Agency Report/
An apology has been offered by a married pastor who was caught having sex with a married church member in her matrimonial home.
Remorseful and repentant, Rev. O. Jermaine Simmons Sr., pastor of the popular Jacob Chapel Baptist Church in Tallahassee, Florida, begged his church for forgiveness. And he got a standing ovation from the congregation.
Simmons, 37, had to run for his life, naked, when one of his parishioners found him in bed with his wife midday, last Tuesday week, and allegedly threatened him with a handgun. It was first reported by The Christian Post.
Although the pastor appears to have been forgiven, the woman’s husband was charged by the police with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The Daily Mail also reported that Simmons was at Claynisha Stephens’ home in Tallahassee, Florida, to discuss a charity project when they became intimate on her daughter’s bed at around 2 pm on January 17.
They were caught pants down less than an hour later by her husband Benjamin, 38, who had returned home with their sick six-year-old son after getting a call from his school.
Teachers had tried to reach Mrs Stephens, 34, but she didn’t answer the phone having already gotten into bed with the pastor, a police report indicated.
The husband, furious to have found the pair in throws of passion, allegedly threatened Simmons: “I’m going to kill you!” And the pastor ran away without his clothes, keys, phone or wallet to hide in a fence as his lover’s husband retrieved a handgun from his bedroom.
Mrs Stephens stood in front of her husband, begging him not to shoot anyone in front of their son.
She called the police when her husband fled in his car. Simmons has since apologized to Jacob Chapel Baptist Church and revealed that his wife is standing by him.
Mrs Stephens told police how her husband had grown suspicious of her relationship with the pastor.
She said they had been building a bond since October last year, and that on the day in question, he had visited her apartment to discuss potential charity work but that they became intimate.
‘Mr Simmons had come to her residence and they engaged in sexual activity.
‘As they were so engaged, the staff at the school attempted to contact (the woman) via telephone to inform her that her six-year-old son was ill,’ the police report read.
‘After failing to reach her, the staff at the school contacted her husband, who retrieved his son from the school and transported him to the residence.
‘When he arrived at the residence with their son, he discovered her and Mr Simmons lying upon her daughter’s bed engaged in sexual activity.
‘He loudly exclaimed ‘I’m going to kill him’ at which point Mr Simmons immediately fled from the apartment in a state of undress.’
Stephens kept hold of his gun in the home and threatened to turn up at the church to make a ‘statement’ about what had happened.
He did not point the gun at his wife or child, the police report continued. He refused his wife’s pleas to give her Simmons’ clothes and took off with them in his car, the keys for which he had left behind as he fled in a panic.
A friend eventually came to collect the pastor.
When police arrived, Mrs Stephens relayed what had happened. Officers contacted her husband over the phone and he eventually agreed to return the pastor’s belongings to him with their help.
The pastor, who has one young son, also advised members of the congregation not to engage in talks about his infidelity on the internet which he called a ‘world of sharks’.
Simmons was not the only pastor who has been caught engaging in an adulterous affair. A 2016 survey showed that 2.06 per cent of pastors, in the United States, have admitted to having had an extra-marital affair for the last five to 10 years, according to Church Leadership.org.
That figure was even considered a “pleasant surprise” since “previous studies showed percentages far greater”.
One of the more sensational cases was that of ex-pastor and Billy Graham grandson Tullian Tchividjian who confessed to having had extramarital affairs at least twice.
He was deposed from his ministry at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church after he and his then-wife Kim admitted having engaged in extra-marital affairs in 2015.
He was then hired for a non-ministry post by Willow Creek Church. But then he became involved again with another woman, which he again admitted, forcing Willow Creek to fire him in March 2016.
In South Africa, one pastor’s adulterous conduct led to his death in September 2016. Pastor Letsego of Christ Embassy in Limpopo, South Africa reportedly hanged himself in shame after he mistakenly sent photos of his genitals to members of his church using his mobile phone. The married pastor intended to send the pictures to his mistress who, sources said, was a member of the same church.
The pastor sent the photos with a message that reads, “Wife is away; it’s all yours tonight.”
Building Credibility For nearly eight decades, the Grammy Awards have stood as the pinnacle of…
Justice Ayokunle Faji has adjourned further proceedings in the suit filed by Barbican Capital Limited…
Segun Atanda/ The Los Angeles City Council has approved a sweeping "sanctuary city" ordinance designed…
Segun Atanda/ New York prosecutors have opposed dismissing President-elect Donald Trump’s conviction for falsifying business…
Femi Ashekun/ In a bold and controversial move, Musiliu ‘MC Oluomo’ Akinsanya, has defied a…
Matilda Omonaiye/ President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dissolved the Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University,…
View Comments
Regret? No,no, no, he was only sorry for being caught.
what if he was never caught?
sorry for being caught or for committing a sin ?
Sorry? No. Wants to escape death by firearm, being fired from pulpit job, and hellfire from wife. He's all about the burn and the feelings of that from being serviced by his women.