63-Year-Old Bishop Defends Marriage to Teenage Wife

Bishop Demetrius Sinegal of the Kingdom church flew into Des Moines, Iowa to call for the full investigation of the marriage of fellow Bishop Dwight Reed of the Christ Apostolic Temple, 63, to 19-year-old Jordan Reed. 

“The marriage tears at the very fiber of the social construct of the African American family. Children are taught to respect their grandparent contemporaries, not to marry them,” Sinegal said. 

The newlyweds and the Christ Apolistic Temple began protecting the May-December marriage in a court of law by filing a lawsuit against Sinegal and his church seeking $1.5 million in damages for libel. 

Iowa states the minimum age to marry without parental consent is 18, but Sinegal claims Jordan’s paternal grandfather came on one of the bishop’s many online platforms to condemn the marriage. He reportedly said, “Her father sold his daughter out and pimped her out for his own self-gain.”

Sinegal’s lawsuit alleges that the marriage has caused emotional distress, a loss of revenue, and a loss of good standing in the community. 

Sinegal and his Safehouse Unmuzzled Advocacy group work to expose clergy abuse, primarily in African American churches across the country. He claims Jordan’s family was given just one day’s notice that the marriage was taking place at Reed’s church. 

He admits Jordan’s father gave the marriage his blessing by walking his daughter down the aisle but says that just because it’s legal, that doesn’t mean it’s ethical or moral. “It was legal to prevent women from voting not long ago,” Sinegal points out. 

Court documents claim that the online accusations Sinegal has made regarding the couple to his 11,000 Facebook followers have caused the Reeds to be harassed online on a regular basis. They also claim that unidentified young men have been coming to their house to harass them and that the lawsuit has resulted in a decline in temple membership and tithing.

You can also read: Proud Boy Involved in Capitol Window Smash Set for Sentencing

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