A pastor, Adetunji Obatayo, has been ordered to be held in prison custody by an Ondo State Family Court for allegedly sexually assaulting his 14-year-old foster daughter and procuring abortions for her three times.
The victim had been living with Obatayo since 2020, and he is also the principal of her school.
The 55-year-old pastor was arrested by the state police command after the victim revealed the sexual relationship to her parents.
He has been charged with three counts of defilement, unlawfully procuring abortion, and killing an unborn child, which contravene sections 218, 230, and 328 of the Ondo State Criminal Laws, 2006.
In court, the victim testified that Obatayo had been having intercourse with her since she was 10 years old, when she first started living with him.
She said, “My parents released me to live with the 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.”
Ruling, the magistrate, B.A. Alphonso, ordered the defendant to be remanded in the Olokuta Correctional Centre and directed the case file sent to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for advice.
The magistrate ordered the victim to be taken for rehabilitation and adjourned the case to August 29, 2024 for mentioning.
