After marrying several women, a deceitful pastor with a history of polygamy was given a jail sentence.
Orlando Coleman, 51, went around the US pretending to be a bishop and tricked members of the black churches into becoming his wives. Coleman faked his church affiliations and used social media to get at least ten women to marry him.
Coleman got probation after entering a guilty plea to bigamy in July 2023, but he kept up his fraudulent behavior and married a new woman in less than two months. He will serve three years in prison as a result of his several marriages since 2019.
Kim Ogg, the district attorney for Harris County, denounced Coleman’s behavior, claiming that he took use of the church to swindle women out of money. Bigamy in Texas is punishable by up to ten years in prison.
In 2021, Coleman’s duplicity came to an end when one of his wives found out he was taking money from a different lady. Following an investigation, Coleman was accused of bigamy due to his propensity of marrying several women at once.
Coleman remarried in 2023 after entering a guilty plea to bigamy, which led the prosecution to revoke his probation. A judge condemned Coleman to three years in jail in March 2024.
Coleman preyed on women who were weak and used his fictitious identity as a preacher to win their trust, according to the prosecution. Following Coleman’s abandonment, a large number of the ladies filed for divorce in several states.
Coleman’s case, which is still being held at the Harris County Jail, emphasizes the risks associated with manipulation and exploitation in religious communities.
