Afrigather 
A faux pastor who had not less than 10 wives has been thrown in jail after marrying two ladies.
Orlando Coleman visited black church buildings throughout the US below the guise of a travelling bishop, amassing spouses as he went.
The 51-year-old would introduce himself to new congregations as a member of the clergy, and was in a position to dupe not less than 10 totally different ladies into marrying him.
Coleman, from Houston, had offered himself because the founding father of a number of church buildings in addition to a Pentecostal preacher on social media.
Regardless of pleading responsible to bigamy in July 2023 and being positioned on probation for marrying two ladies concurrently, he wedded one other girl two months later.
Now, he has been put behind bars for 3 years for marrying a number of ladies since 2019.
Harris County District Legal professional Kim Ogg mentioned: “On the coronary heart of this repeat offender’s schemes was a plan to defraud ladies and make the most of them for monetary acquire.
“This man used the church to camouflage his scams and conceal from any accountability or accountability.”
In Texas bigamy is outlined as being married to a couple of particular person at a time and carries a doable sentence of as much as 10 years in jail.
Coleman’s net of deceit began to unravel in 2021 when he married a girl in Houston, however his new spouse noticed he was receiving cash from one other girl in Virginia. When his then-current spouse contacted the girl from Virginia it was revealed that she too was married to Coleman. Coleman’s Houston spouse then contacted the Harris County Sheriff’s Workplace with the revelation, who in flip launched an investigation and filed bigamy prices.
In July 2023, Coleman pleaded responsible to bigamy in change for 3 years of deferred adjudication probation.
Nonetheless, simply two months later, whereas nonetheless married to the girl in Virginia, Coleman tied the knot once more with one other girl in Kentucky, committing one other offense of bigamy.
Upon studying about Coleman’s new marriage, prosecutors from the Harris County District Legal professional’s Workplace moved to revoke his probation.
In a listening to on March 11, a decide sentenced Coleman to 3 years in jail.
Prosecutors say Coleman married the ladies for housing and monetary safety. After introducing himself as a Protestant pastor or bishop, Coleman would suggest marriage. If a girl accepted, he would transfer in along with her and permit her to foot the price of his housing and meals.
“That’s the one factor he needed to provide and to validate his phrase – the proposal to marry – that was one thing large,” Assistant District Legal professional Vanessa Goussen informed The New York Instances. “Getting proposed to was an enormous gesture for these ladies, and that corroborated his guise that he’s a godly particular person.”
Among the ladies filed for divorce after Coleman fled to a different state.
Coleman is at present being held on the Harris County Jail.
