A 63-year-old cleric, Chris Douglas, has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja for raping a church member’s daughter.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Rahman Oshodi held that Douglas, the General Overseer of Peculiar Generation Assembly Church, Oshodi, abused his position of authority and trust to exploit the victim.
Describing the conduct as a gross breach of trust, the judge said, “The convict occupied a position of spiritual authority and was regarded as a father figure by the victim and her family.”
He added that instead of protecting that trust, the convict “betrayed it in the most reprehensible manner.”
The court held that the abuse occurred in a hotel on several occasions, noting that the victim and her family relied on the cleric for spiritual guidance.
Justice Oshodi further stated that the prosecution proved that the victim suffered severe psychological trauma as a result of the abuse.
“The court accepts the evidence that the victim suffered depression and recurring suicidal thoughts as a direct consequence of the cpnvict’s actions,” he said.
