A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting at Gudu in Abuja, has sentenced a popular bishop in Abuja, Bishop Kenneth Duke, to 20 years imprisonment without an option of fine for raping a 12-year- old girl.
Justice Adebiyi Osolo, passed the verdict on Wednesday.
The 52-year-old, an indigene of Cross River State was dragged to court by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), for raping the 12-year-old girl (name withheld), who is the daughter of his church member, entrusted in his care by her family.
The defendant was arraigned in court on November 2, 2023, on a two-count charge of rape and intentionally causing an emotional and psychological abuse of the victim.
The prosecution stated that the defendant who lives behind Dantata Construction Company, Dakwa, Abuja, had on March 6, 2023, had unconsensual sex with the victim, thereby committing an offence punishable under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.
Investigation revealed that the victim, an indigene of Ondo State was living in Lagos, before she was brought to Abuja to live with her mother.
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The prosecution further stated that on March 5, 2023, her mother took her to the church located on the Dantata Zuba Expressway, and handed the victim to the bishop and his wife.
However, on March 6, 2023, the defendant, a father of five children, at about 10am, allegedly sent his children on an errand and thereafter, forcefully had carnal knowledge of the victim.
In the judgment, the randy clergy was found guilty of a one-count charge of rape and was sentenced accordingly without an option of fine.
