A Virginia pastor is facing prison time after pleading guilty to one felony count of forcible penetration with an object and one count of misdemeanor perjury. Troy Edwards of Greater Emmanuel Ministries in Norfolk will serve eight months of jail time, followed by an 11-year suspended sentence.
Editor’s note: This article refers to reports of sex crimes that some readers might find triggering and/or disturbing.
Edwards’ sentence is contingent upon 10 years of good behavior. He is also sentenced to two years probation, and he will have to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation, according to WAVY.
The victim was a member of Edwards’ church.
Edwards was arrested in May 2024 on charges of abduction and sexual assault. He was denied bond the next month. The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred in July 2018, according to WTKR.
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During a pretrial hearing, prosecutors said that Edwards had abused his position of spiritual authority, alleging that Edwards told the victim that disobeying him and his wife was tantamount to disobeying God.
The victim said that on one occasion, Edwards put his hand down her shirt. The victim said that on another occasion, Edwards handed her the keys to an office and said he wanted to bend her over his desk.
The victim said that she came forward after becoming convinced that Edwards was grooming other victims.
In an interview given to WAVY in July 2024, Vanessa Edwards, who is Edwards’ wife and was his co-pastor, said that she first heard about the allegations against her husband in 2021.
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“I didn’t find out it was being done until 2021 when they [victim and family] sat on this porch and told me that he had assaulted her, offended her, or something. And that’s when I found out, two years later,” Vanessa Edwards said. “He [my husband] didn’t deny it. He didn’t deny the fact that he spoke to her out of turn. Like I said, I wasn’t there, I don’t know.”
