charged With Sex Trafficking, Coercion, Obstruction of Justice, Exploitation of Children
Two ministers from Ohio, one of whom was described as a prominent pastor, were arrested on Friday in their residences by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on sex trafficking charges.
The Rev. Cordell Jenkins, 46, who leads Abundant Life Ministries in Toledo, was taken into custody along with Anthony Haynes, 37, who oversees Greater Life Christian Center, also in Toledo, the Toledo Blade reported.
The two were accused of taking part in repeated sexual acts and the trafficking of a teenage girl, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Friday in federal court.
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"Jenkins and Haynes are accused of knowingly recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining a person(s) that the defendants knew was less than eighteen years old to engage in commercial sex acts," the FBI outlined in an official statement. "In addition to the above, Haynes is also being charged with obstruction of justice and Jenkins is being charged with sexual exploitation of children."
Police records show that Hayes is accused of engaging in sexual relations with a then-14 year-old girl beginning in 2014.
"Additionally, he coerced [the teen] into continued secrecy by implying revealing the sexual activity between them would ruin his family and church," the federal complaint reads.
Hayes also introduced the girl to other men, including Jenkins, who is accused of having sex with the girl in his office at Abundant Life Ministries.
An economy hotel chain reportedly confirmed that Jenkins rented a room with the teenager twice, including one time when the girl said she was asked by Jenkins to bring a friend. She and her friend were paid for the encounters.
"We really went into our investigation; this involves minors so obviously we felt it was very urgent that we needed to get busy," said Special Agent Anderson. "Any crime that involves a child, exploiting a child, seizing on their vulnerabilities, on their trust that they have in adults, especially when people are in a position of trust...it's very concerning, it's very alarming," FBI agent Vicki Anderson told NBC 24.
Magistrate Judge James Knepp ordered Hayes and Jenkins to be held without bond until a hearing on Thursday, April 13.
Last February, a pastor was also held on a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl after she was diagnosed with gonorrhoea, CP reported.
David Michael Akin, pastor of the Texarkana First United Methodist Church and a veteran fire captain, reportedly surrendered at the Bowie County Sheriff's Department in Texarkana, Texas after a warrant for his arrest was released.
