A 19-year-old girl has accused a youth pastor at the Deeper Life Bible Church in Lagos state, Pope Paul, of rāping and deflowering her while she was living with him and his wife, Sister Lydia.
The survivor appeared before the sēxual offences and domestic violence court in Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday to testify about the alleged abuse.
According to her, the abuse began when she was 15 years old and started living with the pastor’s wife. The survivor explained that the pastor started the alleged séxual abuse by touching her brēasts when no one was around.
She recalled a specific incident on February 17, 2018, when Pope Paul came into her room and began to touch her.
“He moved on to touch my breāsts and used his hand to cover my mouth while he inserted his fingers into my privāte part. As he fińgered my privāte part, blood was flowing out,” she said.
She further narrated how the cleric played a “Christian message” and increased the volume so that no one could hear her voice during the alleged rāpe incident. She said the cleric warned her that she would die if she told anyone.
The survivor’s mother discovered she was pregnant and contacted Pope Paul, who initially confessed and asked for forgiveness.
However, he later denied impregnating the girl, and the mother reported the case to the police. The trial judge, Ramon Oshodi, adjourned the case to May 23 for continuation of the trial.
Source: Punch
