A teenager has told an Ikeja High Court how she was raped and deflowered by one Pope Paul, a youth pastor in the Deeper Life Bible Church Lagos state.
The 19-year-old survivor appeared before the sexual offences and domestic violence court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, were she narrated to the court how the abuse started when she was 15 years old and living with the cleric.
Narrating her experience, the survivor told the court that she knew the cleric when she started residing with his wife identified as Sister Lydia.
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According to her, she had visited the pastor’s wife during a holiday in 2016 and after she got back home to Ibadan, Sister Lydia invited her to start living with her after taking permission from her mother.
“I was enrolled in a private school as I resumed in SS1. I only go back to my parents during the holiday.”
The survivor said the cleric started the alleged sexual abuse by touching her breasts when nobody was around.
“On February 17, 2018, I noticed this lustful look on Pope Paul and he came to me; he started with a rough play and then bumped on me,” she said.
“He started touching me because there was nobody around.
“He moved on to touch my breasts and used his hand to cover my mouth while he inserted his fingers into my private part. As he fingered my private part, blood was flowing out.”
The survivor told the court that the cleric played a “Christian message” and increased the volume so that no one could hear her voice during the alleged rape incident.
She said the cleric warned her that she would die if she told anyone.
The survivor also narrated how the cleric came to her room one night, dragged her to the kitchen and had sexual intercourse with her.
She told the court that her mother observed her when she got home and subjected her to pregnancy test, which turned out positive.
“My mum called pastor and he said that he was sorry and had asked God for forgiveness and knew that God had forgiven him,” she said.
“My mum told him to inform his wife about the pregnancy but he refused and later denied that he impregnated me which prompted my mother to report the case to the police and he was arrested.”
Ramon Oshodi, the trial judge, adjourned the case to May 23 for continuation of trial.
NAN
