Pastor abuses, impregnates NJ church member, tells her to get abortion, feds say

Miami Herald

13-05-2025

The self-proclaimed pastor of a New Jersey church, which he founded with his wife, 'spread fear' among members through religious rhetoric and forced them into unpaid labor, including one woman he repeatedly physically and sexually abused, federal prosecutors said.
Treva Edwards, 60, impregnated the woman he sexually assaulted inside his church over a span of seven years, then told her to get an abortion, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.
He and his wife, Christine Edwards, 63, who also described herself as a pastor, ran their church, 'Jesus is Lord by the Holy Ghost,' out of an apartment building in Orange, where they lured people into becoming members as part of a forced labor scheme between 2011 and 2020, according to prosecutors.
Individuals facing hardship in their lives were targeted by the Edwardses, who preached that they 'would lose favor with God if they did not perform labor,' prosecutors said.
Treva and Christine Edwards deprived church members of sleep, meals and had them perform work related to residential and commercial property maintenance in the Orange area, according to an indictment against the couple.
Treva Edwards, who declared himself a prophet, and his wife told church members it was 'God's will' for them to work, according to prosecutors. Treva Edwards is accused of threatening violence and other punishments if they disobeyed him.
Now, he's been indicted on charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, forced labor and a conspiracy to commit forced labor, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a May 10 news release. Christine Edwards is also charged with a conspiracy to commit forced labor.
'We will not comment on this ongoing litigation at this time,' Treva Edwards' federal public defender, Michael Alexander Thomas, said in a statement to McClatchy News on May 13.
Christine Edwards' defense attorney, F.R. Chip Dunne III, told McClatchy News that she 'categorically denies the allegations' and said the charges are 'unfounded.'
'She has spent her professional life working to uplift others, acting with integrity, compassion, and dedication to her community,' Dunne said in an emailed statement on May 13.
Required to work and pray
For years, according to prosecutors, Treva Edwards used fear and religious rhetoric to manipulate his church members to control 'every aspect of their lives, and compel them to perform unpaid labor.'
He and his wife obtained contracts for labor, then made church members carry out a variety of property-related services, according to the filing. The contracts were secured by Christine Edwards, through a property management company she worked for, prosecutors said.
Church members were forced to gut and clean properties, remove bulk trash, clean sewage, move furniture, handle rodent infestations and shovel snow, the indictment says.
Despite their work, they were never paid, according to prosecutors, who said the Edwardses 'kept the money (they) earned.'
Treva Edwards controlled members through verbally and emotionally abusive behavior, threats of 'reputational harm, homelessness, hunger, spiritual retribution, punishments, and more hard labor,' according to prosecutors.
They were required to work late hours, pray late into the evening and to wake up early to worship during church sermons that went on for hours, prosecutors wrote in the indictment.
After working, Treva and Christine Edwards would allow members to have their first and only meal of the day, according to the filing.
Members had to abstain from 'Five Loves'
Treva Edwards preached to the woman he regularly sexually abused, and to others, that they had to give up five aspects of life if they intended to go to heaven, according to the filing.
He told them they had to 'abstain' from 'Five Loves:' food, sleep, sex, money and pleasure, prosecutors said.
Treva Edwards also discouraged them from getting medical care, telling them 'God would heal members who were in good standing with' him as their pastor, prosecutors wrote in the indictment.
In late 2019, Treva and Christine Edwards held a 'struggle session' with all church members to prevent the woman he impregnated from leaving the congregation, according to the filing.
In a statement, Ricky J. Patel, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations' Newark Division, said 'Treva and Christine Edwards turned a source of hope into a tool of fear by allegedly exploiting religious faith to manipulate victims and expose them to sexual violence and forced labor conditions.'
Christine Edwards, according to her defense attorney, plans to argue against the government's accusations.
She 'asks for privacy for herself and her family during this difficult time as she focuses on defending her good name,' Dunne told McClatchy News.
Treva and Christine Edwards would both face up to 20 years in prison if they're each convicted of the conspiracy charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
If Treva Edwards is convicted of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, he'd face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to life in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
If convicted of forced labor, he'd face up to life in prison if the government can prove that the alleged forced labor was related to aggravated sexual abuse, prosecutors said.