Damond Julian Roker

Damond Julian Roker (born November 2, 1976) is an American religious broadcaster and minister. At one time, he was the lead pastor of the Redemptive Life Church Inc, a non-denominational church based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Due to a public scandal stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct and domestic violence, Roker resigned from his position as leader of the Redemptive Life Church.
==Early life==
Roker was born on November 2, 1976, in Nassau, Bahamas. He attended the Bahamas Public Schools, and was a member of the Bahamas Faith Ministries Fellowship, under the leadership of Word of Faith teacher Dr. Myles Munroe; and was mentored by Pastor Richard Pinder, and youth pastors Dave and Angie Burrows.
At nineteen, Roker was ordained as an elder in the ministry, in a ceremony officiated by Dr. Myles Munroe and the church's presbytery.
==Early career==
In 1995, Roker left the Bahamas to study broadcast-journalism, later obtaining internships at WMBM Radio and WPLG Channel 10 in Miami, Florida. In 1997, Roker returned to the Bahamas to work as a reporter for the Nassau Guardian newspaper. In1998, he relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, to serve as the director of youth and student ministries for a non-denominational church, while he continued his studies at the University of Memphis. In 2002, Roker was hired as a photojournalist and video editor for Fox Television Stations Inc, headquartered in New York, and was assigned to WHBQ-TV FOX 13 news station, a FOX O&O television station in Memphis. In 2004, Roker left FOX 13 and started DJ Roker Consultants Inc, a media marketing and television production company. Roker also booked guests to appear on national news programs such as Fox & Friends, MSNBC, Geraldo Rivera, Hannity & Colmes, and CNN Headline News. During this time, Roker founded the Faith Life Church International Inc, but soon dissolved it due to poor attendance and his desire to become an itinerate minister. In 2007, Roker began hosting his own evangelistic crusades and conferences, eventually producing a weekly television show that mostly aired within the Memphis metropolitan area and surrounding States (AR, MS, KY, MO, IL). In 2014, Roker founded the Redemptive Life Church Inc, after being discouraged by what he was seeing among many of the ministries he had once supported.
==Personal life==
In September 1999, Roker was married to the former Erica Coralynn Edwards (born September 1975 in Memphis, TN). She is a corporate buyer by profession. Together they have two daughters.
===Scandal and resignation===
In 2016, allegations of Roker's sexual misconduct were made public, and Roker was arrested on July 1, 2016, and later indicted on related charges.
In November 2018, Roker settled the cases through a negotiated plea agreement reached with the courts and the Shelby County District Attorney's Office. As part of the plea agreement, Roker was ordered to pay a fine, serve a period of time in prison, and attend anger management classes.
===Paternity suit===
In 2019, a woman brought a paternity suit against Roker in the Juvenile Courts of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, claiming Roker fathered a child with her a decade earlier. The Juvenile Court ruled in the woman's favor as to the paternity of the child and ordered Roker to pay retroactive child support. In March 2021, a three judge panel with the Tennessee Court of Appeals vacated the Juvenile Court judge's ruling due to discrepancies in the record and improperly admitted evidence presented during trial.
===Defamation suit===
In 2020, Roker filed a defamation suit against his former employer, Fox Television Station Inc, its parent company News Corp, and its subsidiaries and affiliates, alleging breach of contract among other things. In his complaint, Roker alleged that Fox Television Stations Inc, by and through its affiliate FOX 13 News, in 2016, violated terms of a 2004 non-disparagement agreement when it reported and publicized information about Roker's private life that it knew to be false, misleading and inaccurate. In May 2023, the parties reached an out of court settlement to resolve the lawsuit, and the case was dismissed with prejudice.
===Wrongful conviction lawsuit===
In April 2021, Roker filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Memphis, the Memphis Police Department (MPD), District Attorney General Amy P. Weirich, and the Shelby County District Attorney's Office, alleging wrongful arrest and conviction, after the MPD publicly disclosed in the media that it had failed to timely submit more than 12,000 sexual assault kits for testing, which resulted in the spoilage and deterioration of DNA evidence that would have provided a defense for him. Roker alleged that the MPD and the DA's Office conspired to fraudulently conceal exculpatory evidence from him, causing him to accept an unfavorable plea deal. In June 2021, a federal judge dismissed Roker's lawsuit with prejudice citing the one year statute of limitations had expired.https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/40065932/Roker_v_City_of_Memphis_et_al In November 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling as to Roker's federal law claims, but reversed as to Roker's Tennessee state law claims against the defendants.
Category:1976 births
Category:Religious broadcasting in the United States
Category:Ministries
Category:People from Nassau, Bahamas