The teenage lady stated she ‘trusted him like a religious father’.
The church cleric was sentenced to life imprisonment (Picture: Getty)
A cleric has been sentenced to life in jail for raping the daughter of a church member. Chris Douglas, 63, was accused of drugging and raping a teenage lady in Lagos, Nigeria.
He was in court docket on six counts of defilement and sexual assault and three counts of rape, having raped the lady in a lodge on a number of events. Her household usually went to Douglas, the Common Overseer of Peculiar Era Meeting Church, for religious steerage. The sufferer stated in court docket: “I trusted him like a religious father. I by no means imagined he might do that to me.” She was left with extreme psychological trauma and melancholy, with “recurring suicidal ideas as a direct consequence” of the rapes. When her mom learnt what occurred, she went to confront Douglas: “Once I went to his church, he cried and stated it was the work of the satan. He begged us in entrance of the elders.” The rapes had been reported to police, healthcare staff, and a human rights organisation.
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The teenage lady and her household went to the cleric for religious steerage (Picture: Getty)
Justice Rahman Oshodi stated Douglas abused his place of authority and belief to take advantage of {the teenager}. He stated: “The convict occupied a place of religious authority and was thought to be a father determine by the sufferer and her household. As a substitute of defending that belief, (Douglas) betrayed it in probably the most reprehensible method.”
The prosecution, led by the director of public prosecution, Dr Badajide Martins, known as 5 witnesses, together with the sufferer, her mom, and a health care provider.
Douglas denied the allegations and informed the court docket that the connection was consensual. Justice Oshodi rejected this, saying the proof confirmed rape past cheap doubt.
The court docket discovered that some alleged incidents weren’t sufficiently proved to have taken place earlier than 2018, when {the teenager} was underneath 18.
Chris Douglas was sentenced to life in jail on three counts of rape, with six counts of defilement and sexual assault dismissed. His title has additionally been entered into the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register.
“The legislation should defend the weak, and this court docket is not going to hesitate to punish abuse of belief within the strongest phrases,” the choose stated.
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