A pastor, Enoch Ebinyiam, has been sentenced to live imprisonment for raping a minor in Ekiti State by a High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti.
The convicted cleric who was with the Winner Chapel Church in Omuo-Ekiti was sentenced Thursday after the court ruled that it was satisfied the charge against him had been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
It was learnt that the victim, a daughter of one of the worshippers in the convict’s church, was said to have been raped by the pastor in one of her visits to the vicarage.
The girl was said to usually frequent the mission house to help the wife of the Pastor with house chores and help his young children with their school assignments.
It was during one of her visits to the vicarage that the convict sedated her with a bottle of Fanta laced with a sleeping potion. After she slept off, the cleric proceeded to have carnal knowledge of the girl, with her only to wake up and find out that she was bleeding profusely from her private parts.
The convict was arrested and charged to Court. He was charged with the offence of rape contrary to section 2 of the Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, 2019.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Julius Ajibade, who prosecuted the case for Ekiti State called four witnesses and tendered two exhibits to prove his case.
The convict spoke through his counsel, Adeyinka Opaleke, who gave evidence in his defence, as he called only one other witness.
In his judgment, Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi held that the prosecution proved the offence of rape against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge consequently convicted the defendant and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
