A Houston man, Orlando Coleman, 51, has been sentenced to jail for deceiving no less than 10 girls into marrying him by posing as a bishop.
Coleman visited black church buildings nationwide, presenting himself as a clergy member and on social media because the founder of assorted church buildings and a “Pentecostal preacher.”
Nevertheless, prosecutors argue it was a ruse to realize the belief of spiritual girls, resulting in a number of marriages over 20 years.
Coleman was sentenced to 3 years in jail final week for marrying a 3rd girl shortly after being placed on probation for bigamy involving two simultaneous marriages, in accordance with Each day Mail.
In Texas, bigamy is a third-degree felony, with a possible sentence of as much as 10 years. Prosecutors argue Coleman married for housing and monetary advantages.
“On the coronary heart of this repeat offender’s schemes was a plan to defraud girls and reap the benefits of them for monetary acquire,” Harris County District Legal professional Kim Ogg stated in a information launch. “This man used the church to camouflage his scams and conceal from any accountability or duty.”
Investigators hint Coleman’s first marriage again to 2001. Over time, he traveled to varied states, concentrating on churchgoing girls by posing as a Protestant pastor or bishop.
The self-styled bishop’s modus operandi concerned proposing marriage to those girls, transferring in with them, and counting on them for housing and sustenance.
“That’s the one factor he needed to supply and to validate his phrase – the proposal to marry – that was one thing huge,” Assistant District Legal professional Vanessa Goussen advised The New York Instances.
“Getting proposed to was a giant gesture for these girls, and that corroborated his guise that he’s a godly particular person.”
A number of girls filed for divorce after Coleman fled to a different state. In 2021, his scheme was uncovered when he married a Houston girl who later discovered he was receiving funds from a lady in Virginia.
The Houston girl contacted the Virginia girl by way of Fb and discovered they’d been married since 2019, offering proof of their marriage. The Virginia girl revealed they separated in 2021 however by no means formally divorced.
The Virginia girl disclosed that she separated from Coleman when he relocated to Texas and married the Houston girl shortly thereafter.
The Texas girl reported the incident to the police, resulting in bigamy fees filed by the Harris County Sheriff’s Workplace.
Coleman pleaded responsible in July 2023 and acquired three years’ probation. In a letter earlier than his sentencing, he claimed he believed he was eligible to marry the Texas girl as a result of he thought his earlier marriage had been annulled or led to a divorce.
“If I knew getting married was not allowed, I’d have waited,” he wrote.
He asserted he survived childhood sexual abuse and lacked love rising up. He additionally outlined his intentions to return to Kentucky as a pastor, “serving to to feed & dress individuals.” He signed off with credentials together with “PhD, ThD, DD,” implying he held superior levels, though there isn’t any proof to assist this declare.
Simply two months after being sentenced, Coleman, nonetheless married to the Virginia girl, married a Kentucky girl. Prosecutors moved to revoke his probation upon discovering the brand new marriage, resulting in sentencing on March 11.
Coleman inadvertently uncovered his deception on Fb, the place a number of profiles listing him as “married” and holding titles similar to “Presiding Bishop, Senior Pastor at Phrase Of Religion Intl. Worship Heart in Delaware.”
