Breaking News Emails
Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
/ Updated
By Associated Press
TOLEDO, Ohio — A former minister in Ohio has been convicted of child sex trafficking after a woman told jurors he groomed her for sex when she was 14 and encouraged her to have sex with two other pastors.
Anthony Haynes faces up to life in prison. Jurors found him guilty Wednesday of charges including sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation.
The two other Toledo-area pastors who have pleaded guilty also are awaiting sentencing.
Prosecutors say Haynes paid the girl for sex during a three-year period after promising her mother he would protect her.
The 40-year-old former minister denied having sex with the girl and testified she tried to manipulate him, saying “I’m not a pervert.”
The now 19-year-old woman testified Haynes later introduced her to two other pastors. The church could not be reached for comment.