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.

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.

The victim told the court that the cleric initially drugged and raped her in September 2017.

The convict, however, denied the allegations and told the court that the relationship was consensual.

The court consequently discharged the convict on six counts of defilement and sexual assault but found him guilty on three counts of rape.

Justice Oshodi sentenced Douglas to life imprisonment on each count, holding that the sentences shall run concurrently.

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