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Anthony Haynes, former pastor of Greater Life Christian Center in Toledo, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday (June 27) for human trafficking charges. 

Reports say Haynes allegedly groomed a teenage girl to perform sexual acts with him and two other former pastors, Cordell Jenkins and Kenneth Butler, who were also arrested in 2017. 

“I don’t deserve life. I don’t deserve life,” Haynes said during his sentencing, according to the Toledo Blade. “Like I said, I’ve been doing life for 27 months while I’ve been away from my children and this hurts … my need today is for you to have mercy.”

Christian Post reports: 

Court documents cited by ABC 13 said Butler, Jenkins and Haynes sexually assaulted a juvenile girl beginning in 2014 through 2017. The victim was allegedly 14 when the assaults began while in Haynes’ custody. Some of the assaults allegedly took placed at the Greater Life Christian Center in Toledo.

Haynes also routinely paid the girl money after the sex acts and warned her not to say anything about their activities as it would ruin his family and his church.

Haynes further shared the victim with other men, including Jenkins, court documents say. Jenkins allegedly sexually exploited the girl at his home on Barrington Drive repeatedly, as well as at his office at Abundant Life Ministries and at a motel in Toledo. He reportedly paid the girl and recorded some of their activities with his cellular phone. He also allegedly exploited another underage girl who engaged in commercial sexual activity in March 2017.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Freeman argued that Haynes abused his position as a pseudo-parent and a clergyman to exploit the teenager who was a previous victim of sexual assault and said justice was served.

Haynes’ family, however, believes his sentencing was not fair in comparison to similar crimes.

 

Pastor Sentenced To Life In Prison In Child Trafficking Case  was originally published on getuperica.com