OHIO
Toledo Blade
By RYAN DUNN and ALLISON REAMER | BLADE STAFF WRITERS Published on April 23, 2017
On Easter Sunday, 2014, the Rev. Cordell Jenkins preached from his church’s stage with a passion that emboldened the congregation.
Voice rising into the microphone, the pastor at Toledo’s Abundant Life Ministries praised God’s grace. This sermon detailed how minor setbacks precede major comebacks.
“And sometimes God allows setbacks in your life, to help you re-evaluate what’s still most important. Because if things always went your way, you would not need God as much as you say you need God,” Mr. Jenkins said.
Mr. Jenkins spent this past Easter incarcerated at the Lucas County jail.
Federal authorities said he and a second Toledo pastor sex-trafficked a teenage girl.
Prosecutors this month filed charges against Mr. Jenkins, 46, of 2423 Barrington Dr. and his co-defendant, the Rev. Anthony Haynes, Sr., 38, of 4926 Ventura Dr. in South Toledo. Both men are accused of repeatedly paying the juvenile for sexual acts.
Officials said in court documents Mr. Haynes’ relationship with the girl stretched from about January, 2014, to last month. Mr. Haynes eventually introduced her to other men, including Pastor Jenkins in September, records stated.
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