A US-based pastor is facing trial and likely to be sentenced to life in prison if he is convicted of child sex trafficking and other charges proffered against him by federal prosecutors in Ohio, USA.
Anthony Haynes has been accused of having sexual intercourse with a teenager who he offered to be a father figure for, after she had reportedly suffered abuse at the hands of a relative during her childhood. As if that was not heart-breaking enough, the man of God is alleged to have encouraged two other colleague pastors to have sex with the vulnerable girl.
Although his friends, Pastors Kenneth Butler and Cordell Jenkins who also had sex with the youngster have reportedly pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, Anthony Haynes remains adamant.
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His lawyer, Pete Wagner is reported to have told jurors that the trafficking and conspiracy charges levelled against his client are not only shocking, but also baseless. He argued that inasmuch as the pastor had a questionable relationship with the teenager, he did not play any role in getting other pastors to have sex with her.
Meanwhile, investigators say they have evidence of text messages, photos, voice mails and DNA from his church where the girl said the man of God often sexed her.
Assistant U.S. attorney, Michael Freeman is reported as saying that pastor Haynes had vowed in the presence of his congregation to assume a father role for the victim, following her ordeal at the hands of her own relative, but the man of God turned around to start having sex with her when she became 14 year old. He is also reported to have asked the teenager to perform sex acts in his presence, ostensibly to groom her for his sexual thirst.
Reports say the pastor of Greater Life Christian Center in Toledo took the victim to motels for sex, and does same in his church sometimes and pay her cash in return.
Investigators discovered a text message from Kenneth Butler who’s awaiting sentencing, in which at one point he commanded the victim: "You better be nice and naked when I get there."
Pastor Anthony Haynes’s wife and stepdaughter are also reported to have used hostile means to force the victim to take back her testimony against the man of God, including threatening her at gunpoint.
Mrs Haynes tried to secure the release of her husband, but the judge overseeing the trial reportedly declined the request.