The trial for the last of three pastors accused of coercing and sharing teenage girls to have sex, often for money, was delayed again after the wife of one of the men decided to change her plea, according to court records.
Laura Lloyd-Jenkins, who was charged with obstructing the investigation and making a false statement, was due in federal court Wednesday to change her earlier not-guilty plea.
Her husband, Cordell Jenkins, 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.
Haynes had been scheduled to go on trial Wednesday. He could face up to life in prison if he’s convicted.
The two other men already have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
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 also 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 pleaded guilty last week to child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of children.
He was accused of 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.
His wife, Lloyd-Jenkins, was fired from her job as a county administrator in Toledo after she was charged with interfering in her husband’s investigation.
Butler acknowledged in court last May that he had sex with two minors. Attorneys for both Jenkins and Butler have declined to comment.
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 article.