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Wife Of 1 Of 3 Pastors Accused Of Sharing Teens For Sex Admits She Lied To Investigators
Laura Lloyd-Jenkins lied to investigators about her knowledge of a teen victim that her ex-husband, an Ohio pastor, was sexually abusing.
The former wife of one of three pastors accused of coercing and sharing teenage girls to have sex, often for money, pleaded guilty to lying to investigators Wednesday.
Laura Lloyd-Jenkins, (pictured, left) who lost her job as a county administrator in Toledo after she was charged with interfering in her ex-husband's investigation, pleaded guilty to making false statements.
She was shaking as she made the plea in court, according to a Toledo Blade report.
Her ex-husband, Cordell Jenkins, (pictured, right) along with Anthony Haynes and Kenneth Butler, were accused in 2017 of child sex trafficking. Prosecutors said the men had sex with teenagers and sent one another photos and videos of the girls.
One of the victims was reportedly a teen girl who attended Jenkins’ church. In March 2017, Lloyd-Jenkins met that victim and her guardian at a local pizza place, where they revealed to her that the three men were allegedly sleeping with her and giving her money, according to WTVG in Toledo, Ohio. However, the wife lied to investigators during an interview and told them she didn't know the girl was involved in a church youth program and that she thought that girl was about 18 or 19 years old and out of high school, according to the Toledo Blade.
However, the victim's electronic devices revealed that Lloyd-Jenkins did know her and she did know she was still a minor and in high school, according to the prosecution.
Jenkins and Butler already have pleaded guilty to charges that include child sex trafficking and are awaiting sentencing.
Jenkins, 48, cried in court as he pleaded guilty to two counts of sex trafficking of children and one count of sexual exploitation of children last week, according to the Toledo Blade. He now could spend the rest of his life behind bars, potentially.
Court documents have referenced three victims in all, the youngest being 14.
The allegations against the three Toledo-area pastors begin with Haynes, who started pursuing and grooming a 14-year-old girl in 2014, according to court documents.
He first forced her to perform sex acts in front of him and then later began having sex with the girl, according to the filings. He warned her not to say anything because it would ruin his family and his church, investigators said.
Haynes, whose attorneys have declined to comment on the charges, later introduced the girl to Jenkins, a minister who founded his own church in Toledo and built a large following until it closed after his arrest.
Jenkins was having sex with two girls, one of whom attended his church, at his home, church office and a motel and often recorded the acts with his phone, authorities said in court documents. In total, the girl received approximately $400 in money from Jenkins, prosecutors say according to the Toledo Blade. The former pastor also persuaded the girl to send explicit photographs to him.
In February 2017, Jenkins asked the girl to organize a threesome with her and another teen and then they had that threesome in a Red Roof Inn room, according to the prosecution.
Butler acknowledged in court last May that he had sex with two minors.
In addition to the charges against the men, Haynes' wife and stepdaughter are accused of abducting one of the victims at gunpoint in January and warning her not to testify at his trial.
Court documents say the pair forced the teenager from her apartment, choked her with a cord and told her to take back statements she made to investigators. Attorneys for the woman have declined to comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
[Photo: Lucas County Sheriff's Office]
