A Magistrate Family Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has remanded one Adetunji Obatayo, 55 years of age, in the correctional centre, for allegedly defiling a 14-year-old student, and also, procuring abortion for her.
The defendant, who happens to be a pastor of Deeper Life Bible Church and the principal of a school in Oka Akoko, was charged with 3 count charges of defilement, also, unlawfully prescribing drugs for abortion, and also, killing an unborn child of the victim in his custody.
He was said to have also committed the offence sometime in February 2020, at Epinmi-Akoko, Akoko South-East LGA.
Folashade Adesuyi, a police prosecutor, told the court that the defendant forcefully had carnal knowledge of the victim.
The offences, according to the charge, contravened Sections 218, 230 & 328 of the Criminal Laws of Ondo State, 2006.
Adesuyi said that the victim’s confession led to the arrest of the defendant. In the victim’s narration before the court, she said she was placed under the guardian of Pastor Obatayo by her parents when she was 10 years old.
“Four years ago, my parents released me to live with a pastor due to his desire to train me. On my first day in his house, he forcefully had sexual intercourse with me and told me not to tell anyone about it.”
“He had impregnated me thrice and he gave me N5,000 to buy some contraceptive drugs to abort the pregnancy after many preventive drugs.”
”But during the third pregnancy, he refused to give me money for the drug, and I stole his money to buy the pills.”
” Pastor later accused me of stealing his money for my boyfriend which led to the arrest of a boy in our school and I informed my parents about his ordeal.”
B.A. Alphonso, the presiding magistrate of the family court, has ordered that the defendant, is to be remanded at the Olokuta Correctional Centre, and also directed that the case file is being sent, to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.
Alphonso also ordered that the victim, is taken in for rehabilitation, and he also adjourned the case to August 29, 2024, for mentioning.