American Missionary Bags 10 Years Jail for Sexual Assault on Minor

An American missionary, Eric Tuininga, has been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment after he was found guilty of defiling a 14-year-old Ugandan girl who was under his care at the Orthodox Presbyterian church based in Mbale District.

In 2019, 45-year-old Tuininga was reported by his colleague, a US citizen working at the same church.

The colleague reached the US Embassy in Kampala that Tuininga was having carnal knowledge with a minor Ugandan girl of 14 years old kept under the care of their church.

The US Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security federal agents in Kampala began their investigation into the allegations and later identified the abused minor, who was then aged 14. Tuininga had had intercourse with her in May 2019.

“Eric Tuininga used his trusted position as a pastor to sexually assault a young Ugandan girl in his care, this was a challenging case, but law enforcement worked diligently to ensure that Tuininga did not escape justice for his crime overseas,” US Attorney Peter D. Lear said.

The court ruling stated he has been sentenced to 10 years in a US federal prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually molesting the victim.

He was further ordered to pay $20,000 (about Shs75m) in restitution by US District Judge Marc T. Treadwell and spend a lifetime on supervised release as a registered sex offender after getting out of prison.

Meanwhile, in February, Mr. Tuininga pleaded guilty and was taken to jail pending sentencing. He faced up to 30 years in jail at the time, according to reports.

Several US media outlets reported that the recommended sentence for Tuininga was seven to nine years, but the judge gave him a 10-year sentence after hearing testimony from the victim’s caretaker and some of Tuininga’s family members.

“I want to recognize the true bravery displayed by the Ugandan girl for speaking out when she was assaulted by a trusted person of power from another country, courageously seeking justice across continents,” US Attorney Peter D. Leary said.