DES MOINES, Iowa (WHO) — Bishop Demetrius Sinegal of the Kingdom Church flew in from Texas and called for a full investigation into the November 15 marriage of a Des Moines bishop.

The marriage is between Bishop Dwight Reed and Jordan Reed of the Christ Apostolic Temple. Dwight is 63-years-old, and Jordan is 19.

“This marriage tears at the very fiber of the social construct of the African American family. Children are taught to respect their grandparent contemporaries not to marry them,” said Sinegal.

On April 6, 2022, the newlyweds and the Christ Apostolic Temple began protecting the marriage in the court of law by filing a lawsuit together in Polk County against Bishop Sinegal and the Kingdom Church seeking $1.5 million in damages from libel. “If it were to come to that, no statement that we have made is without witnesses,” Sinegal said.

Iowa law states the minimum age to marry without parental consent is 18 but Bishop Sinegal claims Jordan’s paternal grandfather came on one of Sinegal’s many online platforms alleging clergy abuse. “He came on and emphatically condemned this marriage. His words, and I quote, were, ‘Her father sold his daughter out and pimped her out for his own self-gain.'”

The lawsuit claims Bishop Sinegal’s allegations have caused severe past and future emotional distress, loss of revenue, as well as a loss of reputation and good standing in the community. “Because of the power imbalances it is always the responsibility of the caregiver to maintain appropriate and ethical boundaries,” said Sinegal.

Bishop Sinegal and his Safehouse Unmuzzled Advocacy group work to expose clergy abuse primarily in African-American churches across the country. Sinegal claims Jordan’s family was given just days’ notice of the marriage here at Christ Apostolic Temple. In fact, he admits Jordan’s father gave his blessing by walking her down the aisle. Sinegal claims just because it’s legal doesn’t make it ethical or moral. “It was legal to prevent women from voting not long ago,” said Sinegal.

Court documents claimed that online accusations from Bishop Sinegal to his 11,000 Facebook followers across the country have caused Bishop Reed and his wife have been regularly harassed online. Unidentified young men have been coming to their home to harass Mr. and Mrs. Reed, and it has created a decline in temple membership and tithing.