Pastor receives life sentence for raping a minor in church

A High Court in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday convicted a pastor of Winners Chapel Church in Omuo-Ekiti, Enoch Gbinyiam, for raping a minor in his church.

Mr Gbinyiam was charged with one count.

State Attorney Julius Ajiba told the court that the pastor raped the daughter of a church member during her visit to the rectory.

Mr Ajiba described the victim as a regular visitor to the mission house.

According to him, the victim usually visited the rectory to help the pastor’s wife with housework, teach his young children and help them with their schoolwork.

“During one of her visits to the mission house, the defendant laced a bottle of Fanta with tranquilizers and offered her something to drink.

“The minor took the Fanta and fell asleep, only to wake up and find that she was bleeding heavily from her vagina.

He said the pastor was subsequently arrested and brought to court.

He said the offence violated Section 2 of the Prohibition of Gender-Based Violence Act, 2019.

The prosecutor called four witnesses and presented two pieces of evidence to prove his case.

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The pastor, who spoke through his lawyer Adeyinka Opaleke, pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

He called a witness and presented a statement in his defense.

But Judge OIO Ogunyemi ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Mr Ogunyemi therefore convicted the accused and sentenced him to life imprisonment in a reformatory.

(NAN)