A second of three pastors accused of sexual exploitation of teenage girls has pleaded guilty to the charges in the US state of Ohio.
Cordell Jenkins on Tuesday pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, AP reported. Another minister has already pleaded guilty, and the third is scheduled to go on trial next week.
The three operated their own churches in the Toledo-area, and over several years paid teenage girls for sex and shared photos and videos of the girls, federal authorities said.
The youngest victim was 14.
Jenkins was accused of having sex with two girls, one of whom attended his church. He also had sex with the girls at his home, church office and a motel and would often record the acts with his phone.
Jenkins, whose father was also a preacher, had a large congregation and founded his own church. The church has since been closed.
Prosecutors said Jenkins met one of the girls through Anthony Haynes, a former minister who is scheduled to go on trial next week.
Haynes groomed a 14-year-old girl in 2014 and gave her money for sex, according to court documents. His wife and stepdaughter were also arrested after they abducted one of the victims at gunpoint and warned her not to testify.
Kenneth Butler, the first pastor to plead guilty in the investigation had already told the court in May that he had sex with two minors.
