Bishop Sentenced to 15 Years for Raping 15-Y-O Who Wanted to Die After Abuse
Bishop Michael Jenkins, who once served as leader of the Church of the Living God in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, is set to spend the next 15 years of his life behind prison bars after he was convicted of raping a 15-year-old former member of his flock.
According to Fox 13, Jenkins on Wednesday was found guilty of raping and sexually grooming his former parishioner just over a year-and-a-half after he was first arrested for raping her inside a camper parked in front of his home in the summer of 2016.
"The 15 year old said that she was actually raped by this local pastor inside of the trailer," HWHPD Chief Virgil Green told New Channel 3 at the time. "This 15 year old was a youth church member at this church. She had obviously put a lot of faith into entrusting Pastor Jenkins over the course of five or six months."
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Police say in July 2016, the then 15-year-old girl visited her married pastor's home, which is about a block away from the church, to play basketball.
"Apparently a group of kids would play basketball at this particular pastor's house, so it wasn't uncommon for other local juveniles to be at this pastor's house," Green said.
While the teenager was waiting for other children to arrive, Bishop Jenkins took her inside the camper and had sex with her. Police say the camper was parked right in front of Jenkins' house when the incident happened.
Two weeks after the rape, the teenager reported her pastor to the police and their investigation revealed that there had been an ongoing inappropriate relationship between Jenkins and his young parishioner.
The pastor reportedly gave his victim money for sexual favors, including a nude photo of her, court records say.
DNA evidence from the camper as well as from the pastor's and the victim's cellphones were used in the case against Jenkins.
"There's been so much speculation in the community about this particular incident and we want the public to know that this is in fact under investigation," the chief assured the pastor's shocked community at the time of the investigation.
When Jenkins was released on a $25,000 bail bond two months after his arrest, the victim's father was outraged and told FOX13 his daughter didn't want to live anymore.
"She told the counselor today for the first time she felt like killing herself," the distraught father said, trying to understand how the then 68-year-old pastor, who had an extensive criminal record dating back to the 1970s, was allowed to be on the street.
"There are people in jail for a blunt that's got a $100,000 bond," the father said.
Willis Lee, who lives near the church, said even though there were a lot of good people in his neighborhood, he wasn't surprised by the actions of the pastor.
"What I see going on in the community, it doesn't surprise me at all and you know, you got a lot of good people here, but you got a lot of chaos here also," he said.
