Memphis pastor charged with trafficking and sexual exploitation of a minor — after different pastor at same church convicted

A Tennessee pastor has been indicted on horrific charges related to the alleged abuse of a child in Memphis, after another pastor was convicted on similar allegations.

The mother of the child told WHBQ-TV that Martineous Tyler was the second pastor from the same church arrested in connection to alleged sexual abuse of her child.

‘It wasn’t enough time, because I don’t think it’s enough time in the world to give somebody for a crime like this.’

The mother, who wanted to remain unidentified, said her son first met Tyler in 2024 when he went to work for him at his businesses, the Memphis Obituary Company and Tyler’s Graphics and Printing.

“He liked doing graphic design, and the guy has a business, so he used to take him to the business to print out things and get little orders together; he liked that,” said the mother.

Another pastor by the name of Demarcus Smith was charged with sex crimes in 2025 involving the woman’s son after she looked at her son’s phone.

“When I opened it up, my heart shattered,” she said.

She said that she had found nude photos and sexual conversations on her son’s phone and called the police.

Then she discovered that Smith had previously been in prison for a conviction related to his coercing a boy to send him sexually explicit photographs of himself. Smith had been a pastor during that time, and when he was released from prison in 2023, he became a pastor at the same church as Tyler.

WHBQ reported that social media indicated Smith had preached at a “Clergy Appreciation Celebration” in Sept. 2024 at the Jordan River Missionary Baptist Church.

On Feb. 10, Tyler was indicted on state charges of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and human trafficking. His bail was set at $200,000.

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Smith was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to the newest federal charges in May 2025.

“It wasn’t enough time, because I don’t think it’s enough time in the world to give somebody for a crime like this,” said the boy’s mother.

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