‘Pastor,' wife forced church members into sleepless hell of slave labor, sex — with threats of God's wrath: feds
Treva Edwards, 60, and his 63-year-old wife, Christine, lured vulnerable local to the Jesus is Lord by the Holy Ghost church in their Orange apartment building, forcing them to perform grueling work in the community while depriving them of food and sleep, the US Attorneys Office for New Jersey said.
According to federal prosecutors, Treva Edwards is also accused of subjecting one woman to 'repeated physical and sexual assaults,' getting her pregnant and demanding she get an abortion — all the while telling her and the other victims it was all God's will.
3 Federal prosecutors in New Jersey said Treva and Christine Edwards ran a forced labor scheme for nine years.
REUTERS
'The defendants convinced the victims that they would lose favor with God if they did not perform labor,' prosecutors said in a statement. 'The defendants isolated the victims, monitored their communications and whereabouts, and by convincing them that non-members were evil or possessed by the devil.
The Edwards allegedly contacted out the services of their recruited slave labor force but pocketed all the proceeds, feeding them only once a day and keeping them on a strict regimen of work and prayer.
The couple allegedly ran the brutal scheme from 2011 until 2020, the feds said.
Prosecutors said they 'identified and recruited victims who were facing struggles in their personal lives, including financial and familial struggles,' while Treva Edwards told them 'that he was a prophet who could communicate directly with God.'
3 US Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said the case against Treva and Christine Edwards defended 'the most vulnerable.'
AP
Disobeying him 'would result in spiritual retribution from God, as well as physical, emotional and financial harm,' according to the US Attorney's office.
The two alleged scammers were charged in a federal indictment last week, accusing both with conspiracy to commit forced labor, with Treva Edwards also charged with forced labor and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, federal prosecutors said.
They said both were detained after being charged on Wednesday.
It is not immediately clear if they have retained a lawyer or were still being held in federal custody.
3 Federal prosecutors said vulnerable New Jersey residents were lured into a forced labor scheme at an Orange church.
Brian Wells/Times Herald / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
If convicted, the two face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years to life on the labor conspiracy charges, while Treva Edwards faces 15 years to life if found guilty of the sex charge, prosecutors said.
'These charges are an example of my office's tireless commitment to combating human trafficking in our community,' US Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said in a statement. 'We are committed to working alongside our partners to ensure that those who target the most vulnerable are brought to justice.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Codelco says worker dead, several injured after 'seismic event' at El Teniente mine
(Reuters) -Chilean copper miner Codelco said on Thursday that one worker died at the Andesita project of its El Teniente mine after what it called a 'seismic event' around 5:30 p.m. local time. The company said in a statement it was looking for another five workers, and that nine workers had various injuries but were out of serious risk. Codelco said it immediately suspended activities in the affected area and started an investigation to determine the cause of the incident. El Teniente is the world's largest underground copper deposit and Codelco's flagship mine. Solve the daily Crossword
a day ago
Trump says he doesn't know why Epstein took young women from Mar-a-Lago
President Donald Trump said Thursday he doesn't know why convicted sex offender was taking women from his Mar-a-Lago club, which he says caused him to break off relations with his longtime friend. Asked by ABC News at an executive order signing if he knew why the disgraced financier was taking women from his club, the president replied, "No, I don't know really why, but I said, if he's taken anybody from Mar-A-Lago, he's hiring or whatever he's doing, I didn't like it. And we threw him out," the president said. The family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's most well-known victims, said it was outraged at comments Trump made a day earlier about her and Ghislaine Maxwell, the Epstein associate convicted of sex trafficking. Trump on Wednesday told reporters that Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, may have been one of several employees at his Mar-a-Lago club who were "stolen" by Epstein. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on board Air Force One en route from Scotland, Britain, to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 29, Hockstein/Reuters "I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people," Trump said of Giuffre. "He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever." Giuffre's family in its statement rejected the characterization, saying she wasn't "stolen" by Epstein. "We would like to clarify that it was convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell who targeted and preyed upon our then 16-year-old sister, Virginia, from Mar-a-Lago, where she was working in 2000, several years before Epstein and President Trump had their falling out," the family said. Trump's comments came amid growing calls for federal authorities to release records related to the Epstein case. Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday said they are attempting to force the release of those files through a little-known, decades-old law. Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York speaks alongside William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office, at a news conference announcing charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein in New York City, New York, U.S., July 2, Jackson/Reuters Giuffre's family in their statement said it was "shocking" to hear Trump discuss Giuffre, saying he was aware of her being "stolen." Their statement called into question whether the president knew at that time about Epstein and Maxwell's actions. "It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey 'likes women on the younger side . . . no doubt about it,'" the family said in its statement, referencing a quote attributed to Trump in a 2002 New York Magazine profile of Epstein. The family added, "We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this." Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking. He died by suicide that August while in custody, federal authorities said. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking and sentenced the following year to 20 years in prison. The Department of Justice said she "assisted, facilitated, and participated" in Epstein's abuse of girls between 1994 and 2004. Giuffre had said that Maxwell recruited Virginia from Mar-a-Lago when she was 16 -- and also accused Maxwell of abusing her. Maxwell denied the allegations levelled against her and claimed in a 2016 deposition that Giuffre had "lied repeatedly." President Donald Trump listens to questions from reporters aboard Air Force One over the United Kingdom on July 29, 2025, as he returns to Washington following a trip to Scotland. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images MORE: Trump, in Scotland, gives more details about his falling out with Jeffrey Epstein Maxwell this month met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, answering questions for about nine hours over two days, sources told ABC News. Maxwell initiated those meetings with the Department of Justice, sources said. Giuffre's family in its statement said Virginia would be "most angered" by those meetings, adding that the "government is listening to a known perjurer. A woman who repeatedly lied under oath and will continue to do so as long as it benefits her position." The family described Maxwell as a "monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life." Trump was asked on Monday about whether Maxwell could be pardoned. "Well, I'm allowed to give her a pardon," Trump said. "But nobody's approached me with it, nobody's asked me about it. It's in the news, that -- that aspect of it. But right now, it would be inappropriate to talk about it."
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs had First Amendment right to film twisted ‘freak-offs,' lawyers say
Sean 'Diddy' Combs is an amateur porn director with a First Amendment right to film his lovers in degrading sex sessions with male escorts, his lawyers say. The jailed rap tycoon made the head-scratching claim as part of his bid to toss his July prostitution conviction for setting up baby-oil-fueled 'freak-offs' with gigalos who traveled across state lines. 'Mr. Combs's amateur porn, like many other adult films, was creative, intricate, and highly choreographed,' Combs' lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, wrote in a court filing late Wednesday night. 3 Sean Combs says he has a First Amendment right to film his 'freak-off' sessions with male escorts. / MEGA Upholding Combs' conviction would thus breach his freedom of speech rights because the sex tapes have 'expressive content and are protected by the First Amendment,' the attorney added. Jurors at Combs' salacious two-month-long trial heard evidence that the admitted woman beater used the threat of releasing ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura's sex tapes to keep Ventura under his thumb. 'I feared for my career. I feared for my family. It's just embarrassing. It's horrible and disgusting. No one should do that to anyone,' Ventura testified. The court also heard accounts of Combs repeatedly beating Ventura, and forcing another lover, 'Jane,' to have sex with an escort hours after kicking, choking and punching her in a brutal assault. 3 Combs faces up to 10 years in prison on two prostitution counts at his October sentencing. Marlon Reid / MEGA 'Is this coercion?' Combs chillingly asked 'Jane' — who testified using an alias — before ordering her to perform oral sex on the male sex worker, the woman told jurors. But the jury nonetheless acquitted Combs of charges of coercing Ventura and 'Jane' into the sex acts after his lawyers cited explicit texts the women sent him before and after the sexual encounters. Combs, 55, now faces up to 10 years in prison on two counts of breaking the Mann Act, a federal law making it a crime to transport someone across state lines for prostitution. Judge Arun Subramanian has cited the 'I'll Be Missing U' rapper's admitted violence toward his exes in ordering Combs to stay at a hellish Brooklyn lockup until his Oct. 3 sentencing date. 3 Combs' lawyers claimed at his Manhattan trial that he was guilty of domestic violence, but not sex trafficking. REUTERS Combs' lawyers successfully claimed at trial that he was guilty of domestic violence, but not the sex trafficking and racketeering raps that the feds had charged him with. 'Domestic violence is the issue. 'We own it,' defense attorney Marc Agnifilo told jurors. Wednesday's filing is Combs' lawyers' bid to get Subramanian to toss the jury verdict himself. Trial judges rarely take such a drastic step. But the rapper will likely revisit the argument after his sentencing, when he's set to lobby the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn his conviction.
